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Alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS) are ubiquitous for combating COVID-19 — but are there consequences? In a national retrospective study of ocular exposures to ABHS, investigators in France assessed such exposures in children younger than 18 years during April through August of 2019 compared with the same period in 2020.
All reports of pediatric chemical eye exposures were less frequent during the study period in 2020 than in 2019. However, incidence of reports attributed to ABHS rose to 232 cases (9.9%; mean age, 4.5 years) in 2020 compared with 33 cases (1.3%; mean age, 3.4 years) in 2019. Among all reports, <2% involved significant eye injuries. Most pediatric ABHS exposures occurred in stores and shopping malls. In a case series at a single ocular center of 16 pediatric ABHS-related eye exposures, 8 cases included corneal or conjunctival ulcers (6 of which involved more than half of the cornea).
Martin GC et al. Pediatric eye injuries by hydroalcoholic gel in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. JAMA Ophthalmol 2021 Jan 21; [e-pub]. (https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2020.6346)
Comment
Young children are at particular risk for serous eye injury from ABHS because of the height of ABHS dispensers, viscosity of some products, and lack of immediate access to eye-wash facilities in public venues. We should educate parents about this lesser-known risk linked to ABHS, especially when they are in large public spaces with many hand-sanitizer stations.