Hand sanitizer, long relied on to help prevent infection, has become extraordinarily important during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But not all brands are made to the same standards. Some may include harmful ingredients like methanolTrusted Source<\/a>, which can be toxic when used on skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, online pharmacy Valisure sounded the alarm over what the company says are hand sanitizer batches contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical benzeneTrusted Source<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Valisure has submitted a citizen petition <\/a>to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates hand sanitizer, requesting the FDA issue an immediate recall of the affected batches and update guidance to include an exposure limit for benzene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOut of the 44 batches of hand sanitizer containing benzene, at least 20 (45%) have product labels that indicate the use of additional ingredients to improve the smell, taste, or appearance, which do not adhere to FDA guidance,\u201d the company wrote on its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Valisure warned that this could also make hand sanitizer more appealing to children and increase the risk of ingestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the citizen petition, the company analyzed 260 unique batches of hand sanitizer from 168 brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The analysis found 44 batches contained benzene levels of at least 0.1 parts per million (ppm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twenty-one batches, including both liquid and gel hand sanitizers, had levels above the 2 ppm interim limitTrusted Source<\/a> set by the FDA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The highest level detected was 16.1 ppm, over eight times the FDA limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBenzeneTrusted Source<\/a> is a known human carcinogen and is known to cause cancer (leukemia),\u201d Dr. Robert Glatter<\/a>, an emergency physician on staff at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told Healthline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s unclear how the contamination occurred but may be related to manufacturing alcohol, a raw material to make hand sanitizers, which is antibacterial [and] goes through a purification process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A complete list of the hand sanitizers with high benzene levels is in table 2 of the petition<\/a> Valisure sent to the FDA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Dr. Theresa Capriotti<\/a>, RN, clinical professor at Villanova University\u2019s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, benzene is especially dangerous when it\u2019s swallowed or touches bare skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBenzene is found in petroleum-based products and degreasing solutions,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt is also a toxin in cigarette smoke. It is toxic. It should not be handled with bare hands or ingested.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it isn\u2019t the only dangerous chemical found in some brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source<\/a>, alcohol-based hand sanitizers should only<\/em> contain ethanol<\/a> or isopropanol<\/a>, but some products imported into the United States have been found to contain methanol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMethanol is a product they are most worried about as some sanitizers contain this ingredient in lieu of ethyl alcohol,\u201d Capriotti said. \u201cMethanol is \u2018wood alcohol\u2019 and is not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She cautioned that methanol can be toxic when absorbed through the skin and can be life threatening when ingested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEthyl alcohol, also called ethanol, is the most important and effective component of the hand sanitizer, and it should be at least 60 percent ethyl alcohol,\u201d she advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FDA prohibitedTrusted Source<\/a> imports of hand sanitizer from Mexico in January due to high levels of methanol, and recalled hundreds of brands contaminated with the chemical or containing dangerous microbes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary Beth Genter<\/a>, PhD, professor of environmental and public health sciences at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, advises against using brands that contain denatured alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDenatured, in this context, means that the alcohol, generally ethanol, is modified to make it taste bad, smell bad, or be toxic if ingested,\u201d Genter said, adding that benzene has been used in the past to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s no way to tell by looking at a label if benzene was the additive used to denature the ethanol, so just avoiding denatured ethanol might be the soundest advice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Altman<\/a>, PhD, co-founder of Evolved By Nature, a green chemistry company that also produces eco-friendly hand sanitizer, said it\u2019s crucial to know what\u2019s in the sanitizers we\u2019re using several times each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He recommends keeping these four \u201cS\u201d words in mind when shopping for sanitizer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it smells off or doesn\u2019t have a clean, alcohol scent, be wary. The smell could be due to contaminants, not just methanol, but also acetone and other harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any alcohol content less than 70 percent, or claims like \u201calcohol free,\u201d means it may not be adequate to kill germs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome manufacturers will reduce the alcohol content to 62 percent and use additives like BZK, an alternative form of antimicrobial, to make up the difference,\u201d Altman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thickening agents like carbomers, or any ingredient with the word \u201cacrylate,\u201d is toxic to the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s \u201cessentially liquid plastic on your hands,\u201d Altman said, that goes down the sink and into the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf it feels sticky on the skin, chances are it contains glycerin,\u201d Altman explained. \u201cMany manufacturers use this as a cheap thickening agent. However, it is known to lower the effective kill potential of ethanol.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n An online pharmacy analyzed hundreds of brands of hand sanitizer and found some contained high levels of the carcinogen benzene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experts say this isn\u2019t the only potentially dangerous chemical that can be found in sanitizer. There\u2019s also methanol and microbial contamination to look out for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experts recommend using products that contain at least 60 percent ethyl alcohol and that have not been \u201cdenatured\u201d to ensure it\u2019s effective, and to reduce the chances it\u2019s contaminated with benzene.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAbove FDA limit<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
List of high-benzene hand sanitizer found in petition<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Methanol in hand sanitizer<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Which products to avoid<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Smell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Substitutions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sink and sewers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sticky<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The bottom line<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n