Purell markets itself as 'Mother Nature's disinfectant.' But while they kill germs, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are apparently no match for some aspects of human nature. Curiosity and compulsion have led some people, including children, to sniff or drink the cleansing goo for a cheap high.
"The best way to drink hand sanitizer is straight, like whiskey, and down it 'like a shot,'" a 15-year-old student in Toronto recently told Maclean's magazine. "Undiluted, the alcohol-based liquid tastes a little like 'vodka and bug spray,'" Maclean's reported.
At 62 percent ethyl alcohol, Purell is more than 120 proof -- the equivalent of a strong rum or whiskey. To effectively kill germs, alcohol content must be at least 60 percent; stronger hand sanitizers may contain as much as 85 percent. Sanitizing gels, foams, sprays and wipes have become a mainstay in the public health campaign to help combat the spread of flu, and in particular, H1N1.
Yet for addicts desperate for an alcohol fix, hand sanitizer is accessible, cheap, and gets the job done. And its abuse is something that crosses state and national boundaries.
For the annual Alaska Federation of Natives conference, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, aware of the potential for abuse, chose to insert alcohol-based hand sanitizing wipes instead of gel into some 3,000 flu education kits it handed out, according Brandy Dixon, marketing manager for ANTHC.
"The average person is going to look at a bottle of Purell and it's not even going to cross their mind to drink," said Viki Wells, a behavioral health specialist with the state Department of Health and Social Services. "But if a person has an alcohol or a drug problem then they may use that out of desperation when their drug of choice -- whether it be alcohol or another drug -- isn't available for them."
For Wells, hearing that people are willing to drink the stuff is no surprise. She's seen people drink perfume, Lysol, hair spray, mouthwash, vanilla extract and even shoe polish -- "really anything that contains alcohol that doesn't immediately kill you," she said.
Wells says sniffing and drinking hand sanitizers is also a risk for children, teens and young adults who may find it easier to access than liquor, or who may be experimenting with intoxicants in general. When a teacher in Canada noticed her 8- and 9-year old students "acting strange and giggling" during a recent walk, her detective work got them to confess they had swallowed hand sanitizer at school just before the walk, according to Macleans.
Far more potent than beer, wine and many liquors, Wells sees a high potential for abuse in communities that ban alcohol, and suspects hand sanitizers may have "a tremendous potential for homebrew."
"The bottom line," she said, "is that anything that contains ethanol or isopropyl alcohol can have the potential for being abused and we just need to be aware." The Anchorage School District, the Alaska Department of Corrections, and the Alaska Native Medical Center say they use alcohol-based hand sanitizers to combat the spread of illness, but keep the dispensers in centrally located, visible areas.
However, the school district has had one incident with the antiseptic ooze. In September a student applied hand sanitizer to a bus seat and set it on fire, according to district spokesperson Heidi Embley.
With Alaska's long, cold winters the high flammability of the product is another risk to be vigilant about, said Wells. She cautions people to keep the sanitizers away from open fires, heaters and stoves and to make sure hands are dry before feeding a wood stove or fire place.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed the flu kits handed out during AFN to the Alaska Native Medical Center. The kits were compiled and distributed by The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
Contact Jill Burke at jill_alaskadispatch.com.