Taking a medical history, Mr. A. said that he had previously met two friends after a long time and had a drink together. Normally, he rarely drinks alcohol, but now that he heard about the specialty wine, he tried 3 glasses, felt light-headed and went home to rest.
After that, Mr. A. started vomiting and feeling tired, but thought it was due to being drunk. The next morning, he had a migraine, difficulty breathing, photophobia, and blurred vision, sometimes as if his eyes were covered by clouds. On the third day, when he heard that two of his friends had similar symptoms, he called his wife to take him to Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
On September 22, Dr. Dinh Tuan Vinh, Department of Emergency Resuscitation (ICU), Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that patient A. was admitted to the hospital with typical symptoms of methanol poisoning such as restlessness, vomiting, lethargy, blurred vision, migraine, difficulty breathing, etc. Immediately, the patient was tested for blood and urine, given fluids to reduce dehydration, and given oxygen. The results were consistent with the initial diagnosis, he had metabolic acidosis with an arterial pH index reduced to 7.29 (normal index from 7.35 - 7.45).
Doctor Vinh is checking the parameters on the intermittent dialysis machine.
“However, if we continue to wait for accurate test results, it will prolong the time for methanol to enter the patient’s body. Therefore, based on clinical symptoms and metabolic acidosis results, the patient should be quickly placed on intermittent dialysis to avoid dangerous complications such as optic nerve damage causing blindness, multiple organ failure, and even death,” Dr. Vinh shared.
After intermittent dialysis every 4 hours, 12 hours of monitoring and a second intermittent dialysis, the patient's blurred vision was gone and the acidosis had improved. The patient's health is currently stable, test results are within safe limits, and liver and kidney function are stable.
Drinking just 30 ml of pure methanol can be fatal.
Dr. Dinh Tuan Vinh said that methanol is an industrial alcohol. Methanol is used for many different purposes such as solvent, paint, cleaning solution, antifreeze... Products containing methanol include: Perfume, windshield washer fluid, carburetor cleaner... Because it is highly toxic to the body, methanol is only used in small amounts in industrial solutions, not used to make alcohol or process food.
If accidentally ingested methanol, the patient will be poisoned quickly within 30 - 60 minutes. Just drinking 30 ml of pure methanol can cause death and 10 ml can cause blindness. Methanol is quickly absorbed through the digestive tract, most of which is metabolized through the liver into formic acid, causing metabolic acidosis, damaging organs, nerves, vision and threatening life. When first ingested, the body will feel similar to being drunk.
When entering the body, the symptoms of methanol poisoning are more obvious, including: Vomiting, headache, dizziness, restlessness, back pain, body pain, muscle stiffness, sweating, lethargy, blurred vision, weak breathing, hallucinations, coma, convulsions... Clinical manifestations such as vasodilation, hypotension, heart failure, changes in liver function, acute kidney failure...
To prevent methanol poisoning, people should choose alcohol with a clear origin and licensed by the Food Safety Department. When drinking alcohol, if you have symptoms of suspected alcohol poisoning, go to the nearest medical facility with adequate equipment and machinery, especially a blood filtration system, to receive timely treatment, avoiding dangerous complications that affect your future life.
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