Poison control center fielding calls about drinking bleach, kids eating hand sanitizer
SAN ANTONIO – New numbers show calls to Texas poison control centers have skyrocketed since the pandemic began: everything from kids licking hand sanitizer to adults asking how much bleach they should drink to kill the coronavirus.
The South Texas Poison Center tucked inside UT Health San Antonio only feels quiet these days. Specialists are working from home, handling more and more calls about hand sanitizer, disinfectants and bleach.
"We attribute that to COVID,” Dr. Shawn Varney says.
He explains products that kill the virus on surfaces will really hurt your insides.
"They will harm you. They will kill cells,” Dr. Varney says.
But expert warnings haven’t stopped everyone from attempting drastic measures. Calls in Texas involving bleach exposures are up more than 58% from last year.
"We have had calls where the person on the other end of the line was inquiring what the proper dose of disinfectant or bleach was to kill the coronavirus,” Dr. Varney says.
"And what was the immediate reaction?" reporter Emily Baucum asks.
"Our immediate response was sir, we don't do that. That is not the right approach,” Dr. Varney says.
He says calls involving household disinfectants are up nearly 161%.
"The more you clean, the more you're exposed. You breathe it in,” Dr. Varney says.
And calls involving hand sanitizer are up 73%.
“Mostly ingestions. And they're mostly in children,” Dr. Varney says.
Small kids tend to use hand sanitizer then lick their fingers, and it doesn’t take much for a child to get alcohol poisoning.
"There's a lot of alcohol - hard alcohol - in these products,” Baucum says.
"Yes. Hand sanitizer is 70% ethanol. That's ethyl alcohol. That's drinking alcohol,” Dr. Varney says.
It’s best to keep cleaning supplies out of the reach of children.
But if you ever need help, call the South Texas Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222. Specialists are available 24/7 in both English and Spanish.
The South Texas Poison Control Center is part of UT Health San Antonio's Department of Emergency Medicine.
By EMILY BAUCUM