How does one accidentally drink bleach?

Started by goodgirl, February 25, 2019, 01:43:58 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

goodgirl

I usually post in the siblings forum, but I had to post this about a now-distant N friend and her latest Facebook drama. Her FB frequently features her many broken bones, sprains, colds, and other tales of woe, to the point where I've wondered whether she might have Munchausen syndrome. (Meanwhile her kids and husband are hospitalized and she doesn't even mention it.)

Well, today I really had to wonder: she made a vague post about bleach that prompt a flurry of "Oh no, what happened?" responses. She said she accidentally drank a half cup of bleach. It was early and she drank it thinking it was water. She called 911, and the cops and EMTs came and called poison control. When someone finally asked her "Uh... how did you happen to do this?" she said the bleach had been in an unmarked bottle and she took a big drink before she realized it wasn't water. The EMTs told her to drink lots of water, and she spent the rest of the day puking but is now better.

Seems legit, right?   :blink:  I mean, who DOESN'T keep an unmarked bottle of bleach handy and just take a big ol' swallow now and then?

notrightinthehead

I can't hate my way into loving myself.

StayWithMe

Does she have a lot friends in real life?  A lot of FB followers?

goodgirl

She has a lot of followers, including lots of fellow actors from community theater (she's pushing 60 but thinks she's going to become a breakout star), and they do love to fluff each other up.

One person actually replied "Oh that happened to me once." But seriously, y'all, how the h*ll does this happen? I get a curious four-yo having this type of accident. But under what circumstance does a nearly 60-yo woman have an unmarked bottle of bleach, and how on earth does she assume it's a beverage, raise it to her mouth, and NOT detect much less choke on the fumes before gulping down a half cup?

StayWithMe

I stay away from people who act crazy.  I notice that they start blaming you ie "You know I forget things......."  "You know that I get confused....."

How close of a friend are you to her?

goodgirl

Used to be very--her kids are my beloved godkids-- but physical distance (and her disinterest once we didn't live close enough for me to be of use) have mostly just made us long-distance acquaintances. Which frankly is fine with me, as long as I'm able to maintain my relationship with the kids. Her FB has become a source of entertainment in a lot of ways for me, but this latest was just too mind boggling to me.

clara

Definitely sounds like Munchausens, although I think one of the more common Munchausens traits is to see multiple doctors for the same imaginary, or self-inflicted, ailments.  If she complains about all the doctors she sees and how none of them understand or are helping her, then I think the diagnosis is pretty likely.  Otherwise she could be one of those folks who are "accident prone" in order to either get sympathy, out of something (like work), or just enjoy the down time being ill can give you (no responsibilities).  I've seen this behavior in both PDs and non-PDs, and  it seemed like something they learned to do in childhood because it was a sure-fire way of getting what they wanted.  You feel bad questioning the behavior because often the injury is real, or possibly real, and you don't want to second-guess them.  You think, maybe it really WAS an accident, maybe it really DID happen like they said it did because, honestly, you really don't know.  But when it happens over and over and over again, the likelihood of it not being a psychological issue becomes smaller and smaller. 

GentleSoul

Sorry to hear all this.  I find it doubtful that a person would take more than a sip of bleach without realising and then spit it out. If indeed they drank any at all. 

I think if it were me, I would distance myself from it all.  My gut instinct is that it is attention seeking behaviour.

Starboard Song

#8
 :barfy:

I highly doubt this story is at all true. As GentleSoul points out, few people would get two swallows of their favorite soda down before realizing there was a mistake.

Four ounces of bleach either didn't happen or happened on purpose.
Radical Acceptance, by Brach   |   Self-Compassion, by Neff    |   Mindfulness, by Williams   |   The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Tutu
Healing From Family Rifts, by Sichel   |  Stop Walking on Egshells, by Mason    |    Emotional Blackmail, by Susan Forward

NotFooled

She may have mental health issues.    An exPD friend who was living in DH's old house believed he had scabies for about a year even though every doctor he went to told him he did not.  He kept buying expensive treatments  and did his very best to convince everyone around him he had scabies.  During this time he had a serious drinking problem  and ended up losing his job due to missing work.  :stars:

He spent 6 months in the house without paying rent or utilities till DH and I kicked him out. 

It sounds like his behavior was similar to your friends before his scabies melt down.  He always made claims about things medical or otherwise that seemed a bit off.  Now DH and I wonder if anything he said was actually true.

Blodyn

You need to view everything this friend has said about health problems with extreme caution.  I'm a retired nurse (paediatric and mental health), and drinking bleach regardless of whether it is deliberate or by accident, requires immediate medical treatment in an emergency department setting.  Just inhaling the vapour from bleach can cause serious health problems, but drinking even the smallest amount can burn the insides of the mouth, throat, oesaphagus, the stomach, not to mention the respiratory airways.  Bleach is highly corrosive to organic tissue.  It burns.  Drinking bleach would be extremely painful.  Vomiting it back up would not be enough.  Medical professionals would need to know that none of the substance remained in the stomach as it would continue to burn the tissue lining of every part of the digestive tract.  If she accidentally inhaled any of the bleach, it would do the same to the airways, and bronchial passageways.

Be in no doubt that drinking even the slightest amount is a medical emergency.  No paramedic would walk away and advise just drinking water.

I nursed a 16 year girl who drank bleach deliberately, it was an act of self harm.  She regretted because it left her with lifelong internal injuries.  She was treated initially by paramedics who brought her to A&E, and once stable she was moved to the paediatric intensive care unit and later required surgery to remove part of her stomach and colon.  This girl drank no more than a half an egg cup full of bleach.  She will have to live with the damage for the rest of her life.

It sounds as if your instincts about her mental health are correct, and that she is suffering from what used to be called MunchAusten Syndrome, where a person fabricated various illnesses and injuries in order to draw attention to themselves.  If you get a red flag alarm going off in your head about believing such stories, it's time to pay attention to your gut instinct.

When in this form, it is considered to be a mental illness.  But when the person starts to use fabricated illnesses and injuries in children, it switches to being called Fabricated Illness by Proxy and is a serious Child Protection issue.

Hope these comments help.