His Blood Spoke My Name said:
Rubbing alcohol does not contain ethyl. I have a bottle sitting here on my desk now. It clearly says halfway through the label:
Notice: This product does not contain ethyl or grain alcohol and is not sold as a substitute for preparation containing ethyl or grain alcohol.
The nurse I spoke with confirmed that the hospitals use the same rubbing alcohol. 70% Isopropyl by volume and purified water.
I thought we were dropping this subject.
Not ALL rubbing alcohol contains ethyl alcohol. Some of it is isopropyl alcohol. Some rubbing alcohol DOES contain ethyl alcohol. In the latter case, it is a mixture of acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and ethyl alcohol. You happen to have a bottle of Isopropyl, which is the most common kind of rubbing alcohol today. But it's not the only kind.
BOTH types of alcohol are absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream. However, Isopropyl alcohol is actually more dangerous than ethyl alcohol (about twice as toxic), and is more likely to cause death when ingested even in small amounts. The tiny amount that you absorb through the skin will not intoxicate you, but even that little amount can destroy some of your intestinal flora, which (trust me) is a bad thing.
From Merriam Webster:
Main Entry:
rubbing alcohol
Function: noun
: a cooling and soothing liquid for external application that contains approximately 70 percent
denatured ethanol or isopropanol
Main Entry:
eth·a·nol
Pronunciation: 'e-th&-"nol, -"nOl, Britain also 'E-
Function: noun
: a colorless volatile flammable liquid C2H5OH that is
the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a solvent and in fuel --
called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol
Main Entry:
de·na·ture
Pronunciation: (")dE-'nA-ch&r
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): de·na·tured; de·na·tur·ing /-'nA-ch(&-)ri[ng]/
transitive verb
1 : DEHUMANIZE
2 : to deprive of natural qualities : change the nature of: as a :
to make (alcohol) unfit for drinking (as by adding an obnoxious substance) without impairing usefulness for other purposes b : to modify the molecular structure of (as a protein or DFNA) especially by heat, acid, alkali, or ultraviolet radiation so as to destroy or diminish some of the original properties and especially the specific biological activity
intransitive verb : to become denatured
- de·na·tur·ant /(")dE-'nA-ch&r-&nt/ noun
- de·na·tur·ation /(")dE-"nA-ch&-'rA-sh&n/ noun
The reason for the other ingredients besides ethanol in rubbing alcohol (the reason it's called denatured) is to make sure people don't buy it to drink it. That's also why Isopropanol is such a popular rubbing alcohol -- it's undrinkable unless you want to die.