Hand Sanitizer in a Pandemic: Wrong Formulations in the Wrong Hands

Abstract

Background: Households are increasingly stockpiling and producing hand sanitizer amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which can pose an increased risk for unintentional toxicity among children. Despite guidelines for hand sanitizer production published by the World Health Organization, many turn to streaming media for instruction.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate hand sanitizer formulations and safety precautions discussed in popular do-it-yourself (DIY) YouTube videos, and to assess the frequency of calls to poison control centers for pediatric hand sanitizer exposure before and after the arrival of COVID-19 in the United States.

Methods: The first 100 videos on YouTube with the most views using the search term "DIY hand sanitizer" were evaluated for accuracy compared with the World Health Organization local hand sanitizer production guidelines. The incidence of pediatric hand sanitizer exposure reported to participating U.S. poison control centers from January 2018 through May 2020 was reviewed from the American Association of Poison Control Centers National Poison Data System. The average number of calls between January 2020 and May 2020 was compared, and the average number of calls in March 2020 was compared with March 2019 and March 2018.

Results: Of the YouTube videos that met inclusion criteria, 27% discussed the use of at least 96% ethanol or 99.8% isopropyl alcohol, 4.1% incorporated 3% hydrogen peroxide, 82% used glycerol or an alternative humectant, and 4.1% specified the need for distilled or previously boiled water. Most of the videos failed to describe labeling storage containers, 69% of videos encouraged the use of oils or perfumes to enhance hand sanitizer scent, and 2% of videos promoted the use of coloring agents to be more attractive for use among children specifically. There was a significantly increased average number of daily calls to poison control centers regarding unsafe pediatric hand sanitizer exposure since the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in the United States. There was a significantly increased average number of daily calls in March 2020 compared with the previous 2 years.

Conclusions: YouTube may not be an accurate source for effective hand sanitizer concoction. Health care providers and parents should be aware of the increased surge in hand sanitizer exposure among children and should take proper precautionary measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; hand sanitizer; pandemic; pediatrics; toxicity.

Figure 1

Process of do-it-yourself (DIY) hand sanitizer production video inclusion.

Figure 2

Daily poison control center calls. Number of daily hand sanitizer exposure calls in children 12 years and younger to U.S. poison control centers January through March, 2018 to 2020. COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019.