
IPFS News Link • Health and Physical Fitness
Sick new trend: Teens getting drunk off hand sanitizer
• http://www.nydailynews.com, By Lindsay GoldwertDoctors are seriously worried about a sick trend — teens drinking hand sanitizer.
Six young people recently landed in a Southern California emergency room with alcohol poisoning after chugging the antimicrobial gel.
Hand sanitizer contains a whopping 62% ethyl alcohol — making the foul liquid akin to a shot of hard liquor.
YouTube has seen an influx of videos of teens chugging the foul germ-killing goo.
Dr. Young-jin Sue, a pediatric toxicologist at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, said that she hasn’t seen any cases of teens coming into the ER after overdosing on the alcohol-rich gel.
“Teens don’t have access to ethyl alcohol so they resort to crazy things,” she said. “It’s very concentrated, just a few ounces can make someone sick.”
Teens have a long tradition of looking in the medicine cabinet in order get a cheap buzz.
A few years ago, teens were chugging cough syrup in order to get at the opiate-like effects of dextromethorphan. Certain mouthwashes contain ethyl alcohol as well. Before pseudoephedrine went behind the pharmacy counter, teens sought it out for a quick high.