A couple in Hanoi panicked and were hospitalized because they drank the wrong car coolant

Do not look at the label, drink the wrong car coolant because you think it is a beverage

On May 16, news from the 108 Military Central Hospital said that the hospital had just received a couple in Long Bien (Hanoi) in a state of… panicking because they drank the wrong car cooling water.

According to the patient’s account, they were given 2 cans of water by an acquaintance, 1 blue, 1 red, without further instructions. Looking at the can, the couple thought it was beer and carbonated soft drinks, so they drank it during the meal.

Seeing that the water had no taste, the husband looked it up online according to the words on the can, and was shocked to know it was car engine coolant. The two hurriedly took each other to Hospital 108.

The patient was gastric lavage at the Emergency Department and transferred to the Intensive Care Center for observation. Thanks to timely detection and treatment, the two patients were discharged after 3 days with stable health.

According to doctors, this is a rare case of mistakenly drinking, due to people’s subjectivity not reading labels.

Drinking the wrong car coolant is likely to be poisoned

Doctor Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang, Department of Internal Medicine and Toxicology (Center for Intensive Care Unit 108 Military Central Hospital), said that car coolant has the main ingredient Ethylene glycol, a type of car. Colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting liquid with cooling and anti-freezing effects used in internal combustion engines.

When entering the body, it will break down into glycolic acid and oxalic acid, causing acidosis, increased blood osmotic pressure gap, abdominal pain, vomiting, severe kidney failure, brain damage, low blood pressure and death. death.

If it is detected that the wrong cooling water is drunk, it is necessary to immediately induce vomiting, wash the stomach and quickly go to the nearest medical facility for timely monitoring and treatment. Patients should bring the product they have taken with them as a basis for early diagnosis and treatment.

Doctor Trang recommends that people, when eating and drinking any products, need to carefully read the labels, ingredients and uses to avoid mistakes. both regrettable.

In this case, the cans of car coolant have the same shape and color as the beer and soft drinks cans, the writing on the cans is entirely in English, no Vietnamese sub-labels (most likely the original product). hand-carried or illegally imported) so it’s easy to confuse users, especially the elderly, children and limited in foreign languages.

It is not uncommon to drink and eat the wrong chemicals and toxic substances. In particular, many children mistakenly drank kerosene and acid in soft drinks bottles because they thought they were soft drinks, mistakenly ate rat poison because they thought they were candy… There were also people who mistakenly drank industrial alcohol because they thought it was alcohol.. .

In addition to carefully reading labels before use, people should pay attention not to put chemicals in misleading soft drinks bottles, keep them high, store them carefully, and keep them out of reach of children…