Treatment for alcohol poisoning patients at the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital). Photo: Xuan Loc
Bitter endings
At a party at home, after almost running out of alcohol, 4 people in Dam Doi district ( Ca Mau province) used a bottle of quick hand sanitizer mixed with alcohol to drink. The next day, they all had headaches, fatigue, and vomiting but did not go to the doctor. When 1 person became tired and died at home, the family took the remaining 3 to Ca Mau General Hospital. Here, all 3 patients were diagnosed with methanol poisoning. Due to late hospitalization, these people all had dangerous complications, of which 1 case had a poor prognosis. Since the beginning of 2023, Ca Mau province has recorded 3 cases of methanol poisoning, causing 3 deaths.
Previously, Dong Anh General Hospital ( Hanoi ) also provided emergency care to a male patient (56 years old) with methanol poisoning and a very serious prognosis. This patient had a history of alcoholism and was brought to the hospital's Emergency Department in a deep coma, with pale skin, cold limbs, and incontinence. Blood gas test results showed severe metabolic acidosis, the patient was diagnosed with acute methanol poisoning with a very serious prognosis and was transferred to the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital). Here, test results showed that the concentration of methanol in the blood was very high, requiring emergency dialysis.
Since the beginning of 2023, the Food Safety Department ( Ministry of Health ) has issued a warning that a number of provinces and cities have recorded many emergency cases related to the use of unsafe alcohol, alcohol of unknown origin, alcohol with high methanol content, including deaths. Methanol, also known as industrial alcohol, has many uses such as making paint, solvents... However, this substance is very toxic to the body and is absolutely not used as food alcohol like ethanol.
In each case of methanol-containing alcohol being detected, Bach Mai Hospital has specifically notified the relevant authorities, but the situation continues. Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital), said that methanol poisoning cases mainly come from two causes: drinking poor quality alcohol mixed with methanol and drinking counterfeit medical alcohol, with ethanol replaced with industrial methanol.
“Depending on each person’s constitution, there will be different reactions when drinking alcohol containing methanol. Some people will show signs of being drunk after drinking, and then start showing signs of poisoning after 2 days. In fact, methanol is metabolized and eliminated very slowly. Therefore, if the patient does not die, methanol can still be detected in the body up to 8 days after drinking. However, if methanol is left in the body for any time, this poison will gradually turn into formic acid, causing damage to the eyes and brain,” Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen analyzed.
Do not soak medicinal wine arbitrarily
In addition to cases of methanol poisoning, the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital) also treated many patients who were hospitalized due to poisoning after drinking wine soaked with tree roots to treat back pain, knee pain, and to strengthen the body... Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center, said that in some cases, testing the wine samples brought by patients and testing the patients' blood discovered salicylate components originating from tree roots. Salicylate poisoning can lead to serious health consequences. Patients experience dizziness, nausea, tinnitus, convulsions, coma, low blood pressure, brain damage and kidney damage, and are susceptible to death.
In fact, the use of medicinal wine and medicinal wine is very arbitrary, following the consumer mentality of "soaking whatever is available". There are types of wine soaked with herbs such as ginseng, lingzhi mushroom, ginseng, chrysanthemum, polygonum multiflorum, green banana... or soaked with oriental medicine. Many people believe that wine soaked with herbs and roots is a natural, benign food. Therefore, they use any type of plant, root, or leaf that has medicinal and nutritious effects, soak it in wine, and drink it, thinking that it can treat the disease.
According to medical experts, soaking wine from plants as well as animals must also be prescribed by oriental medicine doctors. Medicinal wine must be taken like medicine, taken as prescribed and in a certain dosage. With plants, animals, insects, if used correctly, they will be good medicine. On the contrary, if used indiscriminately and improperly, they will be toxic, especially with wild plants and grasses that often contain toxins that are harmful to the nervous system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, etc., even leading to death.
Dr. Nguyen Hong Tot, Department of Internal Resuscitation and Anti-Poison, Resuscitation Center (108 Central Military Hospital) added that methanol poisoning is very dangerous, with a high mortality rate, especially in late cases. In cases of late hospitalization, patients may die from multiple organ failure and severe metabolic acidosis. Some lucky cases that are saved may face neurological and visual sequelae. Therefore, people should use alcohol of known origin and should also limit the use of alcohol and beer to ensure their health, especially not drinking alcohol and beer when participating in traffic.
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