What happens if you drink perfume? Cologne poisoning, what you have to do

Who doesn’t love wearing perfumes? The fact that these amazing fragrance products for men and women lift our mood or give us the perfect identity we're looking for they are probably a must-have for every person out there. While these alluring sweet scents smell very refreshing and pleasant, have you ever wondered what would happen if you accidentally drank them? 

While the entire idea sounds absolutely funny, it is very much possible. You can easily get perfume poisoning if you ever ingest an alcohol-based fragrance. Curious to know what happens next? Well, here is what to do when you drink perfume.

Perfume Can Cause Toxicity

To help understand what exactly might happen after you drink perfume, you must first know what they are made of. Perfumes are usually made with a mix of different types of essential oils –depending on the intended fragrance, water-soluble compounds, and most importantly- isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol. 

Alcohol is the star ingredient in perfumes as it gifts the perfume with its characteristic volatility. The toxic alcohols found in perfume can vary from 20 percent to 95 percent of the scent- enough to cause extremely low blood sugar levels upon consumption. 

Most of the time, the alcohol present in perfumes is denatured by adding harmful chemicals like Britax or dimethyl phthalate that tend to secure the physical characteristics of the fragrance. These compounds are usually responsible for making perfumes unfit for consumption, harmful and bad tasting.

What Is Perfume Poisoning Like?

While a spritz or two is not so severe, if more than 30 milliliters of alcohol-based perfume- a dangerous level and a large amount,  you can get drunk because of it! Not only this, but it also causes drowsiness, blurred eyesight, and slurred speech, and some people might also have difficulty breathing. 

Symptoms that usually surface after perfume ingestion include high body temperatures, sudden hot shivers, nausea, and even vomiting. People may develop migraines or might start feeling 'high.' Immediate medical attention is needed to treat these symptoms before they tend to aggravate or cause any serious complications. 

Denatured alcohol is widely used in perfume manufacturing; it is relatively safer on the skin than on your stomach lining. Drinking it will cause your stomach lining to become inflamed or irritated. Not only this, but these ingested fragrances can also cause liver failure and coma in extreme cases.

Perfume ingestion or toxicity can even result in impaired gag reflex, seizures in severe cases, or result in people losing their consciousness. This all happens only because perfumes are not at all edible and contain toxic spirits and alcohol in them.

Recovery

Sometimes, people are admitted overnight in hospitals and given different IVs and drips to recover. The patient is asked to drink lots of water and eat light snacks to prevent blood sugar levels from dropping.  

The victim might also feel suffocated due to pulmonary aspirations. The usual symptoms of perfume poisoning go away after 48 to 72 hours if proper treatment is given. 

Conclusion

While the idea of wearing perfumes sounds quite pleasant itself drinking perfume might not be a wise choice at all. Although the severity of perfume poisoning varies greatly, it is most treatable and easy to recover from.