According to the FDA, people have been hospitalized after ingesting hand sanitizer contaminated with methanol. While no reports of hospitalizations have been linked to using it on hands yet, the FDA says you should avoid using these at all. Excessive methanol exposure can lead to nausea, vomiting, headaches, blurred vision, and seizures. People who have used one of the products listed below and have side effects should immediately seek medical help, the agency warns. If you experience adverse effects from an item that isn't on this list, you should still seek medical help and report the product to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting system.
Following are the hand sanitizers you should avoid:
- bio aaa Advance Hand Sanitizer
- LumiSkin Advance Hand Sanitizer
- QualitaMed Hand Sanitizer
- All-Clean Hand Sanitizer
- Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer
- Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer
- The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol
- Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- Grupo Insoma Hand sanitizer Gel Unscented 70% Alcohol
- Bersih Hand Sanitizer Gel Fragrance Free
- Soluciones Cosmeticas Antiseptic Alcohol 70% Topical Solution hand sanitizer
- Mystic Shield Protection hand sanitizer
- Britz Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol
Many of the products have been voluntarily recalled.
Additionally, you should beware of claims like "FDA-approved" since the agency does not approve any hand sanitizer product.