Thai prisons ban alcohol-based gel after inmate dies, others hospitalised from drinking hand sanitiser

Alcohol-based hand sanitiser is being banned at Thai prisons after one inmate died, another blinded, and 31 others injured from mixing the hand gel with soft drinks to get drunk. All forms of alcohol products are typically prohibited on prison grounds, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, with major outbreaks at Thai prisons infecting tens of thousands of inmates, rules were loosened to allow alcohol-based sanitiser gels. The sanitiser will now be replaced with liquid soap.

A group of inmates at a prison in the northeastern province Nong Bua Lamphu stole the hand sanitiser and then mixed it with soft drinks to make a cocktail. Some inmates who drank a large amount of the mixture ended up in the prison hospital. One inmate died and another lost his vision. Other inmates who did not drink as much reported dizziness, vomiting, and a stomachache.

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Drinking alcohol-based hand gel can lead to methanol poisoning, which can lead to blindness and even death. Others who ingest sanitiser gel made with ethanol or methanol might experience symptoms like vomiting, abdominal pain, and blurry vision.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World