Forgetting to stir the cup of coffee, only to drink it and find the undissolved sugar at the bottom: such small human mistakes actually contribute to a bigger part of life. Because these blunders, bitter or sweet, transform into unforgettable memories. Today, we will delve into one such human error that created a bitter memory in the original poster’s (OP) mind. 

In his haste to reach an office dinner, he took in a lot of mouthwash without reading the label. And when the burning started, he realized it was concentrated. But when he started eating the expensive office meal he was rushing to, he couldn’t taste a single thing!

More info: Reddit

Man was in a rush to reach an expensive restaurant for an office dinner and as he didn’t get time to brush his teeth, he bought a mouthwash to gargle

Image credits: Towfiqu barbhuiya (not the actual photo) 

As soon as he squirted the mouthwash into his mouth, it started burning the whole of his insides as though it were acid and tears ran down his face

Image credits: u/Scoutisaspyable

Image credits: Leslie Toh (not the actual photo)

He had to puke into a trashcan in the train station and he found out that it was highly concentrated, with only 3-4 drops to be poured in a whole glass of water

Image credits: u/Scoutisaspyable

Image credits: Kevin Curtis (not the actual photo)

Because of this, he could barely enjoy the expensive office dinner like everyone else because the mouthwash had burned his tongue, leaving him without taste

Image credits: u/Scoutisaspyable

After a visit to the doctor, he found out that the mouthwash was so highly concentrated that he had lost his taste for nearly 4-6 weeks

Let’s begin the story of Scoutisaspyable and his mouthwash fiasco. One day, during an extremely hasty evening when he had to take a nap and then rush to the train station on time, OP was not able to brush his teeth. He had to catch a train and reach this fancy hotel where an important office meeting was to be held. And booking a particular table there was done a whole year in advance.

When he reached the station, he quickly bought a bottle of mouthwash to freshen his breath. But as soon as the liquid was squirted into his mouth, it started burning as though it was on fire. So intense was the pain that there were tears streaming down his face almost like he had downed acid into his mouth. But the worst part was that he couldn’t even spit it out.

Originally, he had planned to gargle it till he reached a sink and then spit it out. But he was still at the station entrance. So, he rushed forward to look for a trashcan where he could puke it out. Now imagine this scene with a man wearing a fancy suit, puking in a dustbin right in the station. Well, we don’t know whether to laugh or go “Eww” at this, do we?

Finally, when he got onto the train, he took a look at the bottle, only to find that it was a mouthwash concentration with only 3-4 drops to be added into a whole glass of water. And he had just downed 30-40 drops! Ouch, that definitely sounds painful to us. Sadly, that was not the end of his awful day.

When he reached the restaurant and got his fancy 5-course meal, he could not taste a single thing! Now this single meal was worth €150, comprising extraordinary flavors that everyone enjoyed except for OP, who could only taste the texture. But the real horror was revealed after he visited the doctor the next day.

Turns out, the mouthwash was so highly concentrated that the poster had lost his taste for 4 to 6 weeks. Due to his numb tongue, everything he ate would be tasteless. This would be an especially big bummer for the ones who are die-hard foodies; imagine not indulging in any flavors for more than a month. Yikes, we would definitely hate for it to happen to anyone, let alone us. 

Image credits: danjo paluska (not the actual photo)

In an article, Healthline has clarified that mouthwashes generally contain a large volume of alcohol and fluoride, both of which are not to be ingested in a high amount. And alcohol is one ingredient that can cause a burning sensation in the mouth, as per research. It looks like the poster’s bottle contained a high volume of alcohol which led to a feeling of his mouth being on fire.

According to Global Times, doctors are advising people to go easy on mouthwash as too much consumption can cause oral dysbacteriosis and also damage your tastebuds. In fact, the Mayo Clinic states that chlorhexidine (present in a mouthwash) may change the way foods taste to you. Sometimes this effect may last up to 4 hours after you use the oral rinse. But our poster’s tongue went numb for 4-6 weeks, so it looks like the chlorhexidine content was too excessive.

Bored Panda reached out to the author to get more details about the story. When we asked him for his first reaction after taking a sip of the oral rinse, he said, “I chuckled, because it seemed ironic to me that something that is supposed to help your mouth can hurt your mouth.” 

Well, when you think about it, it does sound quite funny. Even the redditors joined in the laughter and jokingly suggested that this was his opportunity to go and eat at spicy food restaurant challenges and win his prize. Some also suggested that he should carry a travel kit with him at all times instead of randomly buying stuff. 

Others lamented his missed opportunity to consume delicious food. But OP said, “The most challenging part was to decide whether I should cancel the dinner and anger my friends, or join and waste money.” And from the story, we know he chose the latter.

When asked about any advice he would like to give to someone stuck in a similar situation, he said, “Spit it out immediately, no matter where you are. A side-eye from strangers is less hurtful than the consequence of not being able to taste for 4 to 6 weeks.”

Seems like the burning incident is forever etched into the poster’s mind now. But it’s only natural because losing your taste for such a long period is honestly quite horrifying to us. But we want to hear your thoughts and opinions on the matter. If you (or someone you know) have experienced something similar, feel free to share it in the comments below!

He expressed about his ruined expensive dinner—due to the mouthwash—on Reddit and the netizens sympathized with him, also showering him with suggestions

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