Can You Drink Rubbing Alcohol? Poisoning Risks and Health Hazards

Rubbing alcohol, or isopropyl alcohol, is found in a variety of household products, including hand sanitizers and wound disinfectants. Though generally safe, rubbing alcohol can be toxic if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin.

Because it’s a cheap and widely available substance, some people may drink isopropyl alcohol as an ethanol (drinking alcohol) substitute to become intoxicated. Doing so is extremely dangerous and can cause adverse effects like internal bleeding, shock, coma, or death.

What Is Rubbing Alcohol?

“Rubbing alcohol” is a term that describes a variety of alcohol-containing products that aren’t intended for ingestion. The most common form of rubbing alcohol is 70% isopropyl alcohol, or isopropanol, combined with 30% water.

Rubbing alcohol is colorless and smells like ethanol, the type of alcohol that’s used in alcoholic beverages. It’s used as a disinfectant, such as alcohol swabs for first aid. Higher concentrations of isopropyl alcohol are available, but they’re not used as often in households.

Isopropyl alcohol is widely available at grocery stores and pharmacies. It’s effective for killing bacteria, disinfecting the skin, and cleaning minor cuts and scrapes. Because it evaporates quickly, isopropyl alcohol may also clean and disinfect surfaces like smartphones or computer keyboards.

In addition to straight isopropyl alcohol, it’s a main ingredient in certain cosmetics, lotions, cleaners, disinfectants, hand sanitizers, antifreeze, and aftershave.

Why Do People Drink Rubbing Alcohol?

Rubbing alcohol may be consumed as an alternative to ethanol. It’s cheap and widely available compared to ethanol, the intoxicating substance produced by sugar fermentation and distillation in alcoholic beverages.

For example, people who are recovering from alcohol addiction may try rubbing alcohol to become more intoxicated. Young people may not have access to ethanol, but rubbing alcohol is found in most households, and that may seem like a cheap, easy way to get drunk. There are also cases of accidental ingestion with young children.

Dangers of Drinking Rubbing Alcohol

Like other toxic alcohols, rubbing alcohol is absorbed quickly – with nearly 80% being absorbed within 30 minutes of ingestion.[1] This is metabolized by the liver, which breaks it down into acetone. The blood levels of isopropanol can peak between 30 minutes and 3 hours of ingestion.[2]

If you drink rubbing alcohol, you may experience abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting blood, bleeding in the stomach and intestines, diarrhea, or bladder rupture.[3] Isopropanol also depresses the central nervous system, possibly causing dizziness, headaches, intoxication, and coma.[4]

What to Do If Someone Ingested Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol is not a safe alternative to liquor, wine, or beer. It’s never intended for consumption, only as a topical disinfectant.

If you suspect someone has consumed rubbing alcohol, call 911 immediately. You should also call the American Association of Poison Control to receive expert guidance from toxicology experts.

The treatment for isopropanol poisoning can vary, but it may include supportive care like intubation, pumping the stomach, dialysis for kidney protection, and IV fluids. The success of treatment depends on individual factors and how much alcohol was ingested.

Can You Die from Drinking Rubbing Alcohol?

Isopropyl alcohol is absorbed quickly, leading to rapid effects. If you drink it, you will not only get intoxicated quickly, but you can black out and possibly die. The approximate lethal dose is 2 to 4 mL/kg, which is roughly 8 ounces for the average adult.[5] To put that in perspective, an average shot of ethanol is 1.5 ounces, and a soda can is about 12 ounces.

Does Rubbing Alcohol Make You Drunk?

Drinking rubbing alcohol can cause intoxication, but that does not mean it is safe or comparable to drinking alcohol from alcoholic beverages. Isopropyl alcohol depresses the central nervous system more strongly than ethanol, which is the alcohol found in beer, wine, and vodka.[6]

A person who drinks rubbing alcohol may appear drunk. They may have slurred speech, dizziness, confusion, poor coordination, vomiting, or extreme sleepiness. However, this is not a normal hangover or typical intoxication. It can be a sign of rubbing alcohol poisoning.

Isopropyl alcohol is absorbed quickly through the digestive tract. The body breaks it down into acetone, which can worsen toxic effects and contribute to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, low blood pressure, and central nervous system depression. In severe cases, drinking rubbing alcohol can lead to coma, breathing problems, dangerous poisoning, and death.

Even small amounts can be harmful, especially for children, older adults, people with certain health conditions, or anyone who has also consumed alcohol, other drugs, or sedating substances. Larger amounts can be fatal.

Is Acetone the Same as Rubbing Alcohol?

No. Acetone is not the same as rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol usually contains isopropyl alcohol, while acetone is a different chemical commonly found in products such as nail polish remover, paint removers, and certain industrial solvents.

The connection is that the liver metabolizes isopropyl alcohol into acetone. This means that when someone drinks rubbing alcohol, acetone can build up in the body as isopropanol is processed.[7] That buildup can contribute to symptoms of isopropanol poisoning.

Acetone, isopropyl alcohol, methanol, and ethylene glycol are all toxic substances when swallowed. Methanol may be found in some solvents or contaminated alcohol products, and ethylene glycol is found in some antifreeze products. These toxic alcohols can cause serious harm, but they are not interchangeable. Each substance can affect the body differently and may require different medical treatment.

Because a person may not know exactly what substance was swallowed, it is important to call Poison Control or 911 immediately if someone drinks rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, hand sanitizer, antifreeze, or another toxic substance. Do not wait for symptoms to become severe.

Seek Help for Alcohol Addiction

Drinking rubbing alcohol is extremely dangerous. You should never ingest any amount of rubbing alcohol, especially as a substitute for an alcoholic beverage, as you can experience potentially fatal results. If you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol addiction, help is available to give you the support you need to achieve sobriety.