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How hand sanitizer can put your childs life at risk
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Many teens across the United States are using hand sanitizer to get drunk, which puts their life and body at extreme risk. image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/263262064 - photo by Herb Scribner
Hand sanitizer is known for ridding people of germs and bacteria, in effect keeping people healthy.

But after swallowing two to three squirts, hand sanitizer can be deadly. In fact, it can make people, especially children and teens, dangerously drunk and give them alcohol poisoning, according to CNN.

And it seems many teens arent aware of this. Many U.S. teens will drink the sanitizer to get drunk, and others will sip it because they were dared to do so, according to CNN.

"A kid is not thinking this is bad for them," Dr. Gaylord Lopez, the Georgia Poison Centers director, told CNN. "A lot of the more attractive (hand sanitizers) are the ones that are scented. There are strawberry, grape, orange-flavored hand sanitizers that are very appealing to kids."

And it's not just teens who have been poisoned by sanitizer, but children, too. The Georgia Poison Center said the U.S. has seen about a 400 percent increase in calls for children 12 and younger swallowing hand sanitizer, according to CNN.

"Kids are getting into these products more frequently, and unfortunately, there's a percentage of them going to the emergency room, Lopez told CNN.

Most hand sanitizers include isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, which is toxic and can damage ones nervous system, according to chemistry expert Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

This kind of alcohol, commonly found in hand sanitizers or nail-polish removers, can make one go blind and cause brain, liver and kidney damage, Helmenstine wrote.

However, the main risk of drinking hand sanitizer isn't from the toxic chemicals, but from the extremely high alcohol content, Helmenstine wrote. Most people who are hospitalized from drinking hand sanitizer get there because of alcohol poisoning (overdose). The alcohol content is so high that it is easy to drink a dangerous amount of alcohol before feeling the initial effects.

Most hand sanitizers include between 45 and 95 percent alcohol, where as beer and wine contain between 5 and 12 percent, CNN reported. Sipping too much sanitizer will often lead to alcohol poisoning, according to CNN.

Alcohol poisoning usually occurs when someone drinks a high amount of alcohol in a short amount of time, Medical News Today reported. It can cause extreme confusion, disorientation and even make people go into a coma, according to Medical News Today.

Hand sanitizer is far from the first tool that youngsters have used to try to get drunk, according to ABC News. Theyve also tried soaking gummy bears with alcohol and pouring alcohol into their eyes, ABC News reported.

But these tactics also put teens at risk for suffering from alcohol poisoning, blindness and body damage, according to KidsHealth.

To help teens avoid those risks, KidsHealth encourages parents to explain to their children that they dont have to drink just because of social and peer pressure, which is often the driving force behind a teens decision to drink alcohol.

It can be tempting to try alcohol. It's normal to be curious about new things, especially if it seems like everyone is doing it, KidsHealth reported. But everyone is not drinking alcohol. Don't believe it if someone says you're immature for not drinking. You're actually more mature (which means grown up) because you're being strong and smart.

Parents may also want to encourage their children to seek out a trusted friend for advice about not wanting to drink alcohol, KidsHealth reported.

Good friends won't stop being your friend just because you don't want to drink alcohol, according to KidsHealth. If you feel this kind of pressure, talk to someone you trust.

For more on child alcohol use:

Derailing kids: Alcohol and drugs send children as young as 10 off-course

Playing favorites can increase the chance a child will use drugs and alcohol

Teens who consume energy drinks more likely to use drugs, alcohol
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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