What Happens If You Drink Antifreeze?
Antifreeze is extremely toxic. Early symptoms of antifreeze poisoning may include:
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Drowsiness
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Upset stomach
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Drunk-like behavior
If left untreated, antifreeze poisoning can lead to kidney failure and even death.
If you suspect someone has swallowed antifreeze, call the Missouri Poison Center immediately at 1-800-222-1222 for fast, free, and confidential help.
🚙 Want to learn more about antifreeze? Check out our detailed antifreeze blog here!
Transcript with visual descriptions
Visual: Person 1 is making a cocktail.
Person 1: Hey, you ever wanted to make a cocktail out of antifreeze?
Person 2: No.
Person 1: No.
Person 2: No.
Person 1: No.
Person 2: No!
Visual: Person 2 smacks the cocktail out of Person 1’s hand and the scene freezes.
Sound: [glass clinks]
Visual: Person 2 turns and addresses the camera.
Person 2: Hi. This one’s actually pretty serious, so I’m gonna pause all of this for just a second. Antifreeze is toxic and if you drink it, your body breaks it down into even more toxic substances that can cause major damage. Early signs of poisoning include drowsiness, upset stomach, and drunken-like behavior, and left untreated.
Visual: Clips illustrate each symptom as it is mentioned.
Person 2: This can lead to kidney failure and even death.
Visual: Imagery shows severe outcomes, including kidney failure and death.
Person 2: Now, thankfully, they’ve started adding bittering agents to many antifreeze products that make them taste awful to hopefully cut down on the risk of ingestion.
Visual: A person reacts to the taste and spits out a drink.
Person 2: Antifreeze might look like juice or a mixer to kids or adults, but it’s really not. Oh, did you wanna see how this ends? Okay, here we go.
Visual: The scene resumes as the drink hits the floor and shatters.
Sound: [glass shatters]
Person 3: And, I knew it was gonna happen!
Person 2: Clean that up. Got a poison question? Post it below and we’ll answer it.
Visual: The Missouri Poison Center logo and phone number “1-800-222-1222” appear on screen. Text reads: “Got a poison question? Ask it in the comments below!”
