I read it, but the comment is wrong. Denatured alcohol does absorb through the skin into the bloodstream. The only reason it's called "denatured" is because other chemicals are added to it to make it undrinkable. The ethyl alcohol is still there in its original form. As I pointed out in another link, a baby ingested ethyl alcohol because its umbilical stump was wrapped in gauze and denatured ethyl alcohol. How do I know it was denatured? Because ethyl alcohol for antiseptic use is denatured so that people won't drink it.EdSutton said:I wonder if anyone else bothered to read this link you provided?
Ed
In this particular case, the baby got intoxicated, but that's because the baby was so young and its skin so easily permeated (skin is very porous at that age).
http://www.chemcases.com/alcohol/alc-04.htmAbsorption through the skin has been confirmed by a report (Dalt et al, 1991) of a case of a 1 – month old infant who became intoxicated as a result of absorption of ethyl alcohol from dressings applied to the stump of the umbilical cord and the skin adjacent to it.
I don't know why people want to remain ignorant on this point. Alcohol is gets into your pores and into the bloodstream very easily. It isn't the substance MOST able to permeate your skin (DMSO penetrates faster and deeper than alcohol), but it's one of the best.
Again, according to the Medical Safety Data Sheet on Isopropyl alcohol (the alcohol sometimes used in common rubbing alcohol, and very often used in cosmetics and hair care products):
http://www.chess.cornell.edu/safety/manual/msds/srpylch.htmMay be absorbed through the skin with possible systemic effects.
Inhalation of vapors irritates the respiratory tract. Exposure to high concentrations has a narcotic effect, producing symptoms of dizziness, drowsiness, headache, staggering, unconsciousness and possibly death.
That should end all argument on the topic, but it won't, of course.
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