THE number of people in the UK poisoning themselves by ingesting alcohol-based sanitising gel has increased by more than 60 per cent during the pandemic.
Two fatal cases previously occurred in a young woman who had been detained on a psychiatric ward, and a 76-year-old man with dementia and a history of depression who accidentally swallowed sanitising foam in hospital.
Details emerged in research published today in the the BMJ journal, Evidence Based Medicine.
It reveals that in total across the UK, the number of alcohol-based hand sanitiser poisonings reported to the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) rose by 61%, from 155 between January 1 to September 16 2019, to 398 during the same period this year.
The study was led by Georgia Richards at Oxford University's Centre for Evidence-based Medicine.
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Alcohol-based and sanitiser has become commonplace as a means of hand hygiene in homes, hospitals, schools, workplaces and public venues in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but the researchers call for more to be done to protect those at risk of unintentional and intentional harm from the chemical, which contains up to 95 per cent ethanol.
Two such cases of unintentional poisonings in children at home have already been reported in Australia and the USA during the pandemic, according to the study.
It also uncovered details of two sanitiser-related deaths which occurred hospitals in England in 2019, before the pandemic.
In one case, a young woman, detained in a psychiatric unit and given the antidepressant venlafaxine, was found dead in her hospital bed three days later with a container of hand sanitising gel beside her.
The gel was readily accessible to patients on the ward from a communal dispenser, and patients were allowed to fill cups or other containers with it to keep in their rooms.
A high level of alcohol was found in her blood, and her death was attributed to “ingestion of alcohol and venlafaxine.”
The coroner concluded that the combination of these substances had fatally suppressed her breathing.
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The second case involved a 76 year old man who unintentionally swallowed an unknown quantity of alcohol-based hand sanitiser foam, which had been attached to the foot of his hospital bed.
He had a history of agitation and depression, which was being treated with antidepressants. He had become increasingly confused over the preceding nine months, possibly as a result of vascular dementia.
He was admitted to intensive care, with the intention of allowing the high level of alcohol in his blood to be naturally metabolised. However, the man developed complications and died six days later.
The primary causes of death were recorded as pneumonia and acute alcohol poisoning secondary to acute delirium and coronary artery disease.
Following a coroner’s inquest, the hospital reportedly introduced lockable dispensers with staff carrying their own portable sanitisers.
At the time, NHS England stated that it would flag the potential risks to the medicines regulator, the MHRA, but Ms Richards said it was unclear whether this was done.
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Had appropriate government actions been taken at a national level when the first case was reported, the second death and the hundreds of associated poisonings reported to the NPIS in 2019 and 2020 might have been prevented, she adds.
She writes: “The combination of increased demand and exposure to alcohol-based hand sanitisers, and the negative impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak on mental health, social support, financial security and health services is a cause of serious concern.
“This complex interplay of issues may lead to a further increase in poisonings and deaths that could be mitigated if recommendations from these deaths were implemented."
She calls for a public health campaign to "make the public aware of the potential harms" from swallowing sanitiser.
In April, manufacturers of bleach, medics, and toxicologists issued pleas to the public against ingesting disinfectant after US President Donald Trump suggested that injecting it into the lungs might be a promising antidote to coronavirus infection.
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