Teens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk
Posted: Sep 15, 2015 7:20 PM CST | Updated: Jul 28, 2016 5:27 PM CST
There is an alarming trend, teens becoming drunk on hand sanitizer.
The concerning thing is that hand sanitizer is 45 to 95 percent alcohol. Compare that to beer which averages around 6-percent. So once kids start drinking, it takes a very small amount to become drunk.
At the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin they take calls for Wisconsin's Poison Center and say they're seeing this trend on the rise. Nationwide calls for kids drinking hand sanitizer went up 400-percent, that's 16,000 calls last year alone.
To reduce the appeal, experts say keep foam sanitizer at home because it's difficult to drink.