Sweet Release - Ethylene Glycol

Have you ever noticed how antifreeze looks while you’re pouring it into your car? Ever catch a whiff of the scent it gives off? Antifreeze is that forbidden juice that you mustn’t drink, kind of like how tide pods are a forbidden snack. Jokes aside, antifreeze ingestion is actually a bigger problem than you might think. Most of us know not to drink antifreeze because, well it’s something that goes into your engine but children and animals can’t always make the same conclusion. It only takes a few milliliters of antifreeze to kill a dog or a cat. This is because of the main active ingredient in antifreeze, ethylene glycol.

Ethylene glycol itself is a colourless and odourless liquid that’s usually used in situations where you need to transfer heat around via liquid; braking fluids, printer inks, etc. However, its most common use is in antifreeze. Ethylene glycol has a sweet taste to it which makes it a danger to little kids and pets. In dogs specifically, just around 100 millilitres (about a glass) of antifreeze is lethal. Humans are a little bit more resistant to the effects of antifreeze however that doesn’t mean a sip or two is ok. Even ingesting a small amount of antifreeze is enough to cause an array of symptoms. In the first few hours after ingesting antifreeze a person will experience, nausea, vomiting, lack of coordination, and fatigue. After 24 hours from ingestion, rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat, convulsions, and possibly the inability to urinate will take effect. If you ever experience any of these, and have been in contact with antifreeze recently, call your local poison control centre or 911 immediately. Remember if you see a liquid in a glass or bottle (the Gatorade bottle in the picture is actually filled with antifreeze), make sure you know what it is before you drink it!