It sounds funny narrating it to others🥲 but deep down it's a traumatic experience for me😞.
I actually thought I'd die that day😶🌫 (on some low days, I low-key wish I had🙃).
My sister recently reminded me of it but she couldn't remember the details. It's over a decade now but it's still as fresh as last night in my memory😌.
My mom was in the kitchen while I and my sisters were in the sitting room watching a ‘forbidden cartoon’📺 my dad had warned us against. He wasn't around and mama wasn't that strict on the rule since he only placed the ban to caution against addiction and nothing was morally wrong with the cartoon. Mama had however been trying to get our attention to assist her in something in the kitchen but as we were so engrossed🫣, we ignored her.
Totally displeased☹ after the futile attempts to get our attention, she came to the parlor, told us to put off the television📺 and seized the CD💿. My sisters were told to go to the kitchen🫕 immediately while I was given the grand honor👸🤭 of having to go and drop the CD in their study📚 room - inside the master’s bedroom🛏.
After dropping it, I locked the door🚪 and kept the key🔑 in her bedside drawer🗄.
Instead of me to leave the room and join the others in the kitchen, I decided to enter their bathroom🥱. And that, was the beginning of........🤦♀ To be honest, I don't know what came over me to mix the cleaning agents in the bathroom😣. I'm writing this and practically relieving it in my head.
They were many and all so neatly arranged up that I guess I wanted to see what mixing them all up would look like😐. A vivid representation of how curiosity ‘almost’ killed the cat😿. I started with dettol, then hypo, toilet🚽 cleaner, harpic, shower🚿 gel, hair shampoo💈, liquid handwash🧴, izal, shaving🪒 cream, hydrogen peroxide and I think I ended with spirit (used for dressing wound🤕). I added very generous amounts of each one at that.
The sight was woooowwww!!✨💥 It was like as I added each ingredient a new substance was formed. I remember it looking like bubbling🫧 green coagulates. It was nice to see🤩. I did it, saw it and flushed it down the WC🚽. No one saw it🙊 and nothing happened🤷♀. I rinsed the bowl I used and just as I was about stepping out of the bathroom my beloved elder sister walked in😒 and asked “What are you doing in here?” Apparently she was sent by my mom to check on me🙄.
I guessed she would have been interested in what I had just made and my guess turned out correct!😁 "Debbieeeeeeee....let me show you what I did" - and the mini experiment started all over again🤭. She watched, and I saw astonishment in her eyes😳 as each substance was poured into the bowl. We finished and nothing happened😮💨 till my sister, my beloved elder sister told me to smell it😶. We were laughing and guessing how awful it'd smell like till I took the bold (or rather ignorantly foolish step) to smell it🫠.
I didn't smell it, I inhaled it!🥲
I can't describe the aftermath of that fully but I'll try🌚.
I inhaled the potion🧪 and my respiratory health changed ever since that night (definitely not for good😔). First off; it was so sharp a smell, piercing and toxic that my lungs🫁 felt congested. I started sneezing🤧, coughing and wheezing😤. I wanted to breathe but it was difficult. It was like I was choking but there was nothing to actually cough out. My sister started crying🥺; I couldn't even cry properly. I started praying that God would forgive me and receive me in heaven😟 cause I thought I would die that night.
Our cries and my coughing attracted my mum and younger sister. She rushed in🏃♀ and her first action once she sighted the mix was to drag me out of the bathroom - it was like she understood immediately. She was so pained that night😣. I remember her going to the bed, lying down and saying "You're happy right? Do you children want to kill yourselves😕??" She then instructed my younger sister (my forever twinnie💝) to get me lots of water and milk🥛 to take.
As a scientist she went further to explain what I had most likely inhaled. I can't remember fully but I know it was bad. I recall her mentioning that some don't show symptoms till later in life. My mum was so hurt that night I think she cried, we had pushed her to her limit that day. She sent us all out of her room that we should leave her alone😣. "God gave you to me. He didn't say you'll die this young and in this way. Please leave.” - that was cold coming from my mum😔.
We went to our room and it was a bucket of tears from my sisters🌝. My younger sister filled empty bottles with water🍶 and brought it to my bed. She kept urging me to drink while also crying "Please I don't want you to die. Let's flush it all out like mummy said the water will do." Her tears were more of fear for my present and future state🫠 while big sis tears were more of guilt for what she had caused by encouraging me to smell it🥺.
Twinnie💝 called my dad (he was on a journey home) to explain the situation and he called the family physician👨⚕ who said the same thing as my mom - to remove me from the area where the stuff happened, get clean fresh air, and take clear fluid and milk if possible🥛. I had an unavoidable back and forth relationship with the bathroom🚽 because I kept drinking water like there was no tommorow🚰.
I was still having labored breaths by the time my dad got back but it was much better🤗. Funny thing is how I and my elder sister still served punishment that night😅. I felt for her because he literally poured all the blame on her like she was the one that made the mix and forced me to inhale it😬. We were on room arrest to think and pray for forgiveness from disobedience😔.
I slept off in a kneeling position😥, woke up in bed🥲 and could breath freely😮💨. Somehow the words wouldn't come out as sounds and I couldn't talk for a while😐. My speech came back later that day🙂 but till today aerobic exercises easily ware me out😪, I am hyper sensitive to chemicals in the lab🥵, I ain't comfortable in crowded places😷 and ohh the dizzy😵💫 spells (let’s not even go there).
I learnt to be careful and stay off mixing cleaning agents and chemicals❗
Enough of my pity story🙃.....
Reading up on it recently, suspected gases inhaled are H2O2, chlorine gas and chloramine. They can be very toxic and can also exhibit cumulative toxicity. So, you might have been successfully mixing Mr. Bleach with Miss Harpic or Mr. Dettol with Miss Detergent not knowing that their toxicity could be accumulating, leading to a much more destructive issue💥 when the threshold of safety is exceeded.
Funnily, these cleaning agents are more effective in their alone state👤👍 than when combined👥👎. Most of them contain acid, ammonia and bleach (hypochlorite) and when combined could generate gases like chlorine, chloramine and even chloroform (in the case of alcohol and bleach). Release of these gases can cause serious nose, eye and throat irritation🤢, coughing, sinus congestion, choking, dyspnea, eye tearing, muscle💪 weakness, shortness of breath, breathing problems and even death (if not managed properly).
From personal experience, and a scientifically valid point of view, I'll say 'Let's take a permanent break from mixing cleaning products🤧'. Remember🧏, they'd rather remain single🧍😌 and are toxic when married together👫⚠.
I would like to add that if you happen to be in a situation of this toxicity affecting someone, try to get them away from that place and seek fresh air🌻 - water 💦 and milk🥛 can also be used as palliative care (not as much as I consumed tho🤓🙃). If this intervention doesn't suffice, emergency next🚑.
Thank you for reading through❤
