From the Telegraph 20/06/11:
A man who drank six bottles of alcohol-based hand sanitiser while being treated in an Australian hospital for alcoholism has sparked calls for the antibacterial gels to be better secured.
Well, if alcoholics drink methylated spirits or whatever else they can get their trembling hands on, what’s so surprising about them drinking hand sanitizer?
Doctors said in a letter published on Sunday in the Medical Journal of Australia that they were stunned to discover the man had downed six 375-millilitre (12.7-ounce) bottles of hand sanitiser, giving him a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.271 per cent. That's more than five times higher than the 0.05 per cent legal limit for driving in Australia.
Dr. Michael Oldmeadow, an internist at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne city, said that although the incident was not the first of its kind, it was the most serious case he had seen and the man is lucky to have survived.
"It surprised us that he drank this stuff," Oldmeadow said, according to the Australian Associated Press. "It's horrendous. You'd think it would taste pretty bad."
Funnily enough, I’ve only recently jumped on the hand sanitizer bandwagon, and I have to say, it’s strangely addictive. (As a hand cleanser, I mean. Nothing more).
The stuff I’m using smells pretty damn good and whilst I don’t fancy drinking any, I do find myself squirting it about with increasing frequency. My mouse and laptop at work have even had a surreptitious squirt.
Let’s hope I’m not developing any OCD tendencies.
Right, blog post done, time to wash my hands.
I can see the sense in keeping all alcohol away from someone being treated in a hospital for alcoholism but in more general in terms of keeping it secured as if it's a loaded weapon it's a bit ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThere's something terribly responsible about using hand gel in hospitals etc. You feel like you're doing your bit for the survival of the human race. I think the manufacturers should use that in their marketing.
Michael, don't forget to sanitise your pens, door handles and light-switches :D
ReplyDeleteStephen - great idea. Maybe you should pitch it to them? ;-)
ReplyDeleteAndro - I'm on it... first thing tomorrow! :p
Desperate times call for desparate measures! A lot cheaper than downing aftershave.
ReplyDeleteCheshire Solicitor -(now without the link... I bet I drive you crazy with my link removals? :p) ... when was the last time you drank aftershave then?
ReplyDelete