Desperate Yet Methodical Teens Get Alcohol Poisioning From Drinking Hand Sanitizer

Children sneaking into their parents’ liquor cabinet or getting an older relative to buy them some beer certainly isn’t anything new under the sun. But I’ll tell you what is. Teenagers being so desperate for drunk time that they drink hand sanitizer. However, they aren’t chugging that Purell straight from that travel-sized bottle. These kids are methodically separating the alcohol first and then drinking it straight — like hard alcohol.

According to msnbc, a tiny bottle of Purell is quickly being seen as a “teenage happy hour” as six teenagers have already been hospitalized for alcohol poisioning. In a move that probably takes more effort than procuring a fake ID, kids are Googling “How To Use Salt to Seperate Purell” and using salt, cheesecloths, and several bottles of sanitizer to get hammered.

Msnbc points out that Purell and the like is pretty cheap and easy to get a hold of if you’re a kid. So those who are really gunning it to experience inebriation are spending who knows how much time squeezing sanitizer over measured teaspoons of salt.

Dr. Calvin Lowe described the practice as “very, very dangerous,” particularly for someone who has no experience drinking. Although “hand sanitizer parties” have yet to make national headlines, public health officials are reportedly looking to address this problem now before the instances becomes more widespread — or perhaps before kids start checking the alcohol content on antibacterial wipes.

(photo: deepspacedave/Shutterstock)