Risks from fake alcohol, industrial alcohol mixed alcohol
The end of the year is the time when many parties and year-end parties of agencies, friends and family take place. Uncontrolled drinking of alcohol and beer, along with the situation of fake alcohol and industrial alcohol mixed alcohol floating on the market, increases the risk of alcohol poisoning.
According to Dr. Nguyen Kim Son - former Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital, currently working at An Viet General Hospital, the time leading up to the Lunar New Year always records a sharp increase in the number of alcohol poisoning cases. Many patients are hospitalized in serious, life-threatening conditions.
Dr. Nguyen Kim Son said that he has received many cases of poisoning due to drinking industrial alcohol. Patients are often hospitalized with symptoms of blurred vision, kidney failure, respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation and emergency dialysis. Most patients are male, of different ages.
In addition to fake alcohol, another form of poisoning that is also very worrying is poisoning due to arbitrarily drinking alcohol soaked in animals and plants of unknown toxicity such as snakes, bears' hands, ambarella tubers, ant eggs...
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen - Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital warned that during holidays, the number of alcohol poisoning cases hospitalized often increases significantly, concentrated in the 20-40s age group. The main cause is the habit of gathering, partying, drinking alcohol to "warm up" the body. Hospitalization cases range from mild to severe, including drunkenness, vomiting, coma, low blood pressure, respiratory failure, hypoglycemia and brain damage.
Recently, an alcohol poisoning incident occurred in Tu Minh ward, Hai Phong, causing 7 people to be affected by health, including 1 death and 6 people hospitalized after drinking about 5 liters of soaked alcohol together. Wine samples were collected and sent for testing. Based on the treatment results at Bach Mai Hospital and the test conclusions of the Hai Phong Center for Drug, Cosmetic and Food Testing, the Department of Health determined that the cause of poisoning was soaked alcohol contaminated with Methanol. All patients used the same type of alcohol.
According to doctors, most poisoning cases occur due to drinking too much alcohol in a short time, drinking many different types of alcohol and beer at the same time, drinking mixed alcohol and beer or drinking on an empty stomach. These factors are very likely to cause hypoglycemia, leading to convulsions and coma.
Many cases are also due to the use of fake foreign liquor, unqualified liquor. Even with standard liquor, if consumed beyond the safe limit, it can still cause acute poisoning.
Dr. Nguyen Kim Son recommends that for healthy adults, drinking more than 3 units of alcohol/day is considered to exceed the safe threshold. One unit of alcohol is equivalent to 1 can of beer 333 ml, or 150 ml of wine (10–15 degrees), or 50 ml of strong alcohol. For women, they should not drink more than 2 units of alcohol/day.
Long-term consequences for health and society
According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, alcohol abuse not only causes acute poisoning but also leads to many long-term consequences such as damage to the liver, kidneys, nervous system, and immunodeficiency. Alcohol is also a cause of increasing traffic accidents, domestic violence and social problems.
In particular, prolonged and uncontrolled alcohol use can lead to mental disorders. When someone is drunk or suspected of poisoning, the family needs to closely monitor, not to let the patient sleep soundly alone. Someone should be by their side to handle it in time when vomiting causes choking, falling or injury.
Doctors emphasized that the concept that drinking "genuine" alcohol or beer does not harm the liver is wrong. No matter what form it takes, alcohol and beer are a burden to the body and are related to about 200 diseases. People who drink alcohol for a long time are very prone to infections such as pneumonia, increasing the risk of death.
