New Delhi: A recent study has noted that the rise in alcohol-based hand sanitisers amid the Covid-19 pandemic led to some serious eye injuries among children in France last year.
Researchers in the study, which was published in the JAMA Ophthalmology on 21 January, used data from the French Poison Control Center and a paediatric ophthalmology referral hospital in Paris. The study was led by Dr. Gilles Martin, an ophthalmologist at the Rothschild Foundation Hospital in Paris.
It has found that there was a seven-fold increase in alcohol-based hand sanitiser-related eye exposure among children in 2020 compared to 2019.
“In 2019, hand sanitizer accounted for just 1.3 per cent of all chemical eye exposure incidents in the pediatric database. By the end of 2020, that number was up to 9.9 per cent. Just one toddler in France required hospitalisation for sanitizer in his eyes in 2019. In 2020, 16 children were hospitalised for such chemical exposure,” the study noted.
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‘Warn parents, caregivers about sanitisers’
The study was conducted from 1 April to 24 August 2020 and cases of eye problems due to alcohol-based sanitisers among those below 18 years were reviewed.
Data collected included age, sex, nature of exposure, symptoms of injury, nature and size of the epithelial (a thin tissue that covers the front of the cornea) defect, among other factors.
The study noted, “Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be involved in eye injuries, although it is not a caustic solution but usually considered as an irritant.” The researchers further said that health authorities should ensure the safe use of hand sanitisers and warn parents as well as caregivers about their potential for danger.
According to the French Poison Control Centers, cases of alcohol-based hand sanitiser exposure increased from 33 in 2019 to 232 in 2020. The study also noted that it was from a French national retrospective review and may, therefore, not reflect the epidemiology of other countries.
‘Can cause abrasion on cornea’
Speaking to ThePrint, Dr Carreen Pakrasi, director of ophthalmology at the Medanta hospital in Gurugram, explained that similar instances have taken place in many other parts of the world too.
While such incidents have been reported in some ophthalmology journals, Pakrasi said she did not know how many cases have occurred in India.
“Alcohol is a chemical toxin for the eye and most hand sanitizers contain various concentrations of alcohol, which is toxic to the epithelial,” Pakrasi added.
She further explained that most such incidents took place via the hand-rub gel as it was thicker. “It causes abrasion on the cornea. It depends on the time period of contact and the amount of gel that has entered the eye,” explained Dr Pakrasi.
While the same could happen with a spray hand sanitiser too, Dr Pakrasi explained that unlike a gel-based sanitiser, aerosols from the former do not penetrate eyes.
“It happens more with children as their hand eye-coordination is less as well as experience with such bottles,” she further said. Dr Pakrasi also noted how in public places or even at home, sanitisers are placed and designed in such a manner that they remain at waist-length for adults but at eye-levels for children.
Most hand sanitiser-related eye incidents are minor and can cause mild irritation. Water usually helps bring relief but a few serious cases have also been reported, where the cornea has been severely damaged, Pakrasi noted.
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