Immune Systems Advisor

A company is recalling hand sanitizer and aloe gel across the United States because it contains a highly poisonous substance that can pose a serious risk for consumers, according to a notice published on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website . The recall affects 40 lots of Aruba Aloe Hand Sanitizer Gel Alcohol 80 percent and Aruba Aloe Alcoholada Gel because they contain substantial amounts of methanol, the FDA-backed notice said. It offered a risk statement saying that “substantial methanol exposure” can lead to a range of serious health issues such as death, coma, seizures, permanent blindness, permanent nervous system damage, blurred vision, vomiting, nausea, and other symptoms. “All persons using these products on their hands are at risk,” said the notice, but it especially issued caution for “young children who accidently ingest these products and adolescents, and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute are most at risk for methanol poiso...

Benzene is a known human carcinogen, yet still ranks in the top 20 chemicals used in the U.S., based on production volume. 1   Despite its known toxicity, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued temporary guidance in March 2020, allowing it in hand sanitizers at levels up to 2 parts per million (ppm). 2 The allowance was made due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered unprecedented demand for disinfectant products like hand sanitizers. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to prevent COVID-19 if soap and water aren’t available. 3 This, combined with panic and fear in the early days of the pandemic, led to shortages of hand sanitizer and supplies weren’t enough to meet consumer demand. As evidence of its increased prevalence, calls to Poison Control related to hand sanitizer increased 79% in March 2020 compared to March 2019. 4 This triggered the FDA to loosen its guidelines for th...