Local Pharmacy Makes Own Hand Sanitizer With FDA Approval

With a shortage of hand sanitizer in big box stores and an unsure future of when stocks will be replenished, local pharmacies have been given the ok from the FDA to start compounding their own batches.

Last week the FDA and Surgeon General warned against making hand sanitizer at home but they did release new guidelines to pharmacies, opening up ways for compounding pharmacies like Red Cross Drug in Blanchard to start making much needed sanitizer.

The 100ml bottle cost about $10 and are available online with a label that says “Okie Sanitizer.” The website shows a foaming option initially, but the available options are a spray and are fill bottle.

The recipe is simple enough; a combination of hydrogen peroxide, high-proof isopropyl alcohol and distilled water making it a liquid spray, as opposed to a gel more commonly produced by big name brands like Purell.

It’s also safer than using recipes found online that the CDC says don’t include a high enough alcohol content and aren’t made in sterile enough conditions to be effective.

“Because we have a recipe, we know what the FDA is requiring, we can help be sure we’re reaching the CDC guidelines. But we are a pharmacy. We're here for health,” Libby Ross with Red Cross Drug said.

The Okie Sanitizer brand is also affiliated with the Oklahoma based Drugstore2Door company which is an on-demand, Postmates style company for pharmacies.