Hi everyone, Doctor Bernard here.
This case seems to be about forbidden cherry lemonade, but probably not gonna taste that
way.
Before we get into this case, state Poison Centers all
across the United States get a lot of calls about glowsticks during 4th of July, and Halloween.
If you, or a child, or someone elderly has ingested a glowstick, or really any other
poison, in the US, you can call your poison center at 1 800 222 1222, you’ll be connected
to a doctor or nurse, they’ll keep it anonymous and they will help you out.
Monthly medical cases from me delivered to your YouTube notifications if you click subscribe,
hit the bell and all notifications, and refreshing cherry lemonade for all who drink the like
button.
A Man Mistakenly Drank 6 Glowsticks At Bedtime.
This Is What Happened To His Stomach
AC is a 26 year old man, presenting to the emergency room with nausea and insomnia.
He tells the admitting nurse that it was only a matter of time— he was about to reenter
the evolutionary level, above human.
You see, AC wasn’t doing well.
Since he finished college and started working, his life had been a struggle.
When everything became work at home, AC couldn’t focus on anything.
Everyday, there would be calls he would have to be on, but he’d space out.
Things he would have done if he were back in the office, weren’t getting done.
90% of all of these calls should be an email, it’s absurd that I have to sit through this
longwinded nonsense talking about nothing, he thought.
As the months passed, AC saw his career hit a ceiling.
Everyone he started the job with were moving up, but he was stuck at the starting point.
All he got from his manager was false hope that things were going to get better, that
there would be more opportunities available, but nothing ever happened.
Disillusioned, AC started despising anything that reminded him of big companies like the
one that he worked for.
He knew he had a higher purpose in life, that there existed an evolutionary plane for him
to ascend to, and everyone else at work belonged to this lower level, existing only to pump
someone else’s stock price.
And just it couldn’t be me, he thought.
One day before a halloween celebration, AC had gotten a pack of glow sticks in a car
emergency kit he got from his work.
On the label was a big statement saying, “do not puncture or cut” and “do not drink
or ingest.”
Upset that a package had the audacity to tell him what to do, he went to a store to buy
even more glowsticks.
Big Glowstick cant tell me what to do, he thought, as he cracked the sticks to light
them up, and started biting down to drink the juice.
As the glow stick liquid touched his tongue, AC immediately felt it start burning.
On the way down in to his throat, he could feel little bits of what he thought were plastic,
scratching the back of his mouth as it all washed down.
It was greasy on his hands, but the liquid slid down smoothly.
He was disappointed that it wasn’t blue raspberry flavor.
As the hours passed, AC didn’t feel well.
He felt like he was going to empty his stomach after dry heaving multiple times in the bathroom.
And as he finally couldn’t take the pain and discomfort anymore, he calls for 911 and
he’s brought to the emergency room, where we are now.
At examination, doctors find that AC is in mild distress, but overall, he seemed to be
ok.
And that’s because, glowsticks are generally not acutely toxic.
The little bits and plastic pieces, maybe glass in some cases inside, can be choking
hazards, but of the chemicals inside that make the sticks glow for a short amount of
time, there generally isn’t documentation that this is acutely toxic causing significant
morbidity and mortality.
With that said, these are still chemicals that you dont want to put inside your body.
Generally, the formulations will have different chemicals responsible for the temporary light.
Many times these are dyes, which are irritants to mucous membranes like the mouth, nose or
eyes, and the stomach.
Some glowsticks have hydrogen peroxide, which can be acutely toxic, but the amount in a
stick is not like drinking a concentrated solution out of a bottle.
Glowsticks also have chemicals called phthalates, which help plastics be more flexible.
This is likely the oily part of AC’s drink.
When you see these kinds of shapes in chemical structures, they could potentially interfere
with hormones in your body.
These can be called endocrine disrupters.
They could impact cell activity too, so in the long term, we don’t know, it could cause
undesired changes in the body.
Kids often ingest glowsticks accidentally.
They’ll crawl around during Halloween or 4th of July and if you’re a parent, you
might see your kids’ mouths and tongues glowing cause they ate a glowstick.
But it doesn’t stop there, sometimes, the accidental ingestion can happen at the bar
or the club, because glowsticks might be part of your drink.
If you’ve been exposed to some glowstick liquid, rinse with water if it’s on your
skin.
Wash at least 15 minutes if it gets in your eyes.
If it’s swalled accidentally, eat a small snack and drink some water.
Upset stomach and nausea can happen because of the irritants.
If someone drank a stick and they’re choking, call 911, that’s immediately life threatening.
And in the United States, call 1-800-222-1222 to talk to a doctor or nurse at your state
poison center if you need help.
After some care in the emergency room, and realizing that he wasn’t going to reenter
any “evolutionary level above human,” he’d have to go back to work again the next
day, AC was able to make a full recovery.
Take care of yourself.
Thanks so much for watching.
And be well.