Hand sanitizer: A double-edged sword used in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the emphasis of personal hygiene which was long being ignored. Measures such as hand sanitizer which were predominantly used in health-care facilities in the past have seen recent surge in its usage everywhere. The availability of hand sanitizer in almost all the settings in this pandemic including the household has heralded a new step in personal hygiene. People across the world are using hand sanitizer everywhere. As much is known about its beneficial effect in preventing the spread of pathogens, its injudicious use has resulted in discovering its adverse effect if misused. We hereby present a case where the patient with Type 1 diabetes mellitus presented with hand sanitizer ingestion. This case highlights the unwanted effects and lethality of hand sanitizer if used in an unintended manner and hence alert us for its judicious use in the pandemic.