How is methanol - an extremely toxic substance in alcohol destroying the body?

Wine has long been an indispensable drink in every festival, wedding ceremony and Tet holiday. Many people believe that the strong, spicy ferment of alcohol makes people drink lightheadedly, a feeling of being able to throw away all to be more happy. However, it is the alcohol in methanol that makes many people after the drinking go out never to go back to the family.

Methanol exceeds thousands of times

According to statistics of the Ministry of Health, every year Vietnamese people consume about 200 million liters of unofficial alcohol cooked in the population. On average, an adult male drinks about 27.4 liters of pure alcohol. Vietnam is an alarming high alcohol user when it ranks No. 2 in the region, ranking 10th in Asia and 29th in the world.

Recently (February 15), the Department of Food Safety (Ministry of Health) announced the initial conclusion about the cause of 7 deaths after eating the funeral at Ta Chai village, Ma Ly Chai commune, Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province made many people unable to be shocked and startled. Test results of the National Institute of Food Safety and Hygiene for 3 wine samples were taken from the poles showed that the content of Methanol (industrial alcohol) exceeded thousands of times compared to the permitted threshold.

According to experts, with the methanol content in the above alcohol, only drinking 1 cup has the risk of poisoning. Test results of methanol in the blood of 10 cases of poisoning being treated at Lai Chau General Hospital provided by Bach Mai Hospital Antitrust Center also have 8 cases of high blood methanol concentration, even There are cases of cases with methanol concentration above 326mg / dL (16 times higher than the normal poisoning threshold). While the normal concentration of methanol in blood> 20 mg / dL is considered poisoning, if> 40mg / dL is very severe poisoning.

A case of alcohol poisoning is being treated at the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital.(Photo: Thai Binh).

Causes eye and brain damage

MSc Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Head of Anti-Poison Department (Bach Mai Hospital) said that since the beginning of the year, the Center has received new patients every day due to alcohol poisoning. There are many days up to 4-5 cases. Alcohol poisoning is on the rise and tends to skyrocket before and after the Lunar New Year.

In the last 2 weeks before and during the last Lunar New Year, the Center for Antitrust (Bach Mai Hospital) alone has 5 deaths due to methanol poisoning, most patients in Hanoi and a history of drinking alcohol .

Among hospitalized patients, the majority were determined to be caused by Ethanol poisoning (alcoholic alcohol) found in ordinary wines but there were also many cases of Methanol poisoning. Some cases of severe poisoning due to drinking foreign alcohol.

MSc Nguyen Trung Nguyen analyzed, the most dangerous of patients suffering from alcohol poisoning is drinking alcohol containing industrial alcohol. Because methanol enters the body, it transforms into acids that cause cell damage, especially in the eyes and brain.

Therefore, when patients show signs of poisoning after drinking alcohol such as blurred vision, fast breathing, drowsiness, slowness, coma, then the poisoning situation is severe, the treatment is very difficult and dangerous. muscle left very large sequelae. In fact, many cases of high alcohol methanol drinking have been poisoned and died.

According to the Ministry of Health's warning, there is usually between 8 and 14 grams of pure alcohol in a "liquor unit" in that solution. Each unit is equivalent: 1 can of beer 270-330ml 2-12 degrees, or 1 cup of 125ml wine 9-18 degrees or 1 cup of spirits 40ml 40 degrees. Men drink more than 3 units of alcohol per day; Women who drink more than 2 alcoholic drinks a day are considered alcohol abuse.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health recommends that people should not drink alcohol when they do not know what wine is, alcohol has no origin . In particular, to limit alcohol poisoning containing industrial alcohol, management agencies need to manage more closely the traditional liquor production facilities.

Warning about alcohol use:

• Do not drink industrial alcohol and alcohol with methanol content> 0.1% because it can cause blindness and death.
• Do not drink alcohol concentrations of 30 degrees or more exceed 30ml / person / day.
• Do not drink alcohol soaked with leaves, roots, unknown animal organs or alcohol soaked in personal experience.
• Do not drink alcohol when: Do not know what alcohol is, alcohol has no origin, alcohol does not announce quality standards, when you are hungry, tired or taking medication.
• Children under 16 cannot drink alcohol.