Tet holiday advice: Signs and how to handle alcohol poisoning

Methanol is the simplest form of alcohol. Unlike ethanol, which is commonly found in beer and wine, methanol is much more toxic and can cause serious health problems if consumed.

Methanol is a toxic alcohol that can have adverse effects on health. Photo: Internet

When entering the body, methanol can be converted into formic acid - a toxin commonly found in ant venom. If the methanol content in the blood is too high, the body can be seriously damaged: kidney failure, heart and blood circulation problems, liver damage, vision loss (blurred vision, temporary or permanent blindness), nerve and brain damage.

Signs of methanol poisoning

It is important to know how to handle methanol poisoning to avoid unfortunate consequences that may happen to your relatives and friends. Photo: Internet

Within the first 1-2 hours after drinking alcohol, you may feel drunk, nauseous, vomit, and have an upset stomach (difficult to distinguish from the usual signs of drunkenness).

After 12 - 24 hours, more serious symptoms such as headache, dizziness, blurred vision may appear. In particular, if you notice blurred vision, or have difficulty looking towards a light source, it is best to go to the nearest medical facility for timely examination and treatment.

How to deal with methanol poisoning

When a relative or friend has alcohol poisoning, you need to make the poisoned person vomit all the alcohol, then rub both cheeks vigorously, give them strong tea or hot milk, then lay them face down on the bed, with their arms down and their face tilted to the left.

When you are alone with someone suffering from alcohol poisoning, you should not let them vomit because the vomited mucus can get into the lungs and cause suffocation.

Avoid letting your loved one get drunk and fall asleep because alcohol poisoning can cause the patient to fall into a coma while sleeping. Never let a drunk person sleep for a long time.

Patients should be given some foods to help with hangovers such as bananas, black beans, green beans and spinach juice to moisten the lungs, purify the blood and detoxify alcohol.

But it is 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, of course, you should drink less often and in small amounts. If you do get drunk, you should proactively sober up by using some of the following methods:

- Before drinking alcohol, take the initiative to eat some fatty foods, this substance will form a layer covering the inside of the intestine, reducing the absorption of alcohol through the intestinal wall into the blood. Thanks to that, you will take longer to get drunk and get drunk less;

- Do not drink alcohol with soft drinks and other carbonated drinks, because the gas reaction creates bubbles that will cause alcohol to enter the blood faster;

- Drink slowly because your body can only metabolize 25ml of alcohol (45 degrees) per hour - equivalent to 1/10 of a pint - if you drink too quickly, the excess alcohol will seep into your blood and reach your brain, creating an alcohol poisoning reaction in your brain;

- If you want to vomit, just vomit, do not hold it in because vomiting is the body's self-detoxification reaction;

- Do not take anti-emetic drugs because they will continue to retain toxins in your body, and the liver cannot filter the toxins fast enough, resulting in serious damage to the liver, leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer over time.