Several posts have been doing the rounds on social media that claim that touching your pets after using hand sanitizer can be toxic for the pets. The posts claim that hand sanitizer is similar to anti-freeze and contains ethanol glycol which can be toxic if pets lick it.
At the time of filing this report, the above post had over 5 lakh shares.
PET OWNERS PLEASE BE AWARE THAT HAND SANITIZER HAS THE SAME INGREDIENTS AS ANTIFREEZE.
DON’T LET ANIMALS LICK IT OFF YOUR HANDS
IT CAN KILL.— KAREN SWOPE*SOCIAL DISTANCING*STAY AT HOME (@AndthenIsleep) March 20, 2020
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FACT CHECK
We fact-checked the above claims and found them to be false.
We first Google searched the ingredients found in a hand sanitizer, and through Britannica, we found that ethanol glycol as mentioned in the posts is not a chemical at all. It is actually called ‘ethanol glycol’, which is not found in hand sanitizers. The component in hand sanitizers is simply ethanol.
We then also checked the composition of anti-freeze, which indeed does contain ethylene glycol – a component which can be toxic for pets, as per the Pet Poison Helpline.
In conclusion, the above facts confirm that the viral claims are false as hand sanitizer is not the same as anti-freeze and touching your pets after using hand sanitizer will not prove toxic to them.
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