Drinking continuously for 10 days, man fell into a coma due to alcohol poisoning
Mr. L.Q.D (61 years old, residing in Me Linh, Hanoi) often drinks alcohol but does not eat enough. The family said that Mr. D had a habit of buying and using alcohol of unknown origin. On the morning of February 9, 2025, he was discovered to be in a state of consciousness disturbances, unresponsive when asked for calls and was quickly taken to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases for emergency care.
At the Emergency Department, the patient was admitted to the hospital in a deep coma, strong breathing, black skin, loss of urinary control and severe metabolic disorders. Doctors have placed endotracheal tubes, ventilated machines, and continuously filtered blood for emergency care. The results of the skull scan showed signs of age-related cerebral edema. Through an in-depth consultation, the patient was diagnosed with methanol poisoning with a poor prognosis and a high risk of death. According to the medical history, Mr. D had high blood pressure for about 10 years, diabetes for 5-7 years and was a heavy alcohol addict for a long time.
The Poison Control Center - Bach Mai Hospital has received cases of industrial alcohol poisoning methanol. Of these, 4 of them drank alcohol together at a wedding. After about 2 days of drinking alcohol at a wedding, the patients showed signs of fatigue, dizziness, and blurred vision. Some patients have difficulty breathing.
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen - Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital said that the patients had very high levels of methanol in their blood.
The results of testing alcohol samples of patients drinking at weddings showed that the concentration of industrial alcohol methanol was 34% while ethanol was only 14.4%. This is definitely an unprofessional wine, mixed with industrial alcohol methanol, not rice wine, traditional wine, said Dr. Nguyen.
Increased alcohol poisoning - Management loopholes need to be closed
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen added that industrial alcohol methanol when entering the body will be converted into formic acid, causing serious damage to organs, especially the brain and optic nerve. The danger is that methanol is not as unpleasant at first, even slightly sweet and addictive as regular alcohol, making it difficult for drinkers to recognize it. However, inside the body, this poison is metabolized slowly, silently destroying organs. When symptoms appear, the damage is too severe, which can lead to organ failure or death.
In Vietnam, methanol poisoning is often detected late due to the dangerous properties of this substance and the unknown use of counterfeit alcohol. When arriving at the hospital, many patients were in critical condition with a mortality rate of up to 30-50%. Not only the heavy deaths, many people, even though they survived, still face long-term consequences. Methanol silently damages part of the optic nerve and the brain, although it is not obvious at first, it will later lead to vision loss, mobility disorders and neurological diseases such as Parkinson's.
In many cases, although they look normal, when tested, the concentration of methanol in the blood is very high. If not filtered promptly, they will suffer permanent damage to the eyes and brain. People who have been poisoned by methanol are at risk of impaired vision and movement from 50-60 years old, instead of working out at normal age of 80.90.
The consecutive cases of methanol poisoning are a warning bell about the widespread situation of dirty alcohol in the market. Strong measures are needed to control and prevent industrial alcohol from appearing in drinks, and protect public health from this deadly danger.
