Advice for Tet (Lunar New Year): Signs and treatment of alcohol poisoning.
(Baonghean.vn) - Holidays and festivals are times when people drink a lot of alcohol, so you need to know how to handle methanol poisoning to avoid unfortunate consequences for your family and friends.
Methanol is the simplest form of alcohol. Unlike ethanol, the type of alcohol commonly found in alcoholic beverages, methanol is far more toxic and can have serious health consequences if ingested.
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| Methanol is a toxic alcohol that can have adverse effects on health. (Image: Internet) |
When it enters the body, methanol can be metabolized into formic acid – a toxin commonly found in ant venom. If methanol levels in the blood are too high, the body can suffer serious consequences: kidney failure, heart and circulatory problems, liver damage, impaired vision (blurred vision, temporary or permanent blindness), and nerve and brain damage.
Signs of methanol poisoning
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| It's crucial to know how to handle methanol poisoning to avoid tragic consequences for your loved ones and friends. (Image: Internet) |
Within the first 1-2 hours after drinking alcohol, you may feel intoxicated, nauseous, vomit, and experience stomach pain (difficult to distinguish from typical signs of drunkenness).
After 12-24 hours, more serious symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and blurred vision may appear. In particular, if you notice blurred vision or difficulty seeing towards a light source, it is best to go to the nearest medical facility for prompt examination and treatment.
How to handle methanol poisoning
When a relative or friend suffers from alcohol poisoning, you should help them vomit up the alcohol, then vigorously rub both cheeks, give them strong tea or hot milk to drink, and then lay them face down on the bed with their arms extended and their face tilted to the left.
When you are alone with someone who has alcohol poisoning, you should not allow them to vomit because the mucus from vomiting can enter the lungs and cause suffocation.
Avoid letting family members get drunk and then fall asleep, as alcohol poisoning can easily cause them to fall into a coma while sleeping. Absolutely do not allow someone who has been drinking to sleep soundly for an extended period.
Patients should be given some hangover-relieving foods such as bananas, black beans, green beans, and water spinach juice to soothe the lungs, cleanse the bloodstream, and detoxify from alcohol.
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| However, it's best to take the patient to the emergency room immediately if there are signs of severe alcohol poisoning. (Illustration: Internet) |
Preventing alcohol poisoning
To prevent alcohol poisoning, it's essential to drink less frequently and in smaller quantities. If you do get drunk, you should proactively try to sober up using some of the following methods:
- Before drinking alcohol, proactively eat some fatty food. This will form a protective layer on the inside of the intestines, reducing the absorption of alcohol through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. As a result, you will get drunk more slowly and in less alcohol.
- Do not mix alcohol with soft drinks or other carbonated beverages, as the gas reacts to create bubbles, causing the alcohol to be absorbed into the bloodstream more quickly;
- Drink slowly because your body can only metabolize about 25ml of 45% alcohol per hour - equivalent to 1/10 of a small bottle - if you drink rapidly, the excess alcohol will be absorbed into the bloodstream, reaching the brain and causing an alcohol poisoning reaction.
- If you feel the urge to vomit, just vomit; don't hold it back because vomiting is the body's natural detoxification reaction.
- Avoid taking anti-nausea medications because they will continue to retain toxins in your body, and your liver cannot filter them quickly enough, resulting in serious liver damage, eventually leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
