FDA adds to list of potentially deadly hand sanitizers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added to its list of potentially deadly hand sanitizers, according to an online update Monday.

The FDA has added at least seven new hand sanitizers to its online table noting which hand sanitizers could be deadly. 

The products listed either have been tested by the FDA and found to contain methanol, which can be dangerous when absorbed through the skin or ingested, have been made at the same facility as products that have been tested by the FDA and found to contain methanol, or are being recalled by the manufacturer or distributor.

The update to the list expands on a warning the FDA issued in June against several hand sanitizers produced by a Mexico-based manufacturer, Eskbioechem SA. The FDA had extended the list earlier this month.

The FDA now has 87 products on its list of hand sanitizers it recommends consumers against using. 

Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek “immediate treatment” to reverse potential toxic effects of methanol poisoning, the FDA recommends. 

Substantial exposure to methanol can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death, the FDA warns. 

The warning of potentially deadly hand sanitizer products comes as health experts recommend regular hand sanitizing for the public to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The highly contagious virus has infected more than 4 million people and killed more than 148,056 people in the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.