Alcohol
levels in mouth rinses can be dangerous for young children.
While mouth rinses are a common household product, it is not widely
known that the alcohol content in mouth rinses can be dangerous
to young children, who are easily drawn to giving them a try.
Mouth
rinses are made to taste good, look colorful, and are available
without child-resistant caps. We all know that children like to
mimic their parents, and a child seeing a parent use a mouth rinse
might want to try it too.
Ethanol content
in many mouth rinses can be pretty high. Even a small amount of
mouth rinse with ethanol can achieve a high blood alcohol content
in a child very quickly. For example, a small child who drinks
a half-cup of mouth rinse, with an ethanol content of 27 per cent,
is taking-in a dangerous level of ethanol.
Ethanol is
absorbed quickly in a child's stomach, and just as quickly enters
the bloodstream, and immediate medical attention is required.
Signs that a child may have alcohol toxicity include irritability,
unconsciousness, unresponsiveness and possibly convulsions.
Children under
the age of six do not need to use a mouth rinse for any reason.
Mouth rinses with ethanol should be kept out of children's reach.
To be safer yet, only mouth rinses that come with child-resistant
caps should be purchased.
If you have
concerns about mouth rinses or potential alcohol toxicity in your
child, ask Dr. Rex Hoang
about it.
