Anti-freeze poisoning...

ILikeMy240sx · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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

JasonKosi · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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 ...

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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

Soja · Nov 9, 2003

lol

johan851 · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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

#Rotor · Nov 9, 2003

eeksters said:
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...

NeoMoses · Nov 9, 2003

ILikeMy240sx said:
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 · Nov 9, 2003

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

ehwweeooo...

LOL!

L337 M33P · Nov 9, 2003

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 · Nov 9, 2003

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

I'm still no MD though....

Anti-freeze poisoning...

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