Two-thirds of reports of poisoning involving alcohol hand wipes involve intentional use, according to British researchers who said that the sanitary wipes and liquids may pose a hazard to alcoholics.

Researcher Paul Dargan of Guy's and St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and colleagues found that poison-control center reports of adult ingestion of alcohol hand cleaners -- both intentional and unintentional -- rose 314 percent between the time that only hand wipes were available and when liquid alcoholic hand rubs became widely available.

All of the cases involved ingestion in hospitals or nursing homes. The most serious cases were those involving ingestion of 500 ml or more of alcoholic hand rubs.

The authors recommended more controls over larger hand-wipe dispensers, such as placing them in locked or secured areas.

The study was published in the Dec. 1, 2007 issue of the British Medical Journal.