Alcohol used by patients to gargle was found to be fake - Photo: BVCC
On June 16, Hanoi Police said that Team 2 of the Economic Police Department arrested Pham Dinh Tuan (vice chairman of the People's Committee of Chuc Son town, Chuong My district, Hanoi).
Mr. Tuan was arrested to investigate the act of producing fake medical alcohol. According to initial information, Tuan and his younger brother together established the Ngan Ha Company to produce 70-degree medical alcohol.
However, for profit, Tuan directed his employees to produce alcohol with methanol instead of ethanol (in a ratio of 30% water, 70% alcohol). This is considered dangerous to the health of users.
Brain damage from rinsing mouth with 'fake' medical alcohol
Previously, the Poison Control Center of Bach Mai Hospital received a 55-year-old man (Hoang Mai, Hanoi ) in a coma, respiratory failure, and severe metabolic acidosis.
Blood test showed high concentration of industrial methanol 116.63 mg/dL and brain MRI showed necrotic lesions and cerebral hemorrhage complications.
It is worth mentioning that the patient had no history of alcohol addiction, was in good health and only had the habit of using medical alcohol to rinse his mouth and treat toothache.
Doctors at the Poison Control Center said the patient had methanol poisoning. Test results of the alcohol sample the patient used showed that although the label said "70-degree ethanol", there was no ethanol, but only industrial methanol, which accounted for 77.5%.
The patient used "alcohol" to hold for a long time, had an open wound in the mouth (tooth pulpitis), the "alcohol" penetrated the mucosa and it is not excluded that the patient swallowed it during the holding process. These are the reasons that caused the patient to be poisoned and lead to the current critical condition.
Previously, Bach Mai Hospital's Poison Control Center also received many emergency cases of methanol poisoning due to the use of fake medical alcohol.
The most common type of alcohol used for disinfection is ethanol, while methanol is industrial alcohol, a toxic chemical with very poor disinfecting properties and should not be used for disinfection. Industrial methanol can be easily absorbed through the digestive tract, skin and respiratory tract. Methanol is also volatile, so inhaling a lot or for a long time can also cause poisoning.
Many people have gone blind, suffered brain damage, and died from fake alcohol.
Speaking with Tuoi Tre Online , Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen - director of the Poison Control Center at Bach Mai Hospital - said that over the years, the center has received many cases of using fake medical alcohol.
"Of the fake alcohol bottles that caused poisoning collected at the Poison Control Center, all caused severe poisoning, of which about 30% caused death, the rest caused blindness and/or brain damage," said Dr. Nguyen.
According to him, to solve the situation of fake alcohol and fake alcohol, the main role belongs to the authorities, it is necessary to manage toxic chemicals, cannot be easily circulated widely and confusedly as it is now, from the registration stage, business management to the inspection, post-inspection and handling stages must be strict.
For people, at a time when alcohol-based disinfectants are still unsafe and full of risks, they should be very careful when buying alcohol-based disinfectants.
You need to buy from reputable pharmacies. When buying a bottle of alcohol, you must ensure that you have proof of purchase (for example, a receipt or sales receipt from the correct pharmacy, to bind liability when problems occur). Read carefully all the information on the label of the alcohol bottle. If it is antiseptic alcohol, it must have clear items.
The "ingredients" section must clearly state the concentration, ratio, and content of antiseptic alcohols such as ethanol and isopropanol. Methanol must not be included. The "uses" section must clearly state whether it is used for disinfection, sterilization, or sterilization.
When there are ambiguous words such as "supports disinfection/antiseptic/sterilization/antiseptic" or only states "disinfects/sterilizes instruments" without mentioning use on humans, you need to be very careful because the products may be unsafe.
WILLOW
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/con-y-te-gia-lam-nhieu-nguoi-mu-mat-ton-thuong-nao-tu-vong-20250617092425398.htm
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