Amarillo TX School System: Kids Inhaling Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers

Courtesy of Amarillo Globe News
 (click on title link for original source)

Submitted by Jon Mark Beilue on Tue, 09/28/2010 - 7:30am
I guess if someone needed a high bad enough, they could get one off toothpaste. Who knows? What makes anyone even think about something like this?

But here's a memo that was sent from the Amarillo ISD last week to its schools:

"Please share this with appropriate staff at your school.

"One of our schools reported that students are inhaling hand sanitizer to get high. After researching and calling the Texas Panhandle Poison Control Center, here is what we understand about this trend.

"The brand they are huffing is Germ-X. Germ-X is 62% alcohol. The alcohol makes the lining of the nose tingle and may make them dizzy. There is no known connection between inhaling hand sanitizer and truly getting high. The dangers are in other areas of concern:

"1. Germ-X contains phenol. While phenol does not create a high, it can lead to respiratory arrest and possible death. Huffing (inhaling) phenol is a bad idea.

"2. Several blogs cited inhaling Germ-X as the user's gateway to drinking alcohol. There have been cases where teens and others drink hand sanitizer for the alcohol. This is likened to the alcoholic that resorts to rubbing alcohol when that is the only thing that is available.

"3. The tendency to inhale Germ-X is most likely an indicator that the youth may be experimenting with other inhalants. According to our data, inhalant experimentatin is most likely to occur between 4th and 8th grade. Some youth will try it and never try anything else. Others will become addicted like gasoline, paint, etc. and contine using for many years.

"If you have Germ-X in your classrooms, keep an eye out for misuse. Also, if you have a child who inhales Germ-X or any other inhalant, get them fresh air and consider contacting the parents so they can safeguard their child once he or she leaves the school."

Pennsylvania High School Fire: Teens Ignite Alcohol Hand Sanitizer Dispenser

2 Teens charged in press box, Royalton arson fires 

by Debra Schell and Jim Lewis Press And Journal Staff : 9/22/2010

Two Middletown boys, ages 12 and 13, set a fire that destroyed the concession stand and press box at Middletown Area High School’s baseball field, using a lighter to ignite hand sanitizer as it dripped from a dispenser on the wall, Lower Swatara Twp. police said.

click on title link for full story

Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitizers Not Just For Hands!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Alcohol-Hand-Sanitizer 'Abusers' Looking For Quick High

Courtesy of CBC News (click on link for source story)

People with substance abuse problems are turning to hand sanitizer in order to feed their addiction.
"Everybody always prefers to be buying real alcohol over this but if we got nothing else then we'll drink it," a Regina woman named Lorretta explained.
CBC News agreed not to use the last names of people who agreed to talk about consuming hand sanitizer.
"It bothers me," Loretta said about choosing that type of alcohol. "But I gotta get my fix somehow."
A spokeswoman for Regina police told CBC News that officers were encountering intoxicated people in Regina's downtown area "about one or two times a week."
Elizabeth Popowich said that in some cases the people were found with hand sanitizing liquids on them. In other cases they explained to officers that they had just consumed the liquid.
"It is becoming an epidemic," Loretta suggested. "You see the bottles all over the street everywhere you go."

Mixed with water

Loretta's boyfriend, Dallas, told CBC News that it is relatively easy to find the alcohol in public buildings or stores.
He said he mixes the liquid with water, and will consume an entire bottle to achieve a high.
"The whole bottle," he said. "I drink lots."
Dallas added the addiction takes it toll on everyone connected to the substance abuser.
"I don't like it," he said. "It just doesn't drag me down. It drags everybody else down with it."
Shawn Fraser, executive director of the downtown Carmichael Outreach Centre, says he has had to take hand cleaner away from people coming to the centre.
"People who are faced with the disease of alcoholism will find a way to drink," Fraser noted. "Hand sanitizer... seems to be what's going on now. But if not, people still find a way."
Popowich noted alcohol-based hand sanitizer is not a controlled substance and it would be difficult to prevent people from obtaining the product, as it is readily available.

University of Virginia: Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Don't Work..

Courtesy of  news outlet "Daily Progress"...

A team of researchers at the University of Virginia found that alcohol-based hand sanitizers fail to significantly reduce the frequency of infection from rhinovirus or influenza.

"An alcohol hand disinfectant with enhanced antiviral activity failed to significantly reduce the frequency of infection with either rhinovirus or influenza," wrote the authors of the study presented Sunday at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) here.

The results came as a surprise to research team leader Dr. Ronald Turner, whose study was sponsored by the Dial Corp. which makes various care and cleaning products, including alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

[Maybe this is because alcohol is notorious for stripping away protective skin cells, and in turn, increasing the risk of exposure to pathogens? duh...]

click on title link for the full news story courtesy of "The Daily Progress"

Canadian Town Getting Drunk From Alcohol Hand Sanitizers

Courtesy of CBC News..click on title link for the full story..
By QMI Agency
Last Updated: September 11, 2010 2:10pm

Police in Regina say they are finding people intoxicated from drinking hand sanitizing liquids which contain alcohol.

CBC News said the problem has cropped up in Regina's downtown and may be connected to accessible sources of sanitizer, such as in shopping centres and the public areas of local hospitals.

A spokeswoman for police told CBC News that officers believe people have stolen large containers of alcohol-based sanitizers to drink the contents.

4th Grader Suspended For Sniffing Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer

just another story illustrating why many schools are migrating to non-alcohol based hand sanitizers..and burning up the alcohol-based produts

from CBS News, Woodland California

4th Grader Suspended For Sniffing Hand Sanitizer
More Local News
Reporting
Kris Pickel
WOODLAND, Calif. (CBS13) ―



A local 4th grader was suspended from school, after officials say he was caught sniffing hand [alcohol-based] sanitizer.

The mother says she tried to talk to the principal, who said the suspension was going to stand and would also be a mark on his record.

Matteo Meier, a 4th grader at Dingle Elementary, is feeling pummeled by a school punishment.

"I got in trouble and I got suspended," he says.

Matteo says friends at school told him to sniff hand sanitizer. He's done it occasionally since last year, but yesterday he got caught by a teacher who gave him a suspension and a scare.

The nine-year-old says he didn't know it was wrong, and didn't get a warning.

"If it was that bad, they could have made me lose recess instead of suspending me," he said.

There is a problem with the hand sanitizer violating the school zero tolerance drug use; CBS13 talked to poison control and a drug rehab center, and they've never heard of anyone getting high off smelling hand sanitizer.

After calls from CBS13, district officials looked into the case.

"I believe apologies will be made," says district official, Mike Steven, after being asked if Matteo would receive an apology.

Sarah Brett, Matteo's mother, believes there was a rush to judge her son, because of past behavior problems, which he's been working on.

Sarah says the hand sanitizer shows that kids are already experimenting, and the school should use this as a teachable moment.

Not Smart: Smart Cell Phones Spreading Germs; Hand Hygiene Horror?

Below article is courtesy of UK The Co-Operative Pharmacy, a publication of the Co-Operative Group; a global business enterprise employing 80,000 and annual revenue of $14 billion..

New technology, from smart and mobile phones to laptops, could be spreading illnesses and potentially killer diseases because of poor hand hygiene, according to research released today (16 August 2010) by The Co-operative Pharmacy.

Each year, more than 750 people die and almost one million people¹ are ill with bugs which can be passed on or contracted by not washing hands.

As part of its ethical strategy, The Co-operative Pharmacy commissioned the study by ICM² into hand hygiene, which revealed that one in three people use a mobile phone or BlackBerry when on the toilet while one in twenty people also surf on a laptop.

Almost one in three people admitted to not using soap or handwash and one in five people don’t always wash their hands after being on the loo.

Mobile and smart phones³ have been shown to be dirty and have high levels of bacteria, which indicate poor personal hygiene, and act as a breeding ground for other bugs.

The research by The Co-operative Pharmacy also found that one in ten people said they never or only sometimes washed their hands while people admitted to reading a newspaper or magazine (48 per cent), cleaning their teeth, drinking and eating when on the toilet.

John Nuttall, Managing Director of The Co-operative Pharmacy, said: “As a leading community pharmacy we believe it is vital to make people aware of the importance of good hand hygiene when visiting the toilet.

“In the UK, the new trend of using smart and mobile phones in addition to laptops on the toilet is inadvertently raising the risk of the spread of infections, which affect hundreds of thousands of people. The symptoms are very unpleasant for most people and, in some circumstances, can be fatal.”

Dr. Paul Cleary, Epidemiologist, Health Protection Agency, said: “Hand-washing is important at all times, but particularly after going to the toilet, before and after preparing food and before eating.

“Thorough handwashing with soap and water is the best protection against C diff and viral infections, such as the common cold, flu and norovirus. It also reduces the chances of cross-contamination when preparing food and therefore affords some protection against food-borne infections, such as salmonella and campylobacter.”

Bacterial Outbreak Puts Florida Health Officials On Alert

(Fort Lauderdale, FL) -- There's a bad bacteria being passed around in Florida's Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

Doctors and hospitals have reported a spike in the number of cases of shigellosis.

So far the cases have been isolated, but experts say this may be a good time to remind kids about the importance of washing hands and proper hand hygiene solutions so they can avoid the illness, which causes intestinal problems.

Also, moms and dads changing dirty diapers should exercise caution.

It was three years ago when an outbreak of shigellosis in South Florida sickened nearly 400 people.

Infection Control Professionals Prefer Foam to Gel for Antiseptic Hand Cleansers

The results of a survey conducted at APIC 2010, indicate that infection control professionals prefer foam over gel 2:1 for antiseptic hand cleansers. According to the Antiseptic Skin Cleanser End User Survey July 2010, "60% [of infection control professionals] prefer an antiseptic hand cleanser in foam form compared to the 30% who prefer gel form." Other survey results include the strong desire for antiseptic hand cleanser products to be less irritating to the skin..

ed. note: Most, if not all alcohol-free hand sanitizers are dispensed in foam format..while the vast majority of legacy, alcohol-based products are gel format.