Is this considered a relapse?
 

If someone had been in recovery for a while and told you that they had been ingesting hand sanitizer would that be considered a relapse?

For the purpose of getting intoxicated ? Yes.

In my opinion if the person is ingesting it to get a buzz then yes and I can't imagine any other reason for anyone to ingest hand sanitizer.

I would say that it's complete 100 percent denial of their illness not just a relapse

Are you doing that inspired? It's very dangerous!

There is no reason at all to ingest hand sanitizer other than to get high. So I would say yes.

That sounds incredibly dangerous.

Got to ask how? and after that the only thing would be why!
Oh and the sobriety , if the answer is no they need help with another disorder, if the answer is yes well they need to start the next phase of sobriety beginning with day one.
John.

Since I can see no other reason to do such a thing, I would say yes. And as others have pointed out, that's incredibly dangerous!

Big time.

That is dangerous. It is far better drinking classical booze. Hand sanitizer may be toxic and has alcohol also. Please read this
Drinking Hand Sanitizer - Can You Drink Hand Sanitizer or Get Drunk on It?

If someone I knew was NOT in recovery and ingesting hand sanitizer I would suggest they START recovery immediately.

I had an alcoholic friend who might still be with us, if it weren't for his habit of drinking listerine at work. Resulted in multiple organ failure.

Hard to even type that out, but I thought I should mention it.

Oh yes.

Same as the others. Major red flag here.

It not only is a relapse it's dangerous.

This is terrifying. I had no idea people did this.

Of course it is a relapse. I knew a guy in treatment and subsequently a half-way house. He was a really nice guy. He started smelling very strong of mouthwash. Finally, we found out that he had been drinking mass quantities of Listerine. He was buying it by the case. Thing is I am sure that in his mind he had convinced himself that he was not relapsing and this was not considered drinking. Otherwise why not just drink, right? Alcohol addiction at the basic level is a very crazy thing. There are many shades and delusions associated with the addiction and this is just another example.

Drinking hand sanitizer or mouth wash or vanilla extract is a sign of a true alcoholic. They need that alcohol in their system, but they don't want to be caught buying alcoholic beverages. It's a sure sign that they are so addicted, they'll do whatever they have to in order to keep alcohol in their system. It's a HUGE deal when they go that far.

Why would you ask such a question, when you already know the answer, Inspiredbypete?

Are you really asking for a friend, or has your AV convinced you that someone may consider drinking hand sanitizer as normal and acceptable during recovery?

Hoping the best for you.