Many people have faced the issue of mold in their drinks. Even though it’s hard to happen, moldy Gatorade is a reality, and you need to deal with it.
However, we need to realize that these are extremely adverse situations that moldy Gatorade can finally reach your hands. Usually, you get a perfectly sterilized Gatorade that is 100% pasteurized and free of contaminant agents.
Today we will discuss what happens on the adverse occasion that you drink moldy Gatorade and you realize it soon after the consumption.
If you ask 1000 people, 999 out of them will agree that they have had a moldy food or beverage once in their life, and nothing happened.
But being responsible with our reading audience, it would be plausible to see what happens when mold has developed in the Gatorade bottle.
You will be the one to consume it, so you better know all the effects before you even ask your doctor what to do next.
Moldy Gatorade Can Rarely Exist in Stores
When a store manager inspects the inventory, he can realize the expiry date for Gatorade bottles. It would be the store’s responsibility to remove all the Gatorade bottles that have less than fifteen days till the declared expiration date.
Whatever happens to the bottles after the expiration date is the responsibility of store managers and retailers.
The Gatorade company will accept returns the unsold Gatorade bottles that are 15 days to expire and replace them with new ones.
So the possibility of getting a moldy Gatorade when you are in a store is minimal.
However, some bottles may have a small leak that causes a direct touch to the environmental air.
That could cause the contamination of the Gatorade content with fungus and the creation of mold, should the conditions of heat and humidity become optimal.
In that case, it’s better to keep on reading the rest of the article, as it’s very probable that somebody will eventually drink moldy Gatorade by accident.
Mold Would Be Hard to Develop in Gatorade
It’s also true that mold cannot easily develop in Gatorade. You need to know that mold prefers contents and products that contain eggs and are rich in protein.
That is not the case with Gatorade bottles that contain 99% water, and only the rest 1% is color and sucralose, the main carbohydrate present in the Gatorade content.
Here are the ingredients of Gatorade to ensure that there is only a tiny chance of developing mold inside:
- Water
- Sugar
- Dextrose
- Citric Acid
- Salt
- Sodium Citrate
- Monopotassium Phosphate
- Gum Arabic
- Glycerol Ester Of Rosin
- Natural Flavor
All these ingredients are not likely to attract any fungi and let mold appear. That’s why you need to be very unlucky to come across and have a Gatorade bottle with moldy particles inside.
It Requires To Leave Gatorade More Than Two Weeks Open to Get Moldy
In real life, you can only have your Gatorade develop mold when you leave it open on the countertop for more than two weeks in a row.
Provided that you live in a place where the air will not get renewed daily, you will have the fungi from the air of the room established on the free surface of the liquid inside.
If you leave the fungi there for quite a long time, they can consume the sugar from inside of the bottle content and develop mold. You will be able to see the mold only when the fungal population becomes massive.
Mold Negative Effects on Human Body
The human body will have several negative effects after mold consumption, and these could be listed here:
- watery eyes
- runny nose
- sneezing
- itching
- coughing
- wheezing
- difficulty breathing
- headache
- fatigue
These are the general symptoms of fungal infection. However, when you digest the mold, you may have tiny particles in your blood after you absorb them from your stomach and intestine.
That could lead to severe inflammation that could start with a high fever and even get you in a septic situation.
It depends on your general conditions and the gravity of symptoms when you swallow mold that you should make the decision to see a doctor for further advice.
What to Do If You Drink Moldy Gatorade
First, you don’t need to panic. Chances are that your enzymes in the mouth and also the acidic environment in your stomach would have killed all the fungi when they entered your body.
However, in the rare condition that you have an open wound in your mouth or even your immune system does not work as efficiently as before, you need to seek medical attention.
The first symptoms from mold swallowing could come from the stomach, where you could feel cramps and abdominal pain.
If you check your temperature and you are close to 100F, you should try to get in touch with a doctor as soon as possible.
Is there a Need for Hospitalization After Moldy Gatorade Consumption?
Moldy Gatorade consumption would hardly ever require any hospitalization.
However, it all depends on how your body reacts to the mold invasion and your ability to kill the fungi as soon as they are inspected in your bloodstream.
Most people will never have any issue with mold that they have just ingested when drinking moldy Gatorade.
However, some others could need some expert medical attention and run some blood tests to ensure that mold and fungi have not brought them into a septic situation that could immediately threaten their lives.
Final Words
To consume moldy Gatorade is impossible.
However, if you live alone and use to drinking open bottles that you have in your kitchen, you may accidentally have a moldy Gatorade ingestion.
The best advice would be to keep calm and call your doctor.
He is the only one to give you a solid answer to the question of what happens when you drink a moldy beverage and what is the best thing to do to stay safe and alive!
