She and her colleague Ida Assarsson Bystedt in the Field Group in Umeå Municipality mention several signs of the dangerous trend: empty hand sanitizer bottles at party venues, police observations, calls from the public who are concerned about youths as young as 12 and 13, and intercepted conversations between young people.
When we look after young people who have drunk too much and send them to hospital, we don't always know what they have drunk, but we hear and see the indications that hand sanitizer is present, says Ida Assarsson Bystedt.
In a Facebook post, the Field Group appeals to parents and other adults to talk to teenagers and set boundaries.
Drinking hand sanitizer can be life-threatening, notes Erik Lindeman, a doctor at the Swedish Poison Information Centre.
The danger is primarily that you drink very strong alcohol. Hand sanitizer usually contains 70 percent ethanol. There are also hand sanitizers that contain isopropanol, which makes the person even more intoxicated. It is completely life-threatening - you become acutely alcohol-poisoned and may very well vomit, inhale it into your lungs and be found dead.
Umeå is not alone in having young people getting drunk on hand sanitizer. The Poison Information Centre receives around fifty calls a year about young people and hand sanitizer.
The figure has remained relatively constant in recent years, so we see no increase, says Erik Lindeman.
Hand sanitizer has a very high alcohol content (ethanol). A small amount is enough to cause acute poisoning.
Some hand sanitizers contain isopropanol, which has an even stronger depressant effect on the central nervous system than ethanol.
Isopropanol thus increases the risk of respiratory depression.
Isopropanol is also corrosive to mucous membranes, which can cause stomach pain and vomiting.
Sources: Umeå Field Group and the Swedish Poison Information Centre
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