Couple drink car coolant mistaken for beer, coke

A woman holds one of the two cans of car coolant that a couple in Hanoi mistook for beer and coke, May 2022. Photo courtesy of the 108 Military Central Hospital

Doctors at the Department of Internal Medicine and Toxicology of the 108 Military Central Hospital said Monday that the two patients were admitted in a state of panic after they were aware of the fluid they had taken.

The couple said an acquaintance had given them two cans in red and green.

Thinking that the green one is beer and the other coke, they drank it.

Only when they experienced no taste from the fluid, did the couple check the information printed on the cans and realized they had drunk car engine coolant.

The hospital admitted them for emergency aid and had their stomachs cleaned.

They remained hospitalized for three days before release.

Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang, head of the department, said the main element of car coolant is ethylen glycol that has no color and smell and tastes a little sweet.

Once entering the human body, it will split into glycolic acid and oxalic acid that could cause kidney failure, brain damage, hypotension and death.

She said the information on the cans was written in English and could cause misunderstanding.