A friend of mine died of listerine by drinking it what are the effects of such a poision that we use each day?

Question

He had already been an alcholic and from what we found out that he habitualy drank listerine to cover up the smell of alchol I need to know what does this do to our bodies since he drank two bottles of it. And do most alcholics do this as a habit ? Please help me to understand why would a person do this type of thing anyway.

Answer 1

wow, never heard of that before, must have been the build up over the years

Answer 2

Hi Yuko, sorry for your loss.
If you read the bottle of many of our every days items like hairspray, room spray, shampoo, and toothpaste, you will note that most have warnings on them to not inhale or swallow them. This is because in small amounts they have a positive effect or can be used only as directed. However when they come in contact with our body they are truly a poison. I am sure that drinking Listerine was like drinking acid. It proably ate him up from the inside. And combine that with the alchol only made it worse.
This is the first time I have heard of alcholics doing this, but I am sure there are those who do.
The reason your friend drank was because he wanted to forget his pains whatever it was in his life. He was suffering. He also felt guilty about doing it so he drank Listerine to cover it up so that no one would know. It was not his intention to die or for you to suffer by losing him. All he wanted was a bit of happiness in his life.

Answer 3

There have actually been studies done on this kind of thing before and the reason why alcoholics drink mouth wash is because of the alcohol. Understandable use of Listerine would be to cover up the beer on the breath, but a lot of alcoholics drink it to get drunk or get a buzz off of it, not to mention that mouth wash doesn't even compare to the cost of actual drinking alcohol.

Answer 4

Hate to tell you this, he was not drinking it to hide the smell, he was drinking it because it contains a lot of alcohol and is cheap. It is not uncommon among alcoholics to drink mouthwash (they never seem to pick the alcohol free ones).
Listerine actually contains 26.9% alcohol, thats higher than all beers, all wines and all spirit mixers and it's cheap. That should tell you why alcoholics love it so. For comparison, beers contain between 3%-5%, wines up to 12%, most mixers up to 14%.
Most people will never have a problem with mouthwash because they don't swallow, but in large quantities of course there is a risk, just like with anything else.

Answer 5

as an ex alcoholic i can safely say that we dont all drink listerine. the fact that it killed him was probably due to the build up of certain toxins in the substance. perhaps even a reaction between that and something else he had ingested. Flourides (contained in most dental products) aren't exactly good for us which is why we shouldnt swallow them. flourine is more toxic in smaller amounts.

(element)+Flourine=(element)flouride

A reverse reaction may well be possible within the human body.

I did once however, (as a dare whilst completely sober) drink an entire bottle of vinegar. it ended with me in hospital getting my stomach pumped. Apparently if it had been absorbed it would have caused my blood to dry up. man, i felt like an utter gimp

Answer 6

sorry, don't like to speak ill of the deceased, but your friend was desperate. you would have to drink a lot of listerine to get poisoned. my father was an alcoholic for 40 years and i can honestly say he's never drank mouthwash...that's just silly...everyone knows mouthwash is stronger in scent than clear liquors. you should go to a support group for people affected by alcoholics...I can't remember the name of the group but i'm sure if you find your local AA and ask they can point you in the right direction.

Answer 7

I don't think it is purely to do with Listerine.

You have to be careful of what you are saying in public as you may end up in court with the Company.

You must get the fact right before making such a Strong statement.

It could be due to the combination of many other things and not Listerine alone

Please edit your question

Answer 8

Listerine is not poison. Like another poster put it, becarful what you write on public domain, or you could be sued for libel. Listerine does have a small amount of alcohol in it, and that is probably why your friend drank it. Just like some alcoholics drink vanilla extract. Alcoholism is a sickness, a disease. He probably died from years of alcohol abuse. The listerine may have just compounded an already existing condition.

Answer 9

Aspartame Poison Also Known As Equal or Nutrasweet is a slow poison used in Listerine.... It is supposed to be super strong for eradicating bad breath but when taken regularly it can be dangerous....Although deaths like these are 1 in a 1000. But instances like these can happen....Recommended : Please use gum instead for bad breath....

Answer 10

I really think he must have died from being an alcoholic? This will put you all off if any of you are struggling with a drink problems. An alcoholic can have what are like varicose veins inside from their throats down to their anus (they have a much fancier name) & they can rupture - not a nice way to die is it? Spend a day in a&e it can really open your eyes.

Answer 11

The nonalcoholic ingredients of the mouthwash are phenolic compounds (eucalyptol, menthol, and thymol), and large-volume mouthwash ingestion will produce exposure in the reported toxic range of these ingredients. Conclusions: When ingested in large quantities, the phenolic compounds in mouthwash may contribute to a severe anion-gap metabolic acidosis and osmolar gap, multiorgan system failure, and death.

just check this link to have a idea the magnitude of this problem in today's society..
http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives/document3fe2.html