US phenomenon: Homeless people consume antiseptic for corona hands and die or lose vision due to high methanol percentage

• New Mexico phenomenon: Homeless people consume disinfectant and die

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Three dead, three in human condition and one person who lost their eyesight immediately - these are the dire consequences of a new phenomenon observed in the New Mexico state of homeless people drinking disinfectant into their hands to get drunk. 

While hand sanitizers are supposed to be used for this purpose alone, many street vendors in the country have started consuming them as alcoholic beverages, due to the high alcohol content of these products. However, while there are products in which the alcohol component does not endanger the consumer, in this case it is methanol, others are methanol, which is toxic and dangerous and can cause death, kidney damage, blindness and many other damages. The damage will not necessarily result from ingestion of the product, but also from the inhaling of the material and sometimes even its smear on the body. 

It should be noted that the US Federal Health Organization (FDA) issued a severe warning against some of the antiseptics for the hands of a Mexican company imported to the United States, due to the high amounts of methanol that made the substances toxic in the event of ingestion or use. However, these warnings seem to be unhelpful and many homeless people, as well as drug addicts, tend to obtain disinfectants and make drinks from them, with some of the toxic and dangerous substances being found.  

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Professor Brandon Warrick, a poisoning and addiction expert at the University of New Mexico, said in an interview with The New York Times: "I've never seen such a wave of methanol poisoning. I usually see such a wave when the liquor goes up. This time, probably because of a lot of consumption. Of alcohol disinfectants, the homeless buy cheaper products, drink them or make them liquor - and kill themselves because they contain not alcohol but methanol. " 

The New Mexico Secretary of Health and Local Health Services did not provide official data on the extent of the phenomenon, but issued a special statement stating, "If you think you have consumed or used methanol-containing material, contact your local health department immediately, we have a remedy but it helps more when the substance has not yet significantly affected you. ".