Doctors Saved Man's Life by Pumping 15 Cans of Beer Into His Body

[mountaineer]

Doctors Saved Man's Life by Pumping 15 Cans of Beer Into His Body
By Aristos Georgiou
 1/17/19 at 12:52 PM


A man dying from alcohol poisoning was saved after doctors in Vietnam pumped 15 cans worth of beer into his body.

The 48-year-old, Nguyen Van Nhat, fell unconscious and was taken to a hospital in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Tri on December 25 where doctors found that levels of methanol—a dangerous form of alcohol—in his body were more than 1,000 times over the recommended limit, the Daily Mirror reported.

When he arrived, medical staff at the General Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, led by Dr. Le Van Lam, immediately administered him with three cans of beer, equivalent to about 1 liter. Over the course of the day, doctors transfused a total of 15 cans of beer into the man’s body at a rate of about one every hour. This slowed down the rate at which his liver processed the methanol, allowing doctors to save his life.

There are two types of alcohol—ethanol and methanol—both of which produce similar effects and are toxic to the body to some degree. However, methanol—whose chemical structure varies slightly from its close relative—is not processed as well by the liver and thus can be far more dangerous when it is consumed in relatively large quantities. ...

Newsweek

[Cyber Liberty]

I wonder how he got that much Methanol in him?  Is bathtub gin a thing again?  Sterno?

[truth_seeker]

Prior to Feb. 5, 1994 I tried to treat my alcoholism, with about 18 cans of beer, per 24 hour day; usually between about 6-11 pm.

After a few anxious months, and the twelve steps, I was restored to sanity. In a few days it will be 25 years.

[Cyber Liberty]

@truth_seeker

 

[the_doc]

Methanol is really, really toxic stuff.  As I recall, if you stick your hand in a bucket of methanol for very long, it can kill you dead via skin absorption.

A few decades ago, some docs in Sweden demonstrated that they could reverse decades-long methanol-induced blindness (caused by methanol's nasty metabolites binding to the optic neural system) by infusing (i.e.,via IV) ethanol into those blind patients over long periods.  (They kept them pretty drunk for a matter of weeks, as a I recall.) 

The mechanism of this cure is different from the one in the case in Vietnam, but it still involves the biochemical competition between methanol and ethanol in the body's metabolism.

[Smokin Joe]

Prior to Feb. 5, 1994 I tried to treat my alcoholism, with about 18 cans of beer, per 24 hour day; usually between about 6-11 pm.

After a few anxious months, and the twelve steps, I was restored to sanity. In a few days it will be 25 years.

Good on you! Just passed 30 myself.

[truth_seeker]

Good on you! Just passed 30 myself.

Congrats to you, sir.

[Smokin Joe]

Congrats to you, sir.

Thanks, and to you. After the first few weeks, I just got in my head it was something I didn't do, and after that it wasn't hard at all.

[mountaineer]

Prior to Feb. 5, 1994 I tried to treat my alcoholism, with about 18 cans of beer, per 24 hour day; usually between about 6-11 pm.

After a few anxious months, and the twelve steps, I was restored to sanity. In a few days it will be 25 years.

Wow. I know that wasn't easy. Congratulations to you and Smokin Joe for your achievement.
My alcoholic brother's poison of choice is beer, though, dozens of servings per day, so I don't suppose drinking another type of alcohol would help in his case. 

[Smokin Joe]

Wow. I know that wasn't easy. Congratulations to you and Smokin Joe for your achievement.
My alcoholic brother's poison of choice is beer, though, dozens of servings per day, so I don't suppose drinking another type of alcohol would help in his case. 

No. only stopping would help him, and some don't. Keep praying for him, miracles happen.

[mountaineer]

No. only stopping would help him, and some don't. Keep praying for him, miracles happen.

Indeed. At least one sting in rehab, a pending DUI and a couple of near death experiences and detoxes haven't persuaded him to stop. Only God can help him.