Mouth glowstick leaked

NightShift · #1 02-29-2004, 12:17 PM

I was out lastnight and had these mouth glowsticks i got earlier that night from one of those prize machines in the supermarket. I remember it saying non toxic, but anyway i had one of them in my mouth that night and i had this bad taste in my mouth, i took it out and tried to see if it was leaking in my hand but it was dark and it didnt seem to be, so i continued to use it. Then my friend pointed out that my tongue was glowing! So what im wondering is, what is in those things and was it bad that i ate some of it? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif[/img]

IsaacHayes · #2 02-29-2004, 12:35 PM

Hehehe, you should be fine as I recall these are non-toxic. I've even heard of people making them leak so their whole mouth would glow and drool glowing slime... Isn't this the same chemicals that fireflies use? So it'd have to be nontoxic...

The_LED_Museum · #3 02-29-2004, 01:00 PM

Chemical glow sticks work by combining two chemicals called "luciferin" and "luciferase" and then adding a bit of oxygen.
I don't think these chemicals are toxic - not in the amounts one might find in a glow stick anyway.
So I wouldn't really worry about it.

chiaroscuro · #4 02-29-2004, 02:00 PM

The bad news is that if this happens in late summer,you get hit on alot by swarms of sex-crazed fireflies. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hahaha.gif[/img]

NightShift · #5 02-29-2004, 02:03 PM

::whew:: ok, wish they'd at least make them taste better [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Zelandeth · #6 02-29-2004, 03:44 PM

Well, everywhere that sells glowsticks (on eBay anyhow), seems to quote that they're non-toxic anyway. right now, I have a glowing desk thanks to testing the durability of one!

mahoney · #7 02-29-2004, 09:37 PM

You might want to talk to a doctor or at least do some more research on the chemicals. Perhaps the manufacturer has a MSDS on their website or can send you one.

"Non-toxic" does not mean "will not hurt you". The non-toxic test is strictly a short term test of acute toxicity in rats. They feed a bunch of rats 5 mg of product per Kg of rat body weight and count noses 2 weeks later. If more than half the rats survive, it's "non-toxic". This tells you nothing about long term effects, how miserable or happy the rats felt, six-legged rat babies, etc.

Of course, if the glow sticks are designed for use in the mouth, you would hope that the manufacturer would have considered the possiblity of an eventual leak and tested with that in mind. So perhaps not too much to worry about in this case.

Bravo25 · #8 03-01-2004, 12:07 PM

I give these things to my daughter occasionally at night. She loves them. I gave her one when she was about to turn 3. Next thing I know her mouth is glowing, her pajamas are glowing, our bed is glowing. She turns 5 soon, and has learned not to bite them. I knew they were non toxic, but my wife just about lost it!

Zelandeth · #9 03-01-2004, 04:29 PM

Only thing that I tend to worry about is the internal vial, rather than the chemicals themselves. There's a glass (or possibly plastic) vial in there, and I for one don't like the idea of glass in the mouth.

14C · #10 03-09-2004, 10:08 PM

In 1984 I got a mouthfull of the inside of a glowstick...we were on a radar site during night training for helicopters and we had to put the things around the site for location. On the way back my dumbassness got the better of me and I cut one open in the truck with my knife.
The thing shot the insides all over and I ended up with a good sized lousy tasting mouthfull of the glowing (feces reference deleted).

20 years later I am OK.

Now I am not going to vouch that they have not changed the stuff...but I'd bet in Vegas that you'll be OK...

sharkeeper · #11 03-11-2004, 04:45 PM

Lightsticks contain dilute hydrogen peroxide in a phthalic ester solvent contained in a thin glass ampule, which is surrounded by a solution containing a phenyl oxalate ester and the fluorescent dye 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene. When the ampule is broken, the H2O2 and oxalate ester react.

The greatest hazard IMO is the glass fragments if you ingest them. Otherwise (despite the nasty solvent-like taste) you are ok.

Cheers!

NightShift · #12 03-11-2004, 05:33 PM

good to know, even though i dont understand the ingredients - Thanks [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Wildcat · #13 04-01-2004, 10:55 AM

Watch to see if it goes swirling down the hole when you flush. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smoker5.gif[/img]

IsaacHayes · #14 04-01-2004, 02:49 PM

ahhah hahah. OMG. That gave me an idea. Want to really freak out some drunk people in a dark bar? ahahah

Spill some of this over the urinal and in the water. I know just the bar. I'll put some in the toliet bowl. ahhahaha

Some dude who's all messed up will stumble in and see the towliet glowing and freak out!!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] At the least he won't know what to think..