FDA Expands List of Potentially Deadly Hand Sanitizers

As the FDA continues its investigation into hand sanitizers containing methanol, consumers are being warned that hand sanitizers in their posession could be deadly if used.

Two weeks ago, we told you about a massive hand sanitizer recall involving the Blumen brand which was sold at several major retailers nationwide in-store and online including at Sam's Club, Walmart, and Amazon.

In the Blumen recall, the hand sanitizer was recalled because the product was found to contain methanol which has been known to cause:

nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death.

The FDA's list of hand sanitizers that consumers should run from has reached a staggering nine pages long and includes more than 80 brands that could be deadly if used. The FDA says it has received several complaints from people expressing that they've experienced some awful side effects after using the recalled hand sanitizers including,

blindness, cardiac effects, effects on the central nervous system, and hospitalizations and death, primarily reported to poison control centers and state departments of health.

 

It appears that almost all of these deadly hand sanitizers are coming from one single company, Mexican based  Eskbiochem S.A. de C.V.. In a warning letter sent to the company on July 23, the FDA wrote, "The substitution and methanol contamination in hand sanitizer drug products labeled as manufactured in your facility demonstrates that the quality assurance within your facility is not functioning in accordance with CGMP requirements."

The FDA has given Eskbiochem S.A. de C.V. 15 working days to reply to its letter and specify what the company has done to rectify the violations laid out in the warning letter.  The FDA also claims that it is taking additional "action to help prevent certain hand sanitizers from entering the United States by placing them on an import alert."

It is highly recommended that you look over the FDA's list of hand sanitizers that have been recalled and that you should immediately dispose of any you may have.