Anti-freeze poisoning... [Archive]

ILikeMy240sx

11-09-03, 10:05 AM

Last night I was working with anti-freeze coolant (25% coolant, 75% distilled water) a little bit got on my lips and I didn't think to wash if off or anything since it was so little... Since last night Im having upset stomach (nausea, wanna vomit) and headache, dizziness.... Would that little amount cause poisoning to make me this sick????

juliendogg

11-09-03, 10:09 AM

it's possible, ethylene glycol is some nasty nasty stuff. A small amount of it can kill small animals. If it was that diluted, i wouldn't have expected it to make u sick. But i suppose it could have.

J.

Hope u feel betta man

altec

11-09-03, 10:25 AM

Man, I hope its not the ethylene glycol that is making you feel bad. That is some very very nasty stuff. If you continue to feel bad, I would go see a doc, and describe your delimma.....that stuff can cause some serious damage.

omaticrail

11-09-03, 10:44 AM

Dude, call a poison control center immediately. It can't hurt to ask.

JasonKosi

11-09-03, 12:29 PM

Definitely call your local poison control center.

That said, I doubt you got a lethal dose. 25% of a few drops of a anti-freeze/water solution works out to be a truely miniscule amount. Have you eaten anything un- or under-cooked recently?

Ethylene glycol poisoning in small animals typically leads to kidney/renal failure. Poisoning is detectable by crystals in the kidneys and consquently the urine. Symptoms in cats are similar to alcohol intoxication. There is no antidote for feline ethylene glycol poisoning. Dogs are more lucky as there is an antidote that is fairly effective if administered soon enough.

Humans have a huge advantage over most small animals: mass. The amount of poison required to adversely a human is generally significantly greater than that of small animal.

The real danger of ethylene glycol is not that it's just poisonous, but the fact that it is also known to taste pleasantly sweet. If it tastes good, it can't be poisonous, right?

BladeRunner

11-09-03, 12:45 PM

Unlikely as I've often siphoned my cooling system by sucking on a tube and got a mouthful of coolant, (25% ethylene glycol). Of course everybody is different and some maybe effected by a smaller amount than others........... seek medical advice if your symptoms remain the same or worsen and avoid doing it again

JDXNC

11-09-03, 01:04 PM

If you keep feeling like that seek help, but that small amount would not worry me too much.... years ago people used to check if the anti-freeze in thier car was still good by tasting it to see if it was sweet... if so its still good. Thats no BS!

ILikeMy240sx

11-09-03, 01:33 PM

Hey thanx everyone... I went to a doc anywayz cuz I kept throwing up... The doc gave me something they use for alcohol poisoning (I forgot the name but it helps your body detox quickly) and some cookies :) now im sorta feeling better (still a lil dizzy...) but man.. what a bad experience...

ILikeMy240sx

11-09-03, 01:34 PM

Oh by the way, I don't want anyone to try this or anything but my Zerex tasted bitter not sweet... Maybe they fixed the formula so it tasted bitter?

#Rotor

11-09-03, 01:37 PM

you have to know what it does, to understand it's toxicity... because it is a molecular cousin of our good ol friend the Alcohol molecule, and since I'm sure there was some degree of "inbreeding" involved with these two moleculs ... :D our livers have a really hard time knowing the one from the other.... Alcohol is a no-brainier.... it gets broken down and pee'ed out..... problem is that ethylene is not all that easy to brake down.... so what happens is your liver , still thinking it's alcohol, seems to bust it's guts on trying to get the job done... from there the toxicity....

apparently the best remedy for taking a nice big gulp of antifreeze.... oooo this is bad medicine.... "take lotsa alcohol"
probably why you never here of any mechanics dying of antifreeze poisoning.... :)
apparently it make it easier for the liver,

I am no MD though.. so don't take anything I say as gospel.. K!!

ILikeMy240sx

11-09-03, 01:46 PM

wait.... drinking alcohol cures anti-freeze poisoning??

I don't get it. If your liver "thinks" its alcohol and tries to break it down but is not successful, how can giving the liver more work by drinking alcohol will help breakdown ethlyn?

BladeRunner

11-09-03, 01:49 PM

That explains it then as being a mechanic I'm usually over 40% alcohol content at all times :p

Soja

11-09-03, 04:02 PM

lol :beer: :beer: :beer:

johan851

11-09-03, 04:19 PM

years ago people used to check if the anti-freeze in thier car was still good by tasting it to see if it was sweet
Yeah, and years ago watch makers in the assembly line who put on the radioactive glow in the dark stuff for the watch hands licked their brush points to make them pointier. LoL...

I've gotten a bit of EngineKool stuff in my mouth when sucking on hose too...I just spit it out and rinsed out my mouth and made sure not to swallow. I never noticed any bad effects.

eeksters

11-09-03, 05:27 PM

i've tasted antifreeze plenty of times to determine what the puddle on my driveway was.. never had any effect on me

#Rotor

11-09-03, 05:49 PM

Originally posted by eeksters
i've tasted antifreeze plenty of times to determine what the puddle on my driveway was.. never had any effect on me

and how many times was it the neigbors dog, that puddled on your cars wheel....

ehwweeooo... :D

NeoMoses

11-09-03, 06:13 PM

Originally posted by ILikeMy240sx
wait.... drinking alcohol cures anti-freeze poisoning??

I don't get it. If your liver "thinks" its alcohol and tries to break it down but is not successful, how can giving the liver more work by drinking alcohol will help breakdown ethlyn?

As it was explained to me (and don't quote this as the gospel truth) the alcohol just keeps your liver busy and allows the Ethylene Glycol to pass right through it, without doing any harm.

Anyway, hope you're feeling better.

eeksters

11-09-03, 06:18 PM

Originally posted by #Rotor

and how many times was it the neigbors dog, that puddled on your cars wheel....

ehwweeooo... :D

LOL!

L337 M33P

11-09-03, 06:21 PM

Yes, the major component of ethylene glycol poisoning is the breakdown products made by the liver. The enzyme that hydrolyses alcohol also hydrolyses Ethylene Glycol, but the byproducts are more lethal and can cause kidney failure. Knocking back a few means that there is also alcohol floating round, and the enzyme hydrolyses the alcohol in preference to the glycol. Therefore the ethylene glycol can pass out "whole" through the kidneys. Well, that's the plan anyways. Only 120ml is enough to kill you.

#Rotor

11-09-03, 07:40 PM

aaa see see!!!!! I wasn't too far off was I.... :D

I'm still no MD though....

squeakygeek

11-09-03, 09:11 PM

Originally posted by johan851

Yeah, and years ago watch makers in the assembly line who put on the radioactive glow in the dark stuff for the watch hands licked their brush points to make them pointier. LoL...

...And now they all have cancer. I live near an old building that used to be a Westclox factory, so I hear all about it.

ILikeMy240sx

11-10-03, 01:58 AM

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Yes, the major component of ethylene glycol poisoning is the breakdown products made by the liver. The enzyme that hydrolyses alcohol also hydrolyses Ethylene Glycol, but the byproducts are more lethal and can cause kidney failure. Knocking back a few means that there is also alcohol floating round, and the enzyme hydrolyses the alcohol in preference to the glycol. Therefore the ethylene glycol can pass out "whole" through the kidneys. Well, that's the plan anyways. Only 120ml is enough to kill you.

so that means I can drink about 90ml of anti-freeze and drink $h!tload of alcohol and ill be fine? or does this only apply to small amounts of anti-freeze

Korndog

11-10-03, 02:35 AM

man, i got a whole mouth full of zerex 50%, now just the smell makes me twich... but i'm still fine.
i was sucking on my tline (like an idiot) to to please the system, but since i have two tlines, i forgot to put the cap on the other and left the system w/o pressure.
nothing happened to me, then again i have an iron-cast stomach. If it does happen, induce vomitting..
J/K!!! drink lot of water to delude it and eat while you're on the way to the hospital, maybe there they'll induce vomitting and so you can show up with a full stomach and clean underware

Ad Rock

11-10-03, 05:17 AM

My highschool mechanics teacher told us to put a bit of the fluid on your finger and taste it to determine what it was. No one my mechanics class died :D . I do remeber anti-freeze tasting a little sweet;)

ILikeMy240sx

11-10-03, 10:26 AM

Ehh... im still wondering why mine tasted bitter....

srwven

11-10-03, 11:01 AM

BladeRunner

11-10-03, 12:08 PM

Originally posted by ILikeMy240sx
Ehh... im still wondering why mine tasted bitter....

I suppose it depends on the make up of your antifreeze as it may contain other substances, for corrosion protection etc.

There are antifreeze types now that are "pet safe" containing "tri guard" or something like that, Bluecol make some in the UK, might be worth considering in the future.

Lithan

11-10-03, 12:17 PM

I drink antifreeze all the time. It didn't turn me into a zombie killing machine seeking to recruit others into my hellish torment. Nope. Not at all. KILL ALL HUMANS!

sensai

11-10-03, 12:22 PM

Originally posted by ILikeMy240sx
Last night I was working with anti-freeze coolant (25% coolant, 75% distilled water) a little bit got on my lips and I didn't think to wash if off or anything since it was so little... Since last night Im having upset stomach (nausea, wanna vomit) and headache, dizziness.... Would that little amount cause poisoning to make me this sick????
that amount will not kill you.. however .. yes it will make you sick,, very sick...<<speeking from experience .. froma mechanics point of view :)

Dragonprince

11-10-03, 04:50 PM

Originally posted by ILikeMy240sx
Ehh... im still wondering why mine tasted bitter....

I think they make it that way on purpose so animals wont drink it out of a pan on someones driveway....Kind of like the stink smell they put in natural gas so you know somethings wrong...

neop

11-10-03, 05:04 PM

i onli remember anything that taste sweet cant be bad

hafa

11-10-03, 08:10 PM

One good reason to switch to a propelyne glycol product like Sierra. Works just the same, but is non-toxic.

Miralcos

11-10-03, 08:39 PM

Originally posted by NeoMoses

As it was explained to me (and don't quote this as the gospel truth) the alcohol just keeps your liver busy and allows the Ethylene Glycol to pass right through it, without doing any harm.

Anyway, hope you're feeling better.

I believe that's right on target, I recently had the best dog I ever owned get poisoned via antifreeze. The vet asked if we would like to do the treatment on him and when I asked what the treatment was, he said "Get him as drunk as possible.". I thought that was humorous but he explained it like neomoses said, it keeps the liver busy along with the gall bladder so the poisons can be passed.

On another note, I used to work on cars all the time restoring them. I have on several occasions gotten a mouthfull of 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water. Didn't do anything to me, but it was very very sweet tasting. Hope whatever was ailing you is remedied.....

Just a little tidbit of info, hope it helps.. :)

ILikeMy240sx

11-10-03, 09:43 PM

Yea im feeling better but never will i put any of that stuff near my mouth again... it was like having a bad hangover or something. as for the bitter taste, i suppose it was anti-corrosion stuff in Zerex... I hope ur dog is fine now

Spacepiston

11-11-03, 01:10 AM

I was draining my system a few days ago and I had a bowl with the anti-freeze mix right next to me.

Not 2 seconds later the cat comes running up and before I could even react he had himself a little taste!! I couldnt believe it...talk about a death wish!

Hes fine btw.