Hand sanitisers are urgently needed in the time of COVID-19, and as a result of shortages, some people have resorted to making their own formulations, including the repurposing of distilleries. We wish to highlight the importance of those producing hand sanitisers to avoid methylated spirits containing methanol and to follow WHO recommended formulations. We explore and discuss reports of methanol toxicity through ingestion and transdermal absorption. We discuss the WHO formulations and explain the rationale behind the chosen ingredients. We advise those producing hand sanitisers to follow WHO recommended formulations, and advise those producing hand sanitisers using methylated spirits, to avoid formulations which contain methanol.

中文翻译：

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潜在的甲醇毒性以及在 COVID-19 时代使用标准化酒精类洗手液配方的重要性。


在 COVID-19 疫情期间，人们迫切需要洗手液，由于短缺，一些人不得不自行配制，包括改变酿酒厂的用途。我们希望强调洗手液生产商避免使用含有甲醇的甲基化酒精并遵循世卫组织推荐配方的重要性。我们探讨并讨论了甲醇通过摄入和透皮吸收而产生毒性的报道。我们讨论世界卫生组织的配方并解释所选成分背后的基本原理。我们建议生产洗手液的企业遵循世界卫生组织推荐的配方，并建议使用甲基化酒精生产洗手液的企业避免使用含有甲醇的配方。