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5-Year-Old Almost Dies After Getting Drunk on Hand Sanitizer

Jan. 11, 2013 10:42pm Liz Klimas

Mich. 5 Year Old Taken to Hospital After Ingesting Scented Hand Sanitizer

(Image: Shutterstock.com)

It’s not the first time the dangerous trend of drinking hand santizer has made headlines, but this time it was a elementary school student, attracted to the sanitizer’s pleasant smell, who ingested too much and nearly died according to doctors.

Fox 17 in Grand Rapids, Mich., reported that a 5-year-old was rushed to Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor earlier this week after she was reported to be dizzy and vomiting at school.

It wasn’t until Leanne Arndt’s daughter came to that she was able to find out what happened. The girl’s grandmother speculated it was hand santizer because children seem to “have a fascination with the smell.”

“She told me that she tried tasting several different flavors and the strawberry chocolate was her favorite,” Arndt said.

The reporter showed off another bottle of sanitizer scented like a vanilla cupcake in the report.

Arndt recalled the doctors saying they had never seen anyting like that before, even with someone who was severely intoxicated. If the EMS had not run IV’s in the girl when they did, the 5-year-old could have died.

“They were telling me that a one ounce ingestion of it can intoxicate an adult, and it’s about a 140 proof ethanol liquor,” Arndt said, according to Fox 17. “That’s exactly what they compared it to is moonshine.”

The little girl is reported to be doing fine after the substance was out of her system.

Watch the local Fox 17 report:

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Related:

Featured image via Shutterstock.com.

(H/T: AOL)

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Comments (40)

AmericanStrega
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 10:27pm
Using antibacterial anything and the use of antibiotics, when not really needed, is what is causing the super-bacteria (MERSA). The common cold and flu strains are not caused by bacteria. They are viruses. But the government and the media have all told us we must use these things to stay germ free. Wrong! Exposure to common bacteria and viruses cause the human body to form antibodies against common bacteria and viruses. In the case of antibacterial soaps, et,al we see the decline of remedy due to the fact that bacteria will adapt and overcome what is trying to kill them. Now about flu shots or other inoculations against viruses, it may be that these viruses are mutating to adapt in order to render inoculations obsolete. Therefore, these “bugs” can further their “agenda”.

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tnman65
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 6:22pm
Did anyone notice the pump on top of the bottle? It is clearly assault sanitizer. I understand the pump action can be worked very fast, causing large amounts of this dangerous substance to come out. We live in a civilized country in modern times. How can anyone rationalize the government allowing the civilian population having such a dangerous item. It should be banned from the general public, unless you have a permit and proper training. But first we will need to do background checks and have it registered. I would hate for something this dangerous to fall in the hands of a street gang, the hands of innocent people could be in real jeopardy.

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Balpit
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 5:53pm
If they knew the girl had a fascination with scented hand sanitizers, it should have been a red flag. Young kids will eat anything that smells like sweets or candy. Why do you think there’s warnings on flavored toothpaste? “Kids 2-6 years old: use a pea-sized amount and supervise child’s brushing to minimize swallowing”. I’m sure the hand sanitizer also had such a warning (not the brushing part!). Also, “Keep out of reach of children.” Who was stupid enough to leave it within the child’s reach?

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BlasberryStrat
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 5:30pm
Hand Sanitizer. The GREATEST invention for big pharmacy since “The Plague”! “Hey, I know…let’s make it ‘cool’ to have kids (and adults) slather their hands with sanitizer every half hour! Then we can triple sales of pills when the idiots wash away all the ‘good bacteria’, and they loose their immune system”.

I had a bro-in-law who would actually spray the entire carpets in his home with Lysol after each time people would walk through, so “his babies” had a clean place to lay. I gave him a ribbon and told him he is successfully killing his twin’s natural way of building immunity AND allowing newborn’s to roll around on chemicals at the same time. Job well done. When the third “golden child” arrived, the other siblings stood outside the house with a bottle of hand sanitizer and wouldn’t allow anyone to go in without a “squirt”. I leaned down and explained that they will understand how they are killing their sister when they get in to High School Chemistry class, and walked back to my car. Oh they cried and cried (hee hee).

Why do we have more flu outbreaks and disease nowdays? These “smart” pharmacy people have informed us so well about $3 a bottle sanitizer, how to “sneeze properly”, and so on. Kinda looks as though we have more of a health problem now, than when kids only “wet the soap” after taking a good dump…. Hmmmmm….

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g56
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 4:02pm
A lot of people don’t realize those hand sanitizers don’t work on viruses, so they are worthless on colds or flu, which are both viruses.

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hslusher
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 3:56pm
Life happens. Luckily the child survived.

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Diane TX
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 5:11am
Crazy. It doesn’t occur to me to even buy “hand sanitizers”. I just use soap and water. Also, the strongest “drug” that I’ve ever ingested is aspirin. Last year I had to have eye surgery. When I was asked what was the last time I used a narcotic, the answer was “never”.

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- SocialistSlayer
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 8:40am
  A lot of the “Schools” are forcing children to bring Hand Sanitizers. Our system has gone insane. This is about as Stupid as taking a “Flu Shot” that doesn’t prevent the current Flu Strain! The shot is Flu about 3 years ago! Much better and safer to let your body become immune naturally !
  
  Report this comment
- G-WHIZ
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 9:55am
  1) Y’a have y’o kids 100%-sannitized at home…2) Ya bratts goes “outside” (100%UNSANNITIZED) TO DUH schoolbuss(100%UNSANNITIZED) …3) to the school playlott&school-buildings(100%UNSANNITIZED) …4) “Oh, besure to bring Y’o HAND-SANNITIZER witt-y’a!! …5) Oh, and inna school of 200kids, Y’o bratt will give 199 of them [his cold or flu]…but his “hands” are clean!!
  Oh, anna YOU PAYEDFOR AND GAVE Y’o bratt a FLAVORED-SANNITIZER…OH issn’t it TASTEY… It sure sure smells DELICIOUS!!
  
  Report this comment
- Jenny Lind
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 12:11pm
  Socialistslayer, it it fine to let your immunity build, if you are healthy, but not everyone is and people get sicker the older they get-I noticed when I got a flu after I turned 40, and was sick for two weeks instead of my usual few days and it was much worse. Now I take a few medications that are important and when I become severly ill with flu, I end up with other complications. I work hard at being as healthy as I can for my age, and I do not want to be sidelined from life. a 50/50 chance of being less sick are odds I will take, I hate hospitals and don’t want to end up in one. Each person needs to make their own decision based on his or her health, activity level, etc. I chose to get the shot as I am around a lot of teenagers and young adults, who are in school and exposed to stuff and bring it home. God bless and keep us all healthy.
  
  Report this comment
NancysRedDiaperDoperBaby
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 3:50am
Wow, gonna have to tell Cheech about the Hand-San, man…….

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- Mr.buff1959
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 4:38am
  Ya man go to the moon.
  
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- Mr.buff1959
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 4:49am
  I drank a bottle of Tabasco sauce once. But only once.
  
  Report this comment
- PeachyinGA
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 7:51pm
  Great post Abigail. My youngest son only admitted after he went to college why my couch was broken 3 years earlier. It is located exactly under an upstairs balcony = a perfect landing pad from jumping from the overhead 2nd floor! It was the 2nd jump that broke it! Kids will be kids. Just be good, attentive parents … and know where the closest emergency room is located.
  
  Report this comment
- Nancys Red Diaper Doper Babies
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 10:04pm
  What’s up with the username bro?
  
  Report this comment
donkeykong
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 2:37am
Ron White said it best….you can’t fix stupid…

Young people today need things to do, things
that past generations did to occupy their time.
Unfortunately, many of those old-time ideas have
been quashed by our very government. Girls used
to play with dolls, doll houses, and such. Now that
is considered ‘limiting’, or ‘closed-minded’.
Boys, myself included, used to play outdoors,
playing (shudder the thought today) ‘cowboys
and indians’, ‘cops and robbers’, etc. And also,
we all had working, firing CAP guns, and would run
all over the neighborhood firing them. If kids
would do that today, there would probably be a
SWAT team on site within an hour. Sadly, my kids
will never know what it is to BE a kid…..thanks Libs….

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- Abigail Adams
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 6:02am
  Are you kidding?!? Did you read that the child was FIVE?!?
  
  This had nothing to do with her being bored or trying to get a buzz. Young children will try anything. Last summer my 5 year old took a bite of a horse chestnut while playing outside at Grandma’s and we had to call poison control. It was a good reminder to keep my Syrup of Epicac up to date.
  
  Later in the summer he asked me if dandelions were edible. I was glad he asked first this time. I told him they are but he probably wouldn’t like it. He took a bite, just to see and promptly spit it out.
  
  When my older son was 2 he drank hot wax off a lit candle while we were at a birthday party. My friends had been teasing me for being a helicopter mom and never letting him out of my sight. That’s what happened when he ducked out of sight for 60 seconds. They stopped teasing me after that.
  
  When I was a kid my young cousins would eat my chocolate flavored lip gloss. There’s no alcohol in that, though.
  
  And don’t even get me started on the stuff we’ve had to pull out of little noses!!!!
  
  This poor little girl was acting like a 5 year old girl – which is what she is. thank God she didn’t die. And you can bet the hand sanitizer will be locked up in her presence from now on!
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 7:47am
  lol ABIGAIL..
  
  Now i know what it was like for my Mom….
  -I once swallowed the felt tip off a purple magic marker because it smelled like grapes.
  -She walked into the kitchen one Saturday morning to find me(6) and my brother(4) happily munching on Cheerios & Budweiser because we were out of milk.
  -pre-licking, sealing, and stamping 100-count box of Xmas card envelopes to be “helpful”
  
  .. those were just a few of or edible fiascoes… we’ve also been caught:
  
  -jumping on our bed and using the toilet plunger to stick to the ceiling.
  -taking turns “riding” in the clothes dryer.
  -blocking the bottom of the door and attempting to fill the entire bathroom up with water to “go swimming”
  -”Autographing” the various paintings on the wall with Ketchup.
  -Throwing handfuls of gravel at her car to simulate the sound of firecrackers.
  -Microwaving forks “to see the sparks”.
  -”Sledding” down the hardwood stairs on a decorative, novelty, Flexible Flyer.
  -standing at opposite ends of the basement hurling her collection of Beatles 45s at each other.
  
  Moms of the world,…. thank you for your service :)
  
  Report this comment
blackyb
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 1:57am
Why that little drunk. Maybe the libs and leftists will lower drinking ages now. The kid may sue the parents for not letting her drink with them or have the real thing. The left will figure out something.

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blackyb
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 1:56am
Maybe not enough flu is going around to suit them, so they are making a case to get rid of hand sanitizer. (That is a bit strange, but drinking hand sanitizer is not likely.)

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Ben Stewart
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 1:15am
Of course, bar almost all side sanitizers and also George Bush. It really is his fault…

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Minnaloushe
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 12:46am
Look up denatured alcohol and how the progressives would rather murder people than lose tax revenue.

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powedj
Posted on January 12, 2013 at 12:27am
Yes, ban all hand sanitizers and George Bush. It is his fault.

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PeachyinGA
Posted on January 11, 2013 at 11:56pm
In the good old days the story would be “how unfortunate that child did this.” I wait for tomorrow’s story that the child is taken away due to child neglect or teacher and school is sued for unsupervised access to deadly chemicals or sanitizer producer is sued because it didn’t contain appropriate warning that a 5 year old could read …. and on and on and on. No such thing as a simple accident. By the way the story ends with “The little girl is reported to be doing fine after the substance was out of her system.” but that won’t matter a bit.

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Maxim Crux
Posted on January 11, 2013 at 11:42pm
Drunk…really? Hand sanitizer has more in it than alcohol. The blaze editors need to be re educated on the facts. If 5 year olds are drinking sanitizer, there is a big problem with the parents or the media that condones or show that sort of thing. The five year old probably saw it on tv. What show recently showed someone drinking hand wash? Someone did because 5 year olds do not do that.

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- endthemindlessspending
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 12:17am
  Really, so every kid that ever drank poison saw it on a tv show. Kids are naturally curious and now they make poisonous things smelling like chocolate chips cookies.
  
  Report this comment
- honeydijon13
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 12:53am
  The parents were all out of bath salts.
  
  Report this comment
- betterpart
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 3:01am
  The child was attracted to the lively smells and tastes of the stuff, not the ‘hand sanitizing’ factor.
  
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HappyConservative
Posted on January 11, 2013 at 11:18pm
Kinda scary – as with all the dreaded flu outbreak this season, people will be stocking up on the stuff. Watch your kids – this is a good warning and I’m glad the little girl is OK…

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- honeydijon13
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 12:55am
  Never make things that shouldn’t be eaten smell like candy.
  This is hardly news, What brightlight manufactures this stuff.
  Like scented crayons and even some medicines.
  
  Report this comment
- Chet Hempstead
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 3:50am
  Good advice! I’m getting rid of all my Honey-Nut Drano, and raspberry paint stripper right now.
  
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- Nockamichi
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 3:47pm
  @ Chet lol
  
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salvawhoray
Posted on January 11, 2013 at 11:03pm
best high is shooting up powder milk.

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- IOWAGIR
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 6:22am
  @salvawhoray
  your comments crack me up! LMAO! Keep’em coming.
  
  So glad the little girl is ok.
  
  Report this comment
MisterSarcastic
Posted on January 11, 2013 at 10:50pm
Ban all hand sanitizers. Especially the assault sanitizers.

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- booger71
  Posted on January 11, 2013 at 10:56pm
  I am glad the white paste I used to eat as a kid was alcohol free.
  
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- Advection
  Posted on January 11, 2013 at 11:39pm
  I blame Bush.
  
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txannie
Posted on January 11, 2013 at 10:48pm
I’m too cheap to buy liquid sanitizer. We use good ole bar soap. My dr told me not to use this stuff on the babies anyway…said it was overused like the antibiotics were and a little dirt was good for the kids immunity system if they were otherwise healthy. So far, so good.

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- CatB
  Posted on January 11, 2013 at 11:13pm
  For a surgery they told me to use dial soap … I use a lot of soap and water .. I have a little (4 1/2 lb) dog who likes to lick .. I don’t want her licking hand sanitizer anyway.
  
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- drs1969
  Posted on January 12, 2013 at 12:43am
  Maybe a little dirt is also good for doctor’s business? Hand sanitizer is well worth a dollar(sometimes less) a bottle. Makes a good aftershave, too. I’m sure it’s too strong for babies.
  Be careful of bar soap if you have a septic field. The fat in it will stop things up. I’ve taken drains apart that were plugged up w/ a rainbow of colors of various bar soaps. The stuff builds up over time.
  
  Report this comment

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