HANDS ON!

While hand sanitisers are now an everyday staple, there seems to be growing concern over exposing our lil ones to harmful toxins. M&B investigates....

- Dr Bhaskar Shenoy

The last two years were all about keeping ourselves safe, and if you're a mum, protecting your li'l one too, in the best way you can. Masks became our latest new accessory and hand sanitisers were the new travel staple.

During this coronavirus pandemic, due to an exponential increase in the usage of hand sanitisers, many cases of accidental ingestion of hand sanitisers among children or accidental spraying of hand sanitisers into the eyes were reported. These incidents are known to cause life-threatening or adverse consequences such as gastrointestinal tract irritation, vomiting, nausea, blindness, drowsiness, confusion, hospitalizations and even death. Furthermore, overuse of sanitisers is reported to increase the risk of antibiotic resistance, risk of other viral diseases, skin damage, reducing the skin's ability to act as a natural barrier against other harmful viruses, etc.

DANGERS OF FREQUENT AND INCREASED USE OF HAND SANITISERS