How toxic is windscreen de-icer?

[Servalan]

I am getting myself into a state about this (I suffer with OCD and I never know if things I'm worried about are symptoms of the OCD or things that I should worry about).

I was walking dd to school this morning. The pavement was relatively narrow. We walked past a car with the windscreen wipers going, but no one actually in the car. There was still some frost on the windscreen. I could smell a sweet chemical smell. I was walking beside the car, my daughter was on the other side of me.

I'm now panicking because I'm thinking maybe the windscreen had been sprayed with something. Because the windscreen wipers were moving back and forth and there was frost coming off the windscreen, and because I was relatively near to the car (though not touching it), I'm wondering if I've got traces of de-icer/antifreeze on my coat/in my hair/on my clothes.

I'm resisting the urge to wash my coat (as I don't know what I'd wear to the school run later) and I haven't washed my hair since, but I'm worried in case I'm now covered in toxic stuff and it will hurt my daughter.

Am I being a nutjob? Do other people worry about things like this?

Thanks for your help

In the nicest possible way, you are overreacting. There's no need to wash your coat and you won't hurt your daughter. I have one friend who would worry about things like this, but she is seeing a counsellor for her OCD. Honestly, I'd worry if you or DD had sprayed it in your eyes or drunk it, but not passing spray from a car.

it is quite dangerous if ingested but the situation you describe doesn't sound too bad.
please try not to worry.

de-icer works very quickly so if the car was on with the wipers going then they were probably using the de-misters rather than de-icer spray. Even if it was de-icer then unless you licked it off the window then it is going to do you no harm at all. !!

It's not poisonous. Or at least not that poisonous! It would be a bad idea to drink it, but if a little has sprayed onto your skin or clothes, then it's not going to do you any harm, or your daughter either.

If it was going to be that dangerous, it would be banned, because it's not at all unusual for a little of it to flick onto people.

I suppose the scenario I think of is my daughter gets traces of it on her hands from touching my hair/my coat and puts her fingers in her mouth - or I leave a trace of it on the sofa from my hair/clothes and dd puts her toys on there and then puts them in her mouth (she does tend to put things in her mouth!) - or she gets traces on herself and then brings them into school...

I've had help for the OCD in the past - had intensive treatment over the summer and was doing really well, but then had some setbacks and I'm all over the place again - I'm trying to find a new therapist at the moment.