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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What First Aid Can Be Given To A Toddler After Drinking Hand Sanitizer?

our 2 year old grandson drank a little germx hand sanitizer. do we need to take him to the ER, or maybe give him some milk? not sure how much was in the bottle so he may have just had a little taste of it (best case) or as much as 1/2 ounce (worst case)
Wed, 27 Aug 2014
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello,

Thank you for posting your concern on HCM,

The reaction will vary from the components of the hand sanitizer and the amount that was drunken.

In general hand sanitizers have a big % of alcohol, so in children drinking it may lead to alcohol poisoning, which requires medical emergency intervention.

I can't know for sure how much time has passed since the time of swallowing the gel, but if it has happened within last hours, I would recommend, to take the child to an ER, so the doctors would keep him under observation, in the case of the worst scenario.

Hope this helps,
Regards,
Dr. Klarida
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What First Aid Can Be Given To A Toddler After Drinking Hand Sanitizer?

Hello, Thank you for posting your concern on HCM, The reaction will vary from the components of the hand sanitizer and the amount that was drunken. In general hand sanitizers have a big % of alcohol, so in children drinking it may lead to alcohol poisoning, which requires medical emergency intervention. I can t know for sure how much time has passed since the time of swallowing the gel, but if it has happened within last hours, I would recommend, to take the child to an ER, so the doctors would keep him under observation, in the case of the worst scenario. Hope this helps, Regards, Dr. Klarida