Hand sanitizer hurts the eyes of more children, some seriously. Here’s how to protect your child

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Hand sanitizer dispensers have appeared in shopping malls, schools, workplaces and on public transportation to make it easier for people to sanitize their hands. however, a consequence, documented in France, there have been chemical injuries in children who accidentally got disinfectant in their eyes.

There were seven times more cases in children of eye exposure to dangerous chemicals hand sanitizer between April 1 and August 24, 2020, compared to the same period a year earlier, according to data from the French Poison Control Center. Similarly, over the same period, 16 children were admitted to a pediatric ophthalmology hospital in Paris because their eyes were splashed with hand sanitizer against a single boy in 2019. Two severe cases required surgery to transplant the tissues in their corneas.

The hospital cases all involved children under the age of 4, and French researchers said the reason was likely because the gel dispensers were typically 1 meter tall. While this is waist level for most adults, it is eye level for young children.

“With the widespread and widespread use of hand sanitizer in public places, it is no surprise that young children are drawn to these dispensers, many of which appear to be inadvertently designed to facilitate contact between the hand sanitizer. hands and young eyes, ”said Dr. Kathryn Colby of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Grossman School of Medicine at New York University in a commentary accompanying the research. The study was published Thursday in the journal JAMA Opthamology.

Hand sanitizer accounted for just 1.3% of all eye exposure incidents to chemicals in children in 2019, according to the French database. That number was 9.9% in 2020, and most cases were said to be mild.

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The greatest risk to children, according to research, could come from dispensers installed in public places. In 2020, 63 cases of exposure occurred in a public place, while none were reported in 2019.

Many hand sanitizers contain a high concentration of ethanol, which can kill cells in the cornea.

In a related study published in the same journal, doctors in India detailed the cases of two children who accidentally injected hand sanitizer into their eyes, with serious consequences. The 4-year-old complained that she couldn’t take the light, while the 5-year-old had eyelid damage. Both children made a full recovery after treatment with saline washes and eye drops, but their doctors said there was a need to consider the potential risks of hand sanitizers in public places and schools.

Doctors recommended the following steps:

  • Promote hand washing with soap and water rather than hand sanitizer
  • Teach and train children in the use of hand sanitizers
  • Have separate dispensers in children’s stores and malls, preferably at a lower height (i.e. below face level)
  • Place warning signs next to disinfectant dispensers

Colby said parents should also make sure their child’s eyes are promptly examined by a healthcare professional if they are exposed to an alcohol hand sanitizer, with early diagnosis and treatment that may reduce the effects. long-term consequences of chemical injuries to the eyes.

“In an emergency, any clean liquid can be used to irrigate the eye after chemical exposure, and a formulation for this can be considered part of a warning sign,” she said. .

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