Whiskey Cures Blindness For Man Who Drank Too Much Vodka, Doctors Explain Why
After whiskey cures blindness for a man poisoned by a drinking too much vodka, doctors have explained why the unlikely medicine worked so well.
The story of the man who was blinded by his vodka broke last week from New Zealand. After the man drank loads of vodka while on diabetes medication, doctors found that whiskey cures his blindness thanks to its ability to stop the body from metabolizing methanol.
Doctors who found 65-year-old Denis Duthie reeking of alcohol realized that he had formaldehyde poisoning, which occurs when the body ingests too much methanol. It can be treated with ethanol, which is found in whiskey.
It was a scary ordeal for the man, the NZ Herald reported.
“I thought it had got dark and I’d missed out on a bit of time but it was only about half-past-three in the afternoon,” Duthie said. “I was fumbling around the bedroom for the light switch but … I’d just gone completely blind. I don’t remember much after I arrived in hospital. I know the doctor told my wife to say goodbye because they didn’t think I’d be coming out again.”
The idea that whiskey cures blindness may seem far-fetched, but Slate noted that it’s a real thing. Really.
Write Forrest Wickam noted:
“If you drink yourself blind, can you really be cured by drinking whiskey? Yes. Methanol poisoning occurs when your body metabolizes dangerous quantities of methanol, resulting in too much acid in the blood. This acid can then damage or kill cells in the optic nerve. However, the body prefers ethanol (regular drinking alcohol) to methanol, so drinking whiskey or other unadulterated liquor can help prevent the body from metabolizing more methanol. No one who suffers from methanol poisoning should self-medicate with whiskey. If you suspect you’ve consumed methanol, you should call poison control immediately. But if you go to the hospital, don’t be surprised if the doctor tries to cure you with a few shots of the hard stuff.”
So thanks to that information, you now know that if you find yourself without sight after drinking too much, whiskey cures blindness.
Tags : methanol poisoning, methanol poisoning treatment, vodka blindness, vodka makes man go blind, whiskey cures blindness, whiskey cures man's blindness
Posted: December 7, 2012
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Dec 8, 2012
The more you know….
Dec 8, 2012
amazing!
Dec 8, 2012
Ha, and they say you shouldn't self medicate. I'll drink on that.
Dec 8, 2012
This article is inaccurate. First of all methanol is NOT found in Vodka or any other alcoholic beverage for consumption. The alcohol that we drink is ETHANOL in all it's many forms. METHANOL is the chemical name for rubbing alcohol. If you drink methanol, rubbing alcohol yes it can poison the optic nerve. Since the body can detoxify ethanol much easier it does make since that it would replace the breakdown of methanol to formaldehyde. Bottom line: If there is methanol in your Vodka someone is trying to blind or kill you.
Dec 8, 2012
It seems like such a cruel thing to post this article online….
Dec 8, 2012
Awesome! I am going right out to get some Maker's Mark!
Dec 8, 2012
I thought drinking too much would MAKE you go blind.
Dec 8, 2012
Real vodka should not contain methanol. Sounds like he was drinking sime homemade hooch and called it vodka.. It may have been Sternodka.
Dec 8, 2012
which it did…vodka made him blind and whiskey countered the effects of vodka blindness…did you read?
Dec 8, 2012
If methanol is found in vodka, I wouldn't be wanted to drink it.
Dec 8, 2012
Not true! That guy drink industrial alcohol that poisoned him. If you drink too much votka that can kill you too, but blindness come from industrial alcohol, period.
Dec 8, 2012
Right. Homemade or badly made. In the UK, "The Food Standards Agency has stated that levels of methanol in vodka should not exceed 0.05% (0.5g/L) on safety ground. Furthermore, there is a maximum prescribed level for methanol in vodka prescribed by The Spirit Drinks Regulations of 50g/hectolitre (0.05%) at 100%vol." – http://archive.publicanalyst.com/News/News_Archive_Index/Dangerous_Vodka/dangerous_vodka.html
Dec 8, 2012
Time for my medicine!
Dec 8, 2012
Ok, the main part on this should also be pointed out for all those arguing about vodka vs methanol…. QUOTE: After the man drank loads of vodka while on diabetes medication QUOTE…… Maybe it was the combination of the 2 that caused the Methanol poisoning…..
Dec 8, 2012
Anything with Meth can't be to good for you…
Dec 8, 2012
Good point LOL
Dec 8, 2012
Was methanol the type of alcohol called "bathtub gin" that Americans drank during Prohibition in the 1920's? I seem to remember similar effects mentioned in history books.
Dec 8, 2012
Drinking any clear booze is just un-american! Thanks Whiskey!
Dec 8, 2012
Says something about being "blind drunk".
Dec 8, 2012
Further proof:
http://manateeriverbank.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/bourbon-antarctica/
Dec 8, 2012
That explains why alcoholic eyes are always, redish/yellow, dilated blood vessels, and their skin pale and yellowish in color.(Cirrhosis of the liver) Drink up! ( and suffer the consequences of your choices).
Dec 8, 2012
Actually thats not true. Methanol is an impurity that is removed during the distillation process. If he was drinking bottom shelve, low grade, or homemade Vodka there is a good chance he was consuming Methanol. I'm not going to say that doctors know everything, and are always right, but there is a good chance they know what they are talking about here.
Dec 8, 2012
Ummmmm maybe he should switch to pot, or cut down on his drinking period. What a mook….
Dec 8, 2012
methanol is organic alcohol just like ethanol, and it is made right alongside it in the fermentation process. It is distillation and fractioning that removes it
Dec 8, 2012
Just one more thing wiskey is good for.
Dec 8, 2012
Now watch as a bunch of idiots with poor eyesight go out and drink a lot of whiskey to try to improve it.
Dec 8, 2012
Great……….a guy goes from can't being able to see…………to seeing double…….now what?
Dec 8, 2012
YeaH, but now the poor guy is looking for something to cure his double vision.
Dec 8, 2012
If your hair is falling away, it does no good to kneel and pray. But if you simply drink some whiskey, your hair will grow back and you'll feel frisky.
Dec 8, 2012
Dan is correct. During the distillation process, unless everything is perfect, you will end up with methanol, or at least some methanol. This is why making your own moonshine is dangerous, because people don't have the best equipment for the process.
To put it simple, ethanol is a two carbon molecule. Methanol is a one carbon molecule. When you understand that, you can realize why you'd get methanol in some instances, because most chemical reactions do have some impurity or minor product.
Dec 8, 2012
This was a plot on House.
Dec 8, 2012
Interesting……………Now alkies can have hope and more BS will come out………
Keep on drinking cheers to everyone………
Dec 8, 2012
Hannah, How is it CRUEL? people drink Dr. Tiscners, Vitalis, and other substances to get drunk, and it harms them greatly. Bringing this to the forefront may just save 1 person from poisoning themselves. You ever find any cups full of bread, sugar, and water hidden in the Jail, there?
Dec 8, 2012
YES, it could well be. Wish a Doctor of Toxicology would weigh in on this……
Dec 8, 2012
You are correct. Also elements such as Paint Thinner, and Formaldehyde were added to "cut" the bathtub brew and increase profits.
Dec 8, 2012
Whiskey River take my mind…………
Dec 8, 2012
This may be a perfect example of "hair of the dog."
Dec 8, 2012
Whiskey has the same ethanol in it that Vodka has. It's why people drink them.
If the formaldehyde is a byproduct of ethanol poisoning, drinking more Vodka would work just as well as drinking more Whiskey.
Dec 8, 2012
This would explain why I sleep with ugly women after drinking vodka.
Dec 8, 2012
I have one word to describe this article……….OXYMORONIC!
Dec 9, 2012
got a 5th. going to start saving my eyesight right now! knew this stuff was good for something other than getting buzzed.
Dec 9, 2012
Why not stop drinking altogether 'n be healthy with no side effects, end of story!
Dec 9, 2012
they even cured a patient on the show"house"like this. lol
Dec 9, 2012
Wow!
Dec 9, 2012
How much do I need to drink to get rid of my cheaters?
Dec 9, 2012
but what did his liver have to say about this?
Jan 15, 2013
And in another Inquistr article an Aussie pup was saved from radiator fluid poisoning via vodka.