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Show Poiswn center cautions auto prqducts storage SALT LAKE CITY -The recent hospitalization of two Utah teenagers for severe methanol poisoning has prompted the Intermountain Regional Poison Control Center to warn Utahns about the danger of improperly stored automobiles products. The youths were nearly blinded after drinking windshield washer fluid containing methanol (wood alcohol) which had been stored in a wine bottle, according to Dr. Douglas E. Rollins, IRPCC medical director. One victim, hospitalized at University of Utah Medical Center, required dialysis to remove toxins from his bloodstream. Rollins says smaller children would have been blinded and might have been killed. "Antifreeze, motor coolants and windshield washer fluids contain methanol or ethylene glycol, substances particularly toxic to the brain and , eye," explained Rollins, assistant professor of 'pharmacology and medicine. "Ingestion of even a few tablespoons of any of these automobile fluids is harmful." The careless storage of these products and the fact that some are packaged like fruit punch make them particularly dangerous, according to Rollins. "It's extremely important to keep these substances out of the reach of children, but people of all ages are being poisoned by methanol and ethylene glycol." Methanol is a simple alcohol similar to ethyl alcohol and many of the symptoms it produces are the same as those caused by intoxication from conventional liquor products: headache, dizziness, vomitting and diarrhea, lethargy, convulsions and coma. The danger with methanol, however, is that it is rapidly broken down in the body to formaldehyde and formic acid, Rollins explained. Permanent blindness can occur within a few hours if the victim is not treated. Ethylene glycol is a colorless, odorless liquid with a slightly sweet taste. Ingestion of as little as three ounces can cause severe kidney damage and death. "Antifreeze, motor coolants and windshield washer fluid should be stored in the original container and in a locked cabinet," Rollins. |
