A Dad Mistakenly Drank A Snowglobe. This Is What Happened To His Kidneys.

Pathology slides from BMJ Case Reports September 12 2019

Most snowglobes are just made of water, but some can contain ethylene glycol. Most of those usually don't contain enough ethylene glycol to cause damage, but keep the word "usually" in mind. A homemade snowglobe can contain concentrations of anything, which is what happened in this case.

Ethylene glycol will cause a profound high anion gap metabolic acidosis. Generation of additional anions will cause a decrease in bicarbonate, causing the acidosis. But once this course runs out, it becomes harder to diagnose ethylene glycol ingestion, and histories for these patients are notoriously inaccurate.

These cases are patients who I, or my colleagues have seen. They are de-identified and many instances have been presented in more depth in an academic setting. These videos are not individual medical advice and are for general educational purposes only. I do not give medical advice over the internet, see your own physician in person for that.

References:

Delayed ethylene glycol presenting with abdominal pain and multiple cranial and peripheral neuropathies: a case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports volume 4, Article number: 220 (2010).

Emmett M, Narins RG. Clinical use of the anion gap. Medicine (Baltimore) 1977;56:38-54.

Uribarri J, Oh MS, Carroll HJ. D-lactic acidosis: a review of clinical presentation, biochemical features, and pathophysiologic mechanisms. Medicine (Baltimore) 1998;77:73-82.

Judge BS. Metabolic acidosis: differentiating the causes in the poisoned patient. Med Clin North Am 2005;89:1107-1124.

[chubbyemu]

I did an oopsie 😞
8:37 - 9:07 Ethanol and acetaldehyde are drawn with an extra carbon
Sorry 😕

[reasaj]

Before he passed out, he went to his son and said “are ya winnin son”. What a legend.

[MaxxadTV]

This guy got the whole periodic table running through his bloodstream

[TobyWhitt]

Took the son two full days to realize his dad wasn’t winning.

[stoneforest]

It took me a moment to realise that his son was young and didn’t just leave his dad sleeping for 2 days on the ground because it was funny. He really didn’t know something was wrong as a little kid.

[mikespillberg]

I did not expect the “Are ya winning son” nor have i laughed that hard. Everything is usually so serious how can he just say that. Lmao

[melitopiia]

Ah yes, the dad who drank a snowglobe, the counterpart to the dad who drank a lava lamp

[azhimdzulfadhlil]

"a dad drank a snowglobe"
"a dad drank a lavalamp"
Are these dads elementals or something?

[LikeAFx]

I really thought the crystals they found in his kidneys were going to be the glitter from the snow globe.
…I would not be a good doctor.

[SpicyMeataball]

Dad: *passed out for days in same spot.*
Son: "Ah, classic Dad."

[panduhlord]

“Man my dad really sleeps in weird places”
Finds dad 1 day after.
“Classic Dad”

[NotSoLegendaryGreen]

I swear to god, if he actually took the time out of his state of CURRENTLY DYING to meme on his son, this man is a legend.

[Masala_Pizzaa]

I think it's important for people to realise that the poor son is probably a 9-10 year old child who was very used to seeing his alcoholic father sprawled on the floor and that's why he didn't call the emergency number. It's a poor kid in a dysfunctional family who managed to save his father's life.

[TotalImmortl]

This the most depressing *Are ya winning, son?* I ever heard.

[somerandomguy]

"Are ya winning son?"

I see you're keeping up the memes.

[Thebadassowl]

*Are ya winnin' son?"*

Me, in tears: No way this can be real.

[heatherduke]

When you’re so far gone with your alcoholism that your kid thinks nothing of you being passed out on the floor for two days…

[Hanzel]

The guy who drank a lava lamp: *"Finally a worthy opponent."*

The guy who drank a snow globe: *"Our battle will be legendary."*

[NerdGuy]

You know your kid really loves you when it takes two days for them to figure out you are still unconscious in the same spot.

[liggerstuxin]

This is the man who I was afraid I’d become. 15 years sober from alcohol. I was the worst alcoholic you could imagine. All liquor all day all the time and it was killing me with pancreatitis. I just couldn’t live with the thought that I was repeating what my dad did. I was a pathetic drunk and I knew it. And I knew I needed to change before my son realized I was drinking. Because the realization that your dad is pathetic is a real hard life changing experience. I didn’t want my son to have those same thoughts about myself. So 15 years later I’m clean but I also have a broken pancreas. I have a great relationship with my son though. There’s nothing in the world that would make me pick up alcohol again. The shame that I would feel would kill me.