More kids get severe eye injuries due to sanitizer use in pandemic, French study says
Public spaces have become dotted with hand sanitizer stations to help curb coronavirus spread, but a new study out of France shows these dispensers might be to blame for the striking rates of chemical exposure to children’s eyes during the pandemic.
Between April and August 2020, seven times more cases of alcohol-based hand sanitizer eye exposures in children were reported to the French Poison Control Centers and from a pediatric ophthalmology hospital in Paris compared to the same period in 2019.
Specifically, hand sanitizer eye poisonings increased from 1.3% in 2019 (33 cases) to 9.9% in 2020 (232 cases), with accidents becoming more frequent as the pandemic matured. The majority of kids affected were about 4 years old.
The number of cases was so alarming that the country issued a national public health alert at the end of August to notify parents of the dangers of alcohol exposure to children’s eyes and how best to avoid it.
Hospital admissions for more serious hand sanitizer exposure rose, too — 16 children in 2020 compared to one boy in 2019. However, most cases were mild, with children exhibiting tingling sensations or slight pain.
Eight of the hospitalized children developed ulcers on their corneas; six of them had ulcers that covered more than half of their cornea’s surface. The condition, also known as keratitis, can cause severe pain and blurred vision. If left untreated, it can permanently damage vision and cause blindness.
Two children required surgery to repair the damage caused by hand sanitizer exposure, according to the study published Jan. 21 in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
Researchers said kids are more affected by eye alcohol-related injuries from sanitizers because of the way dispensers are positioned. Often about 3 feet tall, the stations are usually level with children’s faces, making it easier for splashes of the liquid or gel to fall into their eyes.
It’s a problem that stretches beyond France and into other countries across the globe fighting COVID-19.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported over 17,000 cases of hand sanitizer exposure cases in 2020 as of July, the American Optometric Association said. That’s a 51% increase in cases compared to the same period in 2019.
“These findings support that, despite the importance of alcohol-based hand sanitizers for controlling the spread of COVID-19, these agents should be used with caution and likely kept away from young children,” the researchers wrote in the study.
What’s more, 63 reported cases of hand sanitizer eye exposure in France occurred in public spaces, such as stores, malls and restaurants, where squirting sanitizer is more convenient than finding a sink to wash your hands. In comparison, no cases were reported in public spaces in 2019.
Studies have shown that alcohol has an immediate toxic effect on cells within the cornea by triggering their death. Other additives in hand sanitizers such as hydrogen peroxide, perfumes or essential oils may also increase the products’ poisonous powers.
Aside from eye exposure, experts say poisoning from eating or drinking sanitizer is also a severe threat to kids.
“Most hand sanitizers are available in brightly hued bottles and have appealing smells like candy ... which is very tempting to young children,” a June study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment said. “If a child licks a small amount of sanitizer to taste, [they’re] probably not going to become sick, but ingesting any more than a taste could [introduce risks] of alcohol poisoning.”
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey published in May found that 4% of respondents reported “drinking or gargling diluted bleach solutions, soapy water, and other cleaning and disinfection solutions” to prevent coronavirus infection.
