Accidentally inhaled some cocktail; now what?
October 5, 2022 4:43 PM Subscribe
I'm drinking a sweet bourbon cocktail and just did that thing where instead of swallowing, I coughed and inhaled a bit of the cocktail. How concerned should I be, and what, if anything, should I watch for? [body experience details below the fold]
After a bunch of coughing, I could feel a little bit of the cocktail slowly flow into my lungs. A new sensation! But lungs aren't prepared to digest alcohol and sugar. Is this a problem? If so, what should I do or watch out for?
After a bunch of coughing, I could feel a little bit of the cocktail slowly flow into my lungs. A new sensation! But lungs aren't prepared to digest alcohol and sugar. Is this a problem? If so, what should I do or watch out for?
Response by poster: I should say, I’m specifically concerned about yeast. I know what would happen in my vagina if I accidentally sprayed it with sugar, and I definitely don’t want that to happen in my lungs.
posted by spindrifter at 4:59 PM on October 5, 2022
posted by spindrifter at 4:59 PM on October 5, 2022
Given the amount of Kool-Aid I inadvertently inhaled as a child with no ill effect, I expect you'll be fine.
posted by andythebean at 5:23 PM on October 5, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by andythebean at 5:23 PM on October 5, 2022 [11 favorites]
Think about how many people must have inhaled sugar sodas, apple juice, milk, mead, sugary tea, etc over the long arc of human history. If lungs were likely to get an infection from breathing in a small quantity of sugary fluid, it would be a well-known thing because it would happen all the time. Also think about people who work in bakeries! They probably breathe in confectioners' sugar - I know I have from time to time while baking at home. Aspiration pneumonia is a thing, but that isn't "whoops, I an otherwise healthy person, breathed in a tiny amount of fluid".
Obviously if you started running a fever or coughing up unusual gunk you should go to the doctor, and if you're immunocompromised you might be more attentive to body signs, but in general I don't think you need to worry.
posted by Frowner at 5:25 PM on October 5, 2022 [9 favorites]
Obviously if you started running a fever or coughing up unusual gunk you should go to the doctor, and if you're immunocompromised you might be more attentive to body signs, but in general I don't think you need to worry.
posted by Frowner at 5:25 PM on October 5, 2022 [9 favorites]
I have done this, specifically with an old fashioned, and did not get yeasty lungs or anything else other than a burning sensation.
posted by HotToddy at 5:40 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 5:40 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
There is no yeast in bourbon. It is made by distillation, which removes the yeast that made the alcohol in the first place, and, furthermore, has a high enough alcohol content to kill any yeast that fell into it after distillation.
posted by Aizkolari at 5:45 PM on October 5, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by Aizkolari at 5:45 PM on October 5, 2022 [7 favorites]
Best answer: I'm a doctor
Healthy adult males can safely hold about 1000cc (4 cups) of fluid in the lungs. Problems arise when the pH of an inhaled fluid differs significantly from the pH of the lungs. Ethyl alcohol has a pH of about 7.3; the lungs have a pH somewhere around 7.6.
You're 100% fine
posted by BadgerDoctor at 7:06 PM on October 5, 2022 [35 favorites]
Healthy adult males can safely hold about 1000cc (4 cups) of fluid in the lungs. Problems arise when the pH of an inhaled fluid differs significantly from the pH of the lungs. Ethyl alcohol has a pH of about 7.3; the lungs have a pH somewhere around 7.6.
You're 100% fine
posted by BadgerDoctor at 7:06 PM on October 5, 2022 [35 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, friends! I am reassured 🥰🙏🏻🌟
posted by spindrifter at 7:53 PM on October 5, 2022
posted by spindrifter at 7:53 PM on October 5, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 4:55 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]