[modified and supplemented according to MDR Aktuell, 03.06.2020] Disinfectants often contain larger amounts of pure alcohol. This can be a relapse risk for reformed alcoholics, especially in combination with the social isolation caused by the Corona lock-down. But also in withdrawal and rehabilitation facilities, where regular hand disinfection is part of the daily hygiene routine, disinfectants from dosing racks are regularly consumed by alcoholic patients.
For alcoholics, disinfectants are by no means harmless. However, the fatal assumption that alcohol from disinfectants may enter the bloodstream directly through the skin is a myth. It is more conceivable to inhale higher concentrations of alcohol over a longer period of time. But what’s even worse, however, is disinfectant vapour in the surrounding air addressing the addictive memory of alcoholics, even if they have renounced the drug many years ago – regardless, what kind of alcohol it is. That danger lurks almost everywhere – even at home. The smell alone can be the entry point to relapse.