A man called Poison Control after his girlfriend accidentally brushed her teeth with Deep Heat, a pain relief cream used to treat minor aches and pains.
TikTok Mia Kittelson (@mia.kittelson) recorded the conversation between her boyfriend and a Poison Control worker in Hawaii named Donna. By Monday, the video had reached 10 million views.
@mia.kittelson We were too deep in conversation about the Beckham doc i didnt even realize ☠️☠️☠️ #davidbeckham #beckhams #victoriabeckham #beckham #beckhamdocumentary ♬ origineel geluid – harpersbazaarnl
“Ummmm so she accidentally brushed her teeth with um like a Deep Heat,” the boyfriend explained. “Um, like Icy Hot that looked identical to her Colgate toothpaste.”
According to the caption, the mistake happened because the couple were distracted by discussing the Beckham documentary on Netflix.
At the end of the video, the couple placed both products—the Deep Heat and the Colgate toothpaste—side by side, to show how similar the two tubes look.
But many people in the comments still felt secondhand embarrassment for Kittelson’s mistake. “Calling poison control is so embarrassing but they’re so nice,” a user named Alex wrote.
“The way I wouldn’t even think to call poison control and just wait to see if I die or not,” another shared.
Others pointed out how the two product tubes look nothing alike. “You better marry that man he was in the trenches with that ‘identical,’” a user commented.
“Is the identical icy hot in the room with us,” another wrote.
Kittelson responded to one comment that said the lids are different, writing, “This is not my proudest moment.”
One woman shared her own embarrassing story of calling Poison Control. “If it makes you feel better, I had to call poison control at like 2am because I accidentally drank laundry detergent I had put in a water bottle,” she wrote.
A quick search on Google brings up similar stories of people accidentally brushing their teeth with pain relief creams. A Reddit user wrote that they immediately felt side effects, such as drooling, burning, and numbness, after mistakenly brushing with Icy Hot.
“My mouth was numb for about a solid couple of hours and I had to miss school that day,” they wrote. “I still have nightmares about the experience.”
Round Lake Park Police Department shared in a post that they’ve received “countless” calls from people who have accidentally mistaken other personal care products for toothpaste.
While hydrocortisone cream or personal lubricant products typically require rinsing and a good “what have I done” shake of the head, it’s more concerning when small children brush with tubs of muscle rubs, such as Icy Hot.
“If a significant exposure occurs, any of those can mean a trip to the ER to be observed for toxic symptoms; potentially seizures if enough of an exposure/ingestion. Unfortunately, when used incorrectly or in the hands of children, it can be very dangerous,” Round Lake Park PD wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kittelson via TikTok comment and Deep Heat via response form.
