5 ms·

Edit: apparently methanol is also absorbed through the skin through extensive exposure, so it's safer to stay away from it.

by cbg0 6y ago

762236 6y ago
Your dangerous comment should be downvoted into oblivion. The whole point is that methanol is dangerous to handle.
- aaronchall 6y ago
  There is methanol in all alcohol we drink. This study[1] proposes that up to 2% methanol would be fine in usual cases but .4% (the EU's limit) gives a greater margin of safety. It is conceivable that this is a costly overreaction by the FDA - you'd have to use far more hand sanitizer to absorb enough methanol to hurt you. To what degree will loss of hand sanitizer further the spread of Covid19? Reading the FDA press releases a little deeper, we find, of course, we are mostly concerned about the safety of those who might drink hand sanitizer. Of course. Of course we should be concerned about this risk. Of course. But at what cost? [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11926610/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11926610/
  - sigstoat 6y ago
    > To what degree will loss of hand sanitizer further the spread of Covid19? somewhere around not at all. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/scourge-hygiene-theater/614599/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/scourge-hy... https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/why-arent-we-talking-more-about-airborne-transmission/614737/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/why-arent...
    - glofish 6y ago
      another way to say this, hand sanitizing does not do anything (good) probably harms you in ways that today we are not keen on investigating
surbas 6y ago
This is not true. You will absorb the methanol into your skin.
- refurb 6y ago
  Sure, but it would require prolonged contact over a high body surface area to reach toxic levels. https://watermark.silverchair.com/29-7-734.pdf https://watermark.silverchair.com/29-7-734.pdf 0.192 mg/cm2/min. Toxicity starts at ~7mL for an adult male. 7ml = 5.6g. So if you dunked an adult male with a body surface area of 1.7m2 (17,000 cm2) into a vat of methanol, it would take ~2 min to absorb a toxic dose. Or you could soak your hands (~2% of body surface area) in 100% methanol for 100 min. This ignores that fact that concomitant ethanol exposure protects against methanol toxicity.
bcl 6y ago
"Methanol, or wood alcohol, is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested." https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-u...
aarongough 6y ago
Methanol exposure through the skin can also cause a lot of issues: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750029.html https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
vikramkr 6y ago
The EU banned the use of methanol in windshield washer fluid[1], and the sooner the US does the same, the better. Methanol is very toxic. You don't spread windshield washer fluid all over your hands and breathe in the vapors for a reason. That reason is that you will go blind and/or die if you do. [1] https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/new-restriction-methanol-car-windscreen-washing-fluids_en https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/new-restriction-methanol...

Edit: apparently methanol is also absorbed through the skin through extensive exposure, so it's safer to stay away from it.

by cbg0 6y ago

Edit: apparently methanol is also absorbed through the skin through extensive exposure, so it's safer to stay away from it.

762236 6y ago

Your dangerous comment should be downvoted into oblivion. The whole point is that methanol is dangerous to handle.

aaronchall 6y ago
There is methanol in all alcohol we drink. This study[1] proposes that up to 2% methanol would be fine in usual cases but .4% (the EU's limit) gives a greater margin of safety. It is conceivable that this is a costly overreaction by the FDA - you'd have to use far more hand sanitizer to absorb enough methanol to hurt you. To what degree will loss of hand sanitizer further the spread of Covid19? Reading the FDA press releases a little deeper, we find, of course, we are mostly concerned about the safety of those who might drink hand sanitizer. Of course. Of course we should be concerned about this risk. Of course. But at what cost? [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11926610/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11926610/
- sigstoat 6y ago
  > To what degree will loss of hand sanitizer further the spread of Covid19? somewhere around not at all. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/scourge-hygiene-theater/614599/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/scourge-hy... https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/why-arent-we-talking-more-about-airborne-transmission/614737/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/why-arent...
  - glofish 6y ago
    another way to say this, hand sanitizing does not do anything (good) probably harms you in ways that today we are not keen on investigating

surbas 6y ago

This is not true. You will absorb the methanol into your skin.

refurb 6y ago
Sure, but it would require prolonged contact over a high body surface area to reach toxic levels. https://watermark.silverchair.com/29-7-734.pdf https://watermark.silverchair.com/29-7-734.pdf 0.192 mg/cm2/min. Toxicity starts at ~7mL for an adult male. 7ml = 5.6g. So if you dunked an adult male with a body surface area of 1.7m2 (17,000 cm2) into a vat of methanol, it would take ~2 min to absorb a toxic dose. Or you could soak your hands (~2% of body surface area) in 100% methanol for 100 min. This ignores that fact that concomitant ethanol exposure protects against methanol toxicity.

bcl 6y ago

"Methanol, or wood alcohol, is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested." https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-u...

aarongough 6y ago

Methanol exposure through the skin can also cause a lot of issues: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750029.html https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750...

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

vikramkr 6y ago

The EU banned the use of methanol in windshield washer fluid[1], and the sooner the US does the same, the better. Methanol is very toxic. You don't spread windshield washer fluid all over your hands and breathe in the vapors for a reason. That reason is that you will go blind and/or die if you do. [1] https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/new-restriction-methanol-car-windscreen-washing-fluids_en https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/new-restriction-methanol...