My sil just forwarded this to me. She received it from her sister in Fla.
I don't know how true it is since it has passed thru several hands but it seems logical to me.
Judy


"Ok. I don't know where to begin because the last 2 days of my life have been such a blur. Yesterday, my youngest daughter, Halle, who is 4, was rushed to the emergency room by her father for being severely lethargic and
incoherent. He was called to her school by the school secretary for being "very, VERY sick." He told me that when he arrived that Halle was barely sitting in the chair. She couldn't hold her own head up and when he looked into her eyes, she couldn't focus them.
>
> He immediately called me after he scooped her up and rushed her to the ER. When we got there, they ran blood test after blood test and did x-rays, every test imaginable. Her white blood cell count was normal; nothing was out of the ordinary. The ER doctor told us that he had done everything that he could do, so he was sending her to Saint Francis for further test.
>
> Right when we were leaving in the ambulance, her teacher had come to the ER and after questioning Halle's classmates, we found out that she had licked hand sanitizer off her hand.
>
> Hand sanitizer, of all things. But it makes sense. These days they have all kinds of different scents and when you have a curious child, they are going to put all kinds of things in their mouths.
>
> When we arrived at Saint Francis, we told the ER doctor there to check her blood alcohol level, which, yes we did get weird looks from it, but they did it. The results were her blood alcohol level was 85% and this was
6 hours after we first took her. There is no telling what it would have been if we would have tested it at the first ER.
>
> Since then, her school and a few surrounding schools have taken this out of the classrooms of all the lower grade classes, but what is to stop middle and high school children, too?
>
> After doing research off the internet, we have found out that it only takes 3 squirts of the stuff to be fatal in a toddler. For her blood alcohol level to be so high was to compare someone her size to drinking something 120 proof.
>
> So please, PLEASE don't disregard this because I don't ever want anyone to go thru what my family and I have gone thru.
>
> Today was a little better, but not much."

From the Mayo Clinic:

Hand washing: A simple way to prevent infection

It covers both soap/water and hand sanitizers.

as cobismom says... you can always use soap and water. Because of Ds 'issues' adhd/autism.. i have always been leery of stuff but then again we have a farm where a bunch of kids got sick around here. I don't generally use but we were at a petting zoo so I had DS use it (well supervised) and then go to the bathroom and wash his hands. Do I sound paranoid?????? Oh- i am....also you can always just put a pack of babywipes in the backpack/car etc.... they work well.

on the same note- beware of things like sunscreen and insect repellent. There are ingredients that kind of scare me...but if you have little guys the could think it looks like soft serve ice cream.
amy

From a manufacturer of hand sanitizers:

"Are Purell® products safe for children?

Purell® Instant Hand Sanitizer is safe for children when used according to the directions. All Purell® Instant Hand Sanitizers contain an additive that tastes bitter and makes the Purell® product undesirable to drink. Purell® is safe for children to use if supervised. After use, make sure child's hands have completely dried prior to touching mouth, eyes or mucous membranes. Purell® Instant Hand Sanitizer is non-toxic. As with all OTC drug products, use by children should be under the supervision and instruction of an adult."

"What is the active ingredient?

Ethyl alcohol, 62% - "mother nature's disinfectant." According to the American Journal of Infection Control, Aug. 1995, "Alcohols applied to the skin are among the safest known antiseptics."

http://www.pfizerch.com/purell/content/faq.htm#q18

Even if just a little bit will make kids sick, is it worth it, when soap and water and washing your hands well will do as well. Yes, I know kids are out and about and don't always was their hands. But my mother, and I used to carry washcloths with soapy water in baggies in the car and our bags for the same purpose as the sanitizers. Not all modern things are worth the problems they cause.

Judy,

I looked it up, and yes, indeed this story is true. You can read another story and the "science behind it" on snopes.com

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp

I got this email and forwarded it to everyone. My sister took my nephew to the pediatrician last week for an ear infection and asked him about this. He told her a child would have to ingest gallons for it to be fatal. He said licking off that little bit might make them a little sick but it would not be toxic.
There seem to be conflicting reports on the internet about this.

Jill

Here's the Snopes link regarding that e-mail. It's true...and it goes on to explain why it is that kids will eat anything.