This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
Teenagers drink hand sanitiser
A new dangerous alcohol trend maybe about to take hold after teenagers in the US took hand sanitiser to get drunk.
Six California teenagers were hospitalised with alcohol poisoning after drinking the hand sanitiser mixture.
Bottles of sanitiser contain 62% ethyl alcohol and after getting recipes online they are able to remove the alcohol content.
They are using salt to remove the alcohol, creating a potent drink that is close to grain alcohol.
“You’re talking 100 per cent alcohol is what they’re going to be left with,” said Dr. Billy Mallon, who works at the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center.
The drink is so potent that a few shots makes you drunk.
However the side effects are serious, as the concoction can cause a person’s speech to slur and stomach to burn, diarrhea, memory loss and even irreversible organ damage.
There is numerous videos on YouTube showing teens drinking the sanitiser to get high, and passing out, intoxicated on the floor.
Similar trends have been observed with mouthwash, cough syrup and even vanilla extract.
Two homeless people in Albuquerque, New Mexico, recently died after drinking a mix of distilled hand sanitizer and mouthwash.