Four Americans Die After Drinking Hand Sanitizer, Others Go Partially Blind

Americans are being warned against drinking hand sanitiser after four people died and others were left with visual impairments.

A total of 15 people – 13 men and two women – were admitted to hospital after ingesting sanitiser in the southern states of Arizona and New Mexico in May and June, a new report from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

All of them, aged 21 to 65, had drunk hand sanitiser containing methanol, an ingredient deemed “not acceptable” by the US regulator Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Four people out of the 15 died, three left hospital with new visual impairments and six had seizures as they were admitted – including three of those who died.

The report said four of the patients were still in hospital as of 8 July, so there is no update on whether they have suffered long-term effects.

The report said he had drunk “an unknown quantity of alcohol-based hand sanitiser during the few days before seeking medical care”.