Disaster Three dead in New Mexico after drinking hand sanitizer, fourth permanently blind

Three dead in New Mexico after drinking hand sanitizer, fourth permanently blind

Three people in New Mexico have died and a fourth is permanently blind after drinking a dangerous amount of hand sanitizer, officials said.

www.nydailynews.com

https://archive.li/oBlsr

Three people in New Mexico have died and a fourth is permanently blind after drinking a dangerous amount of hand sanitizer, officials said.
The state’s Department of Health on Friday said another three patients remained in critical condition. All seven people “are believed to have drunk hand sanitizer containing methanol,” it said.

Swallowing methanol, when it isn’t lethal, can cause brain damage, blindness as well as nerve and kidney damage.

While authorities have not provided specific details, they suspect the string of poisonings are related to alcoholism. It’s not uncommon for people to use hand sanitizer to get intoxicated due to its alcoholic content, and it was previously banned from prisons for fear inmates would consume it to get drunk.

While authorities have not provided specific details, they suspect the string of poisonings are related to alcoholism. It’s not uncommon for people to use hand sanitizer to get intoxicated due to its alcoholic content, and it was previously banned from prisons for fear inmates would consume it to get drunk.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in recent months has recommended that facilities consider relaxing restrictions on alcohol-based sanitizer to help combat coronavirus.
The recent series of incidents in New Mexico were reported across several weeks in May. None of those involved have been identified. The news also comes days after the Food and Drug Administration urged people against using hand sanitizer products manufactured by Eskbiochem SA due to the potential presence of a toxic chemical.
“If you think you may have used or consumed hand sanitizer containing methanol, please seek medical care,” said Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Kathy Kunkel.
“An antidote to methanol poisoning is available, but the earlier someone gets treated for methanol poisoning the better the chance of recovery.”

 

[Maggots on a Train v2]

They should have just bought the $1 big bottle of "artificial vanilla flavoring" that has almost nothing in it except alcohol.

 

[Full Race Replay]

I bet trump told them to eat hand sanitizer too huh

 

[Unog]

Homeless people do quite frequently. "Purple drank".

I thought that was a reference to cough syrup.

 

[White Devil]

I thought that was a reference to cough syrup.

It can be both.

 

[That_Guy]

Am I the only one who wondered what they considered a safe amount of hand sanitizer to drink was?

The tax/regulation situation with alcohol is just a mess in some ways. Last I looked, to skip the drinkable alcohol taxes ethanol had to be denatured so you couldn't drink it. Think it was 1% gasoline (Smells horrible) or some amount of methanol (Causes this problem right here) that was required.

To me the sensible solution is to just recognize that sometimes people are going to get drunk on untaxed booze and losing a bit of tax revenue there is the least bad way for things to work. Messing people up permanently with methanol is more than a little bit harsh.

Edit: Things

 

[PhoneHexOperator]

Drinking hand sanitizer, you say?

 

[TowinKarz]

To me the sensible solution is to just recognize that sometimes people are going to get drunk on untaxed booze and losing a bit of tax revenue there is the least bad way for thing to work. Messing people up permanently with methanol is more than a little bit harsh.

Dumbasses gonna be dumbasses, and this isn't something that's exactly common and everyday.... At some point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in, even on human compassion, there's a point where I think that after enough good-faith steps have been taken, any deaths are not on the hands of those who don't feel like spending a chunk of their money to try and save idiots from killing themselves with a product that I'm pretty sure already has "Do not drink this" warning labels on it.

That's enough, if you're gonna ignore all that, you did it to yourself just the same as a guy who dies of lung cancer after 30 years of heavy cigarette use... despite all the warning labels.

 

[Sgt. Pinback]

The tax/regulation situation with alcohol is just a mess in some ways. Last I looked, to skip the drinkable alcohol taxes ethanol had to be denatured so you couldn't drink it. Think it was 1% gasoline (Smells horrible) or some amount of methanol (Causes this problem right here) that was required.

Most countries seem to have phased out, or are in the process of phasing out using methanol as a denaturant for that very reason.

Mainly used now are small amounts of pyridine, isopropyl alcohol, MEK and Bitrex - denatonium - the most bitter substance known.

 

[NoodleFucker3000]

Natural selection. Any drunk desperate enough to drink hand sani would probably be dumb enough just to OD on any drug, toxic or not.

 

[Hollywood Hitler]

Obligatory

 

[Cat Menagerie]

My money is on McKinley County. That's where the bulk of the Navajo Rez is. Those Indin's party. Coincidentally, that's also where the bulk of the Covid deaths are from because, again, those Indin's party (and don't have running water).

Good call (though predictable)

The cases were reported in May in San Juan, McKinley and Cibola counties.

 

[White Devil]

Natural selection. Any drunk desperate enough to drink hand sani would probably be dumb enough just to OD on any drug, toxic or not.

Rubbing alcohol is also a popular one when they can't find mouthwash or booze to steal.

 

[Buster O'Keefe]

https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/turbo-500-t500/

I will say no more.

 

[TFT-A9]

Homeless people do quite frequently. "Purple drank".

purple drank is usually something like Sprite mixed with codeine syrup iirc

also regarding warning labels and shit like that: people don't read that shit. People don't read signs, they don't read warning labels, none of that. The signs/labels are just there to give the company in question using them a legal out when some dumb piece of crap inevitably ignores them and gets hurt/dead. You cannot fucking help some people, and the more I deal with people ignoring important signs the more I think that "some" is a "most".

 

[muh_moobs]

Such is the way of the Native American. Just accept their culture, you bigots!

 

[Jaimas]

That's natural selection at work right there. Survival of the fittest.

 

[White Devil]

purple drank is usually something like Sprite mixed with codeine syrup iirc

also regarding warning labels and shit like that: people don't read that shit. People don't read signs, they don't read warning labels, none of that. The signs/labels are just there to give the company in question using them a legal out when some dumb piece of crap inevitably ignores them and gets hurt/dead. You cannot fucking help some people, and the more I deal with people ignoring important signs the more I think that "some" is a "most".

You're not wrong but I've also heard it referring to purple mouthwash on the street. The homeless here seem to prefer purple over the green.

Such is the way of the Native American. Just accept their culture, you bigots!

If you only knew, man. If you only fuckin' knew...

 

[Bungus Scrungus]

Dios mio, Putas de Mexico...

 

[DidYouJustSayThat]

this might be different in other countries but where i live they denature ethanol by just putting in stuff that makes it taste extremely bitter, not literal poison to kill would-be drinkers

Methanol is legit cheap industrial alcohol, anyone drinking it deserves to die and/or go to blind, lest I personally incur even a 1 cent surcharge on one of the products produced by the industrial processes utilizing the compound. I value my one cent over the lives of these degenerates.

 

[DumbDude42]

Am I the only one who wondered what they considered a safe amount of hand sanitizer to drink was?

the hand sanitizer i have is just isopropyl alcohol, which is safe-ish to dring in small quantities. i remember it being roughly twice as potent as ethanol in terms of toxicity, so you definitely don't want to down the whole bottle, but a sip or two should be fine. some really strung out alcoholics actively seek out this stuff to get smashed on when regular alcohol is too expensive for them.