Teenagers Abusing Hand Sanitizer

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the amount of teenagers who reported exposure to hand sanitizer in an effort to get drunk or to get an alcohol high has risen rapidly in 2012. The effects of abusing hand sanitizer can include sedation, vomiting, loss of coordination, slowed reaction time and slowed breathing, but it hasn’t been reported to be life threatening.

Teenagers have found recipes online that make ingesting the hand sanitizer tastier than just drinking it right out of the bottle—and some have even found ways to separate the alcohol from the gel. This hand sanitizer abuse is a very interesting and strange development, but it’s nothing new to find out that teens are trying to find ways to get intoxicated. Parents and guardians are now being encouraged to treat hand sanitizer similar to how you treat prescriptions and medications in the house. It’s also being encouraged to purchase a foam based sanitizer so it’s less appealing for teenagers to abuse recreationally.

If you find that your teenager is continuously resorting to hand sanitizer to abuse it recreationally, then there might be a more serious underlying substance abuse issue. Abusing something like hand sanitizer or any household item containing alcohol or ethanol demonstrates that the teenager is most likely aware that what they are doing is more dangerous than drinking a beer and it could be a potential sign for future more harmful substance abuse. Parents and guardians who become aware of teenagers abuse of household items should seek professional help for them immediately. Seabrook is a great option for professional help because individually inspired treatment programs are offered to patients based on their unique needs, history, health, and interests. Many people have successfully recovered from addiction after inpatient treatment at Seabrook because they were able to relate to their program and they learned ways to fight cravings and stay sober once their rehabilitation stint was over. Seabrook has locations in New Jersey (NJ), Pennsylvania (PA) and an outpatient office in New York (NY). Contact Seabrook today at 1.(888) 223-0298 to find out ways for you to beat your addiction!