Gel has 62% ethyl alcohol; it's akin to hard liquor and can sicken with a few shots.

Doctors are seriously worried about a sick trend - teens drinking hand sanitizer.

Six young people recently landed in a Southern California emergency room with alcohol poisoning after chugging the antimicrobial gel.

Hand sanitizer contains a whopping 62% ethyl alcohol - making the foul liquid akin to a shot of hard liquor.

YouTube has seen an influx of videos of teens chugging the foul germ-killing goo.

Dr. Young-jin Sue, a pediatric toxicologist at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, said that she hasn't seen any cases of teens coming into the ER after overdosing on the alcohol-rich gel.

"Teens don't have access to ethyl alcohol so they resort to crazy things," she said. "It's very concentrated, just a few ounces can make someone sick."

Teens have a long tradition of looking in the medicine cabinet in order get a cheap buzz.

A few years ago, teens were chugging cough syrup in order to get at the opiate-like effects of dextromethorphan. Certain mouthwashes contain ethyl alcohol as well. Before pseudoephedrine went behind the pharmacy counter, teens sought it out for a quick high.

In California, where the cases were reported, authorities are suggesting parents keep an eye on their sanitizer pumps.

If they're really worried, they can buy the gel in foam form, since it's harder to extract alcohol from it.