Chinese toddler dies of methanol poisoning after parents wipe industrial alcohol on skin for fever
Industrial alcohol, which has a methyl concentration of at least 95 per cent, is easily absorbed into the skin of young children and can cause severe nerve damage
A two-year-old Chinese boy died from methanol poisoning on Sunday after his parents wiped industrial alcohol on his skin to try to cool him down because he had a fever, mainland media reports.
The child from Dongguan city, in Guangdong province, lost consciousness after his parents rubbed up to 1000 ml of industrial alcohol on his armpits to try to reduce his body temperature, the New Express Daily reports.
Although the boy was taken to hospital, he later died from methanol poisoning, the newspaper reported.
“When [the parents] arrived at the hospital, they did not know it was the alcohol that had caused this; they thought it was the fever that had made the child lose consciousness,” said Ma Weike, a doctor at Shenzhen Children’s Hospital.
Industrial alcohol has a methyl concentration of at least 95 per cent, the newspaper report said. It is easily absorbed into the skin, especially by young children, and can cause severe nerve damage.
The boy’s parents both work in a factory, where they have access to a large quantity of industrial alcohol.
They were left devastated at the news of their son’s death and regretted their actions, the report said.
