CDC: People are dying after drinking hand sanitizer

(CNN) The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people are getting sick, and even dying, from ingesting hand sanitizer.

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, hand sanitizer is much more common.

It’s great for keeping hands clean, but it’s not safe to swallow.

The CDC says some children might drink hand sanitizer by mistake, and some people might think it’s a substitute for an alcoholic drink, but it’s not.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently put out a warning to be on the lookout for methanol in some hand sanitizers distributed in the US.

Methanol is toxic and can even poison people through their skin.

The CDC said 15 adults in Arizona and New Mexico were hospitalized between May and June for methanol poisoning after consuming alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Four of them died, six developed seizures while in the hospital and three were discharged with new visual impairments.