eli5 what happens if you drink isopropyl “rubbing” alcohol

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so i just watched a video of someone chug a bottle of rubbing alcohol that you would get from the pharmacy. its still alcohol though so like why is it bad. also what likely happened to the guy who chugged the bottle?

In: Chemistry

28 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Your body converts most of it to acetone. Which is the main ingredient in nail polish remover.

It’s going to make you very sick, but it is rarely fatal if the person gets medical treatment. Without medical treatment drinking an entire bottle might be fatal.

The early symptoms are similar to the effects of regular alcohol (ethanol), but it’s more potent. The patient will feel very, very drunk, and also hungover almost immediately, with a severe headache. Bleeding of the stomach is a common symptom. so the person may vomit blood and will definitely have severe abdominal pain.

if you drink enough, it can cause slowed breathing, and a dangerous drop in blood pressure, causing the person to go into shock. But those can usually be handled by a hospital. The patient may need to be on a respirator for a while, but they should survive.

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