A university student from Birmingham was rushed to hospital after consuming half a bottle of fabric freshener that she mistakenly believed was water.
The Incident
Lukia Pardoe made the error following a heavy night of drinking at a university leavers' social. She arrived home at 1am and reached for a bottle on her desk, unaware it was actually a 'Fresh Linen' fabric refresher. Two other bottles on the desk contained water.
Lukia acknowledged that the liquid immediately burned her throat, but she attributed the discomfort to having eaten a hot pizza before going to bed. The next morning, the student noticed the empty cleaning product and realised with horror what she had consumed.
Emergency Response
She called 999 and was rushed to Warwick Hospital by her flatmate. Following blood tests and an ECG, Lukia was given charcoal tablets to help eliminate the toxins from her system. Medical staff informed her that she had eliminated most of the chemicals by drinking water throughout the night.
Recovery and Aftermath
Lukia has since recovered but continues to suffer from a persistent cough and a chemical taste in her mouth. She said: "I don't actually know why [it was there]. I had gone back to my uni house after not being there for ages and I didn't know what was on my desk. I woke up at 3am and I was so thirsty because I had been drinking. I unscrewed what I thought was a water bottle. I thought I had burned my mouth on some pizza or something but it was just the chemicals. I had half of the bottle. I was still really drunk and I carried on drinking it. I just remember thinking this water tastes really bad."
She added: "They gave me charcoal tablets to absorb all the toxins. I just have a chemical taste and a lot of coughing. At the time I had quite bad stomach cramps."
Online Reaction
The student uploaded a video about the ordeal online, which has accumulated more than 60,000 views. She now finds the humorous side of the tale and promised never to store cleaning products near her bed again. Lukia said: "I freaked out, I've never freaked out like that before. My family and friends keep laughing at me, I haven't heard the end of it. I'm not going to keep anything like that on my desk again. It is a funny story. I'm very grateful nothing worse happened."
Those commenting on Lukia's post have equally found the episode amusing. One wrote: "How did you drink half a bottle, surely the first mouthful was rancid." Another remarked: "At least you will have the nicest smelling breath." A further commenter added: "Oh my god the panic I would go into." The cleaning product manufacturer also responded to the post, stating: "We don't recommend drinking the product."
