So I'm am a noob to DIY. Been at it about three months now and I really appreciate everyone in this community. Anyway, I wanted to confess to doing something really, really dumb and figured if nothing else, it might be amusing to most, possibly a warning to other idiots.
I placed a big flavoring order and one of those was Koolada. I was excitedly opening each of the flavor bottles to sniff each one and got to Koolada (I know it doesn't smell). Without much thought, I dropped a single drop of Koolada on my tongue. Didn't taste like much, slightly cool. About a minute goes by and the tiny drop travels to the back of my throat. Holy shit. I immediately start gasping for air. It feels like my throat is closing up. I PANICED. In the mere seconds it took for me to find a cup and drink some water, my life flashed before my eyes. After guzzling two cups of water, my symptoms retreated and I was left with a mild chemical burn on my tongue. I am an idiot and learned a very important but dumb lesson. That is all. Enjoy your Thursday and don't be like me!
Edit: besides panicing, I also panicked
Good to know. I'm about to order some in my next order and I probably would have done this lol. Why does this happen?
So the chemical used to create Koolada is called menthyl menthyl lactate and just by looking at the name of the compound, I think we can understand why this would happen.
But going deeper, those particular menthol crystals in Koolada are rather potent. Even when using Koolada in a mix, if you ever get a bit of the spit back on your tongue or throat, you'll probably notice an immediate icy cold sensation much more powerful than what we feel while vaping.
Going even deeper. It turns out these particular crystals are also used to create the cooling effect seen in some shaving creams/aftershave. So while I've never tried taking a drop of Koolada directly, I can imagine it would be rather numbing.
However, OP's reaction may have been more panic/stress related than 100% from the Koolada itself. Not to say Koolada won't cause that icy cold numbing effect, but when you don't entirely expect it, I reckon it'd be rather jarring and the added freak out definitely attributed to the situation.
The more you know.
Correction, beginner, it's menthyl methyl lactate.
> But going deeper, those particular menthol crystals in Koolada are rather potent.
Menthol crystals =/= Koolada crystals.
And here's everything you wanted to know about WS-3 type cooling compounds like koolada c;
From Wikipedia:
Methyl lactate, also known as lactic acid methyl ester, is a monobasic ester formed from lactic acid and methanol, commonly used as a solvent. Methyl lactate belongs to the lactate ester group of compounds that are considered nontoxic and highly and readily biodegradable.
Methyl lactate is a colorless clear liquid, completely miscible with water and most organic liquids. It is considered as a green solvent as it is easily biodegradable. It is a solvent for nitrocellulose, cellulase acetate, cellulase acetobutyrote and cellulase acetaprapionate. It is used in the manufacture of lacquers and dopes where it contributes high tolerance for diluents, good flaw and blush resistance.
Methyl lactate hydrolyzes in the presence of water and acids or bases into lactic acid and methanol.
Been there. Done that. Tiniest drop. On the finger. Licked it and tasted. The coughing. Man, I've never experienced a coughing fit come on so fast. It was honestly staggering and in the middle of it all I remember having this clarity of thought: hot shit, man, that cough came on faster than the rest of my body could even react to the need to grasp air, constrict my larynx and prepare to expel air in a violent fit. It was like a coughed with the actions in reverse order to try and catch up with said cough. Honestly fascinating if it weren't for the strange, foreign feeling of pain and earnest human desperation. -10/10, wouldn't do it again for less than $50 bucks on a dare. Okay, $10.
One day i went to my school gazebo and brought some straight koolada with me. One close friend of mine put a single drop on his RDA coil and loved it. He then continued to keep asking for drops until he came running to me gasping for air. After no water and a bunch of time he was able to talk and said his chest felt frozen and couldn't breathe just like you. Its interesting to hear the same thing came from you putting a single drop in your mouth. And another friend who was taking koolada drops had same thing happen at same time as my other friend.
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