Man dies after mistakingly drinking antifreeze for water, blood thickens like jelly

A man in central China died despite rescue efforts after he mistakenly drank antifreeze for water, according to a local media report.

Henan Broadcasting System's livelihoods channel reported that the man in Henan province's Zhumadian city drank about 500 millimeters of the antifreeze coolant on Oct 4. The coolant had been stored in a plastic beverage bottle.

The man, who was in his 60s, was sent to the Zhumadian Women and Children's Hospital some 11 hours after the incident, and died soon despite rescue efforts. Doctors said that his blood had appeared condensed and jelly-like because of the antifreeze.

Relatives recalled that the man drank the liquid quickly because he was very thirsty after work and did not take a closer look.

Antifreeze, which primarily consists of the substance ethylene glycol, has no smell and has a slight sweet taste, according to Dun Shaozhi, a physician at the emergency department of the Zhengzhou Central Hospital in the province. Dun added that the intake of the substance would lead to conditions such as kidney failure after digestion.

Experts have since warned people to put such household chemicals away from places reachable by children, and seek medical help immediately if mistakenly ingested.

Netizens have also suggested that substances that are repulsive and indicative, may be added to the product to reduce the risks, just like the way a foul-smelling substance was added to odorless household natural gas pipelines to indicate a leakage.