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Accidental poisonings happen far more often than we realize. Every year, tens of thousands of people in the United States are poisoned, and many of these incidents are due to something as common as Tylenol. If we were to take a moment and look around our homes, we would be startled to discover just how many everyday items could be toxic. We live among substances that, when mishandled, can cause serious harm or even death.
Typically, we follow the instructions on product labels without any issues, but every now and then, someone may misinterpret a warning or fail to read it entirely, leading to catastrophic outcomes. Here are ten poisonings involving ordinary household items—ranging from bathroom cleaners to something as common as table salt.
10. Pesticides
In January 2017, a devastating case in Amarillo, Texas, unfolded when emergency services arrived to find an entire family severely ill, and one child already dead. Initially, they suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Tragically, three more children would succumb to the poisoning at the hospital, while the mother, Martha Balderas, remained in critical condition. Four other children and Martha's husband were in stable condition. It took some time for investigators to determine the true cause of the tragedy.
After piecing the clues together, investigators were shocked to learn that their initial assumption was completely wrong—there was no carbon monoxide present. Instead, underneath the mobile home were pesticide pellets that one of the family members had attempted to wash off with water. This triggered a chemical reaction that released deadly phosphine gas, poisoning everyone in the house.
9. Hot Chocolate
In early 2015, Mrs. Rosetta in Italy decided to treat her family to a cup of hot chocolate, a simple tradition she’d done many times before. Earlier that month, one of her grandchildren had requested it, and the time had finally come. She made the hot chocolate just as she always did, but this time, something was off—though no one realized it as they enjoyed their warm drinks.
Before long, her husband fell ill and began vomiting, and soon the rest of the family followed suit. What could be causing this? It was just hot chocolate, a drink that’s hard to mess up. The issue arose from a small mistake—Mrs. Rosetta had forgotten to check the expiration date on the package. A simple oversight, but this time it had dire consequences. The hot chocolate mix had been purchased in the late 1980s, and the condensed milk inside had gone terribly bad—so bad that it had been expired since 1990.
8. Nail Glue
In 2010, a 64-year-old man from the UK mistakenly used his wife's false nail glue instead of his eye drops. He poured the glue directly into his eye as if it were the usual drop, and soon realized something was horribly wrong. He was in intense pain and tried to rinse his eye with water, but the discomfort only continued despite his efforts.
The bottles of the eye drops and the nail glue were strikingly similar, which explains how the confusion occurred. After enduring the pain, the man finally sought medical help at the hospital, where doctors removed the glue from his eye, relieving him of the excruciating agony.
7. Tiki Torch Oil
An all-too-common incident of accidental poisoning involves the consumption of tiki torch oil. In 2008, six people in New Jersey mistakenly drank the oil, thinking it was apple juice. This mix-up occurred in the summer, highlighting how easy it is to confuse the two liquids.
Four of the six individuals affected by the poisoning required hospitalization. Tragically, an 84-year-old woman passed away, and an eight-year-old girl suffered lasting lung damage. The lesson here is clear: Always verify what you’re about to ingest before doing so.
6. Glass Containing Weed Killer
In a devastating case of poisoning, four-month-old Benjamin drank from an ordinary glass that would soon make him and his two-year-old sister critically ill. In August 2003, prominent retired dentist Constantine Pitsas hosted the Glynn family for a cookout. Out of kindness, he poured water from a jug into glasses for everyone. What began as a simple, pleasant day took a tragic turn when Benjamin started vomiting blood, prompting his frantic parents to rush him to the emergency room. Thankfully, they thought to bring the jug along.
The doctors immediately noticed the warning label on the jug, which revealed it contained hazardous levels of arsenic. The jug was actually filled with weed killer. Tragically, Benjamin died, and his sister Morgan was hospitalized for several weeks following the poisoning. Despite the incident’s horrific nature, the authorities ultimately charged Pitsas with involuntary manslaughter, but he was acquitted after the case went to trial. It was ruled to be a tragic accident.
5. Jan Harding
In 2014, 67-year-old Jan Harding was enjoying a glass of iced tea at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Salt Lake City, Utah, when an unexpected nightmare unfolded. She had ordered sweetened tea, but someone had mistakenly swapped the sugar with something else... something dangerous. Her throat and mouth immediately began burning intensely, prompting a rush to the hospital.
It was later discovered that an employee had accidentally placed lye in the sugar container, which was then added to the iced tea dispenser. The woman endured severe consequences, having to breathe and eat through a tube. She was unable to speak for several days but eventually recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Lye, commonly used in industrial and household cleaners, is so effective at removing grime that it also burns when in contact with the skin or mucous membranes.
4. ‘Apple Juice’ Incident
The 2014 poisoning wasn’t the first time lye caused harm, as evidenced by a similar incident in Dundee, Scotland, in 2007. Many liquids, like tiki torch oil or industrial cleaners, have been mistaken for apple juice, and that’s exactly what happened when Fran Nichol ordered carbonated apple juice at a pub. What happened next was horrifying.
After the first sip of the drink, Fran instantly collapsed in excruciating pain, her mouth and throat burning, much like Jan Harding would experience seven years later. Someone at the bar had mistakenly placed a bottle of lye cleaner in the refrigerator, and the bartender served it thinking it was apple juice. This chilling incident serves as a stern reminder to always verify what we consume. Thankfully, Fran survived the ordeal.
3. Swallowed
The final horrifying incident on this list occurred in India in 2011. A man named Pradeep Sharma, who had been bedridden after suffering a stroke, experienced a terrifying turn of events. While a nurse was placing a thermometer in his mouth, he suffered a spasticity attack, causing his muscles to contract uncontrollably. This led to the thermometer breaking, and he ended up swallowing the mercury inside. Even inhaling the fumes from a broken mercury thermometer can lead to poisoning, but in this case, he ingested it directly.
Surgery was required to remove the mercury from Sharma's stomach. However, he was eventually discharged and allowed to go home. The doctors’ ability to safely anesthetize a paralyzed patient and carefully remove the mercury was a significant challenge, but without their expertise, the outcome could have been much worse.
Contrary to what many people believe, most thermometers in Europe and the United States no longer contain mercury. If a thermometer has a red liquid inside, it is likely mercury-free, and it is highly recommended to choose mercury-free thermometers for safety.
2. Water
Let me say this again: Anything can be deadly in the right amounts. A tragic story similar to Garrett Spears' happened to 17-year-old Zyrees Oliver, a high school football player from Georgia. In the summer of 2014, after experiencing cramps following football practice, Oliver decided to relieve the discomfort by drinking an enormous amount of liquid—7.6 liters (2 gallons) of water and an equal amount of Gatorade.
After returning home, Oliver collapsed in his kitchen. He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with water intoxication, and they discovered that his brain was dangerously swelling. How did a healthy, fit young athlete, who appeared to be in perfect condition, fall victim to water? The answer was simple—he had consumed too much. Tragically, he was later declared brain-dead, and his family made the heartbreaking decision to remove him from life support.
1. Salt
Anything, in the right quantities, can be deadly—even common table salt. In January 2014, near New York City, a five-year-old boy named Garrett Spears was poisoned by his mother, who had given him an excessive amount of salt, leading to sodium poisoning. Although the boy was treated, his sodium levels were so dangerously high that doctors were unable to save him. His brain swelled, and he tragically passed away.
Attention soon turned to Garrett's mother, Lacey Spears, who had been blogging about her son's health issues. It was revealed that she had been the one causing those issues. Since infancy, she had been giving him salt. This horrifying case was later diagnosed as Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Lacey was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in March 2015 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
