They really should tell you these things....

I'm beginning to get the crud. The timing of this is not good at all because I'm scheduled to head out of town tomorrow for a work-related conference, where I actually have to work. Me + cough/cold medicine = drowsy, grumpy mess.

So to try to keep the sickness away, we stopped by Wal-Mart where I picked up some Chloraseptic spray and some cough drops. My biggest complaint as of last night was a sore, scratchy throat and I thought that although I hate the idea of using any kind of spray desperate times call for desperate measures.

We got home and I proceeded to begin the horribly process of Chloraseptic spray. I read the directions and it said to spray 5 times into the back of your throat, wait 15 seconds, and then spit everything out. So I did exactly that. Oh y'all, the nastiness cannot be described. It was awful! I gagged over and over to the point of almost throwing up.

And then I noticed something funny. Have you ever smelled something and it instantly takes you back to a particular moment in time? For instance, if I smell bacon frying, I think of my great-grandmother. If I smell sunscreen, I think of the beach.

The smell of the Chloraseptic spray took me all the way back to the spring of 1997.

Anatomy and Physiology class lab day.

Also known as the day I dissected a cat.

I started sniffing thinking that maybe it was just in my head, so I asked Jeremy if he smelled something unusual. He got a funny look on his face and grabbed the bottle of Chloraseptic spray and started reading the back.

That's when I discovered that the active ingredient in Chloraseptic spray is Phenol.

Phenol, a disinfectant and antiseptic, is occasionally used during embalming process, and smells exactly like formaldehyde, the major chemical used in embalming, as my funeral director husband so kindly shared with me.

Thus, the smell that reminded me of dissection day.

Not being someone to ever overreact to things, I immediately went and washed down the little bit of chemicals left in my mouth out with some sweet tea and then proceeded to brush the fire out of my teeth. However, I'm not convinced that I didn't swallow at least a little bit of a hazardous chemical.

So just in case something happens to me, as least I have the satisfaction of knowing that my teeth and esophagus should be preserved forever, as long as the chemicals didn't burn a hole in them.