What is methanol and how does it affect the body?

Travelers are being warned about the dangers of methanol poisoning after six tourists to Laos died.

Methanol is an industrial chemical found in antifreeze and windshield washer fluid.

It is not intended for human consumption and is highly toxic.

Drinking even small amounts can be harmful. A few spirits of moonshine can be lethal.

It looks and tastes like alcohol and its initial effects are similar; It can make you feel drunk and sick.

Initially, people may not notice anything is wrong.

The damage occurs hours later when the body tries to clear it from the body by breaking it down in the liver.

This metabolism creates toxic byproducts called formaldehyde, formate and formic acid.

These can accumulate and attack nerves and organs, leading to blindness, coma and death.

Senior lecturer at Newcastle University, Dr. Christopher Morris said: “Formate, the main toxin produced, acts similarly to cyanide, shutting down energy production in cells, and the brain appears to be very vulnerable to it.

“This causes damage to certain parts of the brain. The eyes are also directly affected, which can lead to blindness, which is seen in many people exposed to high levels of methanol.”

From those who have been victimized so far Five out of six were women.

Toxicity from methanol depends on the dose you take and how your body handles it.

As with alcohol, the less you weigh, the more affected you may be by a given amount.

Dr. from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which monitors methanol poisonings. Knut Erik Hovda says awareness varies greatly between tourists and medical staff in different parts of the world, which can mean delays in diagnosis.

“Symptoms are often very vague until you get sick,” he told the BBC.

Poisoning is a medical emergency and must be treated in hospital.

In addition to dialysis, there are also drug treatments that can be given to clean the blood.

Some cases can be treated by using alcohol (ethanol) to bypass methanol metabolism. But this needs to be done quickly.

Environmental toxicology expert Prof. from Leeds University. Alastair Hay explained: “Ethanol acts as a competitive inhibitor, largely preventing the breakdown of methanol, but slowing this down significantly, allowing the body to excrete methanol through the lungs and some through the kidneys, and a little through sweat.”

Dr Hovda said getting help immediately after consuming methanol was crucial to the chances of survival.

“If you get to the hospital early enough and the necessary treatment is provided in that hospital, you can mitigate any effects,” he said.

“If you help, you can die from a very small amount of methanol and survive from a very large amount.

“The most important antidote is regular alcohol.”

MSF says most methanol poisonings occur in Asia, but some also occur in Africa and Latin America.

Our advice to travelers is to know what you are drinking and be aware of the risks.

Drink from reputable, licensed premises and avoid home-brewed drinks or illicit spirits.

Methanol is produced during the brewing process and concentrated through distillation.

Commercial producers will reduce this to levels safe for human consumption. But, Unscrupulous backyard brewers or others in the supply chain sometimes add industrially produced methanolTo go further and increase profits.

Dr Hovda said methanol was mixed with alcohol “mostly for profit because it is cheaper and more readily available”.

It is also possible for high levels of methanol to be produced by contamination with microbes during traditional ethanol fermentation.

The UK Foreign Office advises travellers: “Be especially careful when buying complimentary or alcoholic drinks. Do not drink if the labels, smell or taste look wrong.”

Affected beverages may include:

• local spirits, including local rice or palm liquor
• alcoholic beverages such as cocktails
• fake branded bottled alcohol in stores or behind the bar

To protect yourself from methanol poisoning:

• buy alcoholic beverages only from licensed liquor stores
• buy drinks only from licensed bars and hotels
• avoid homemade alcoholic beverages
• check that the bottle seals are intact
• check labels for poor print quality or misspellings

If you or someone you are traveling with shows symptoms of methanol poisoning, get emergency medical help.