Study: Hand Sanitizer Can Skew Alcohol Test

[rockin'robin]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Hand sanitizer fanatics, beware. A University of Florida study has found that frequent use of the cleansers can cause a person to test positive for alcohol consumption.

Using the alcohol-based sanitizers a few times a day is probably not enough to show up on a urine test. But for people whose jobs require repeated hand sanitizer use -- such as doctors and nurses -- the amount of alcohol absorbed through the skin could lead to a false positive.

Study co-author Dr. Gary Reisfield said he was inspired to do the study after coming into contact with people at Shands Recovery Center who tested positive but denied having consumed alcohol.

He said people need to be aware of other hidden sources of alcohol, too, such as mouthwashes and cosmetics.

Study: Hand Sanitizer Can Skew Alcohol Test - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville

 

[Jiro]

gotta love DUI lawyers trying to get their clients out of it :roll:

 

[Reba]

Seems kinda lame, to me. First of all, in the case of DUI's, either the police pulled over the driver for erratic driving, or there was an accident, so probable cause for suspecting drinking. Secondly, they usually do a field sobriety test before administering the breath test. The tests usually just confirm the DUI rather than establish the driver as drunk (practically speaking). It's highly doubtful that drivers who aren't driving erratically, didn't have an accident, and passed the field test with flying colors, will blow a false positive just because they sanitize their hands frequently.

 

[Beowulf]

Seems kinda lame, to me. First of all, in the case of DUI's, either the police pulled over the driver for erratic driving, or there was an accident, so probable cause for suspecting drinking. Secondly, they usually do a field sobriety test before administering the breath test. The tests usually just confirm the DUI rather than establish the driver as drunk (practically speaking). It's highly doubtful that drivers who aren't driving erratically, didn't have an accident, and passed the field test with flying colors, will blow a false positive just because they sanitize their hands frequently.

I, too, wash my hands of the whole concept.

 

[Reba]

I, too, wash my hands of the whole concept.

 

[rockin'robin]

Have heard people drinking a lot of mouth wash and even Nyquil...whenever they don't have any alcohol to drink....even rubbing alcohol.....so guess you could be "driving impaired" if you drank enuf of this stuff....

 

[Reba]

Have heard people drinking a lot of mouth wash and even Nyquil...whenever they don't have any alcohol to drink....even rubbing alcohol.....so guess you could be "driving impaired" if you drank enuf of this stuff....

If they actually drink products that include alcohol it can get into their systems, yes.

 

[Daredevel7]

Have heard people drinking a lot of mouth wash and even Nyquil...whenever they don't have any alcohol to drink....even rubbing alcohol.....so guess you could be "driving impaired" if you drank enuf of this stuff....

Ever seen Intervention? One alcoholic even resorted to drinking mouthwash to get drunk off of it.

As for the whole thing, it's ridiculous. 1) Agree with post #2, #3, and #4. 2) This is another one of those studies that probably will scare a few people into not using the product out of fear, but in reality you have to really misuse the product in gross excess in order to get the results that the studies have shown.