The West Valley Christian Academy student is fine now, but on March 9 suffered an “adverse reaction” after licking the gel off her hands, Principal Teresa Smith said.
The child was taken to the hospital from the school, at 1790 Sequoia Boulevard.
The school until last week had stocked in every classroom jugs of the germ-killing gel, which can contain up to 90 percent alcohol.
Parents donate jugs to help protect kids from spreading colds or the flu.
Now, the school will only accept alcohol-free hand sanitizer, Smith wrote in a letter to parents of 250 kindergarteners through eighth graders.
Tracy Unified School District provides alcohol-based hand sanitizers to a few schools, Gary Jayne, director of material management said.
He said a Tracy Unified safety committee that meets quarterly is evaluating whether to discontinue allowing the substance in classrooms.
The Academy’s Smith said at a Parent Teacher Fellowship meeting earlier this year, she’d encouraged parents to send hand sanitizer without alcohol.
“Now we’ve made the administrative decision to not allow it on campus at all,” she said.
Roberto Alaniz, director of Disease Control and Prevention at the San Joaquin County public health department, said he recommends schools require children to wash their hands with soap or use non-alcoholic sanitizer to reduce risks.
Contact Tracy Press reporter Cassie Tomlin at 830-4225 or ctomlin@tracypress.com.
I agree with tomgreen123.
We are soft as a nation compared to others, they KNOW how to survive, do we?
Parents, perhaps you need lesson in hygiene, sneeze into the arm or elbow, not hands. Keep hands away from your face, make sure your kids follow your example.
And don't lick what was on your hand, ugh!
CN
CN
How long have we had this stuff around, and when the first kid decided to lick it, all of a sudden it's a danger to all?
I can see if kids every day were getting sick from this stuff but one child does it and it's out with the alcohol gel?
This society is raising a bunch of sissies. Protect everyone from everything! What the hell ever happened to "live and learn"?
What next? Protective covers on stoves to keep kids from burning themselves? If they do it once, normal kids won't do it twice. "Once bitten, twice shy."
Come on people, no wonder other countries hate us, you're all a group of germaphobes and sissies.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/medical/a/hand_sanitizer.htm
http://www.upstate.edu/poison/pdf/pp_info_sheets/websht_Hand Sanitizers.pdf
I am happy to hear that the child is doing well.
Sounds pretty silly?things happen folks.and has been for anyone who has been a child before,which we all have.
If one child falls off his/her bike at school will they ban bicycles at school. If one first grader eats paste and throws up will they ban paste? Perhaps parents or a teacher could tell the eight year olds that hand sanitizer is to be rubbed into their hands to prevent illness but don't lick it off, even if someone dares you to, because it will make you sick, .
Better yet, just keep passing nanny laws so that no one, anywhere, ever gets hurt in our oh so litigous society because heaven knows there is no room for common sense or personal responsiblity or learning that for every action there is a consequence.
Have the parents of the hospitalized child sued the school yet??
Yesterday, at my office I was attacked by goose protecting his mate while I was walking by the lake on the campus. I have a bump on the head and a scratch on my arm. Should I sue my employer or simply accept the fact that it was stupid of me to walk so close to a goose protecting his mate? I choose the latter because the former makes me someone I don't want to be.
Sanitizer tastes as bad as soap (and yes I did a "taste test" to confirm my suspicions) and I'd bet the child has been taught not to put soap in his/her mouth. It's about educating children, especially young ones when something new or different enters their lives. There are products and situations children will encounter every day that will "test" them. No matter what the age, they need the "tools", a little bit of common sense, and lots of love and support from adults they can ask questions of to NOT end up with an "adverse reaction" or worse to something they encounter.
Parents, take the time to explain "germs" to your kids and to keep their hands away from their eyes, nose and mouth. Bacteria and viruses are easily transmitted this way. Teach them, less trips to doctors' office.
CN
PS. Wondered if she did it on a "dare"?
Keep the hand sanitizer with alcohol in the schools and have an ambulance in the parking lot just in case. Just an idea. I'm joking commenters. This is like an article in the Sunday funnies! (It's nothing against you Cassie Tomlin!)
Ok, so this is really dumb. My 3 year old even knows not to lick the sanitizer off of his hands. I mean really, a third grader? Did the parents not teach this kid anything? And why keep sanitizer from everyone? Why don't they just make sure the sanitizer eating kid stays away from it. When the class gets H1N1, cold or flu they know who to blame....! LOL My goodness...