26-Year-Old Man Caught Drinking Hand Sanitizers

A 26-year-old alcoholic was so desperate to get his fix that he stole several hand sanitiser bottles and drank the alcohol in them.

The case, published in the American Journal of Case Reports, describes an unknown patient from France who went to his local emergency hospital with acute abdominal pain.

Despite taking pain meds, the patient continued to claim his discomfort had not lessened and grew irritated.

When doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with him, the man’s roommate told a nurse that the patient had been taking hand sanitiser bottles, concealing them in his bag, and drinking them throughout his stay.

Doctors discovered several bottles of sanitiser in the patient’s bag, of which approximately 1.5 were consumed.

The 26-year-old admitted to faking pain to gain access to the sanitiser due to addiction withdrawals.

Upon arrival at the ER, doctors reported the patient to be irritable and verbally aggressive. His abdominal exam and vitals were normal, but he had poor hygiene and a slightly elevated heart rate.

The patient was given many IV medications, including morphine for pain, but he remained agitated. When the patient complained of more pain, more doctors sent him for an abdominal scan, which revealed he had a fatty liver, which is often an indication of alcohol use disorder.

His blood tests revealed slightly elevated liver enzymes, a sign of inflammation or damage to the liver. Hand sanitisers contain about 80% pure alcohol, whereas a can of beer contains only 5%.

The doctors who treated the patient warned of an increase in these incidents as the Covid pandemic made hand sanitisers more widely available, especially in hospitals.

“Hand sanitisers are in no doubt essential tools to fight infection, protecting both the user and others,’ the physicians wrote.

“It is a major challenge to ensure the safety of alcoholic patients inside the ED while maintaining a good hand hygiene policy.”

He was admitted to the hospital under supervision for 24 hours, during which time doctors gave him fluids and injections of vitamins B1, B3, and B6 to minimise the toxicity from the alcohol and hydrate him; after he was released from the hospital, he was reportedly transferred to addiction specialists.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli