Around where I work we use methanol (methyl alcohol) extensively. Although we’re pretty careful, occasionally someone gets a dose of vapor. According to some of the other guys, the best antidote for methanol poisoning is… ethanol (ethyl alcohol).
The reasoning here (supposedly) is that the ethanol sort of supplants the methanol, so that your body effectively receives a lower methanol dosage over a longer time, and any damage is ameliorated. This seems plausible, but I’m a little suspicious of the validity of any cure that requires spending time after work at the bar. So:
Is there any truth to the assertion that ethanol is effective in reducing the seriousness of methanol poisoning?
If so, is it really as simple as downing a few cold ones after work? Or is it more like administering an intravenous dose within a short time after methanol exposure?
How effective is the treatment?
Is this the standard way of treating methanol poisoning? Is there a better way?
If this does work, is the reason pretty much what I’ve described? Or, how and why does it actually work?
In any case, should I maintain a steady beer intake, just to be on the safe side?
I know for pets that for some reason drink methanol, you should give them some form of ethanol (vodka, gin, rum) - that is if yuo want to save the pet. It competes for the same ‘receptors’ in the liver.
**"Drinking a “hair of the dog” blocks the breakdown of methanol by switching the enzymes to the priority task of breaking down ethanol. Methanol is later broken down more gradually, and so hangover symptoms are eased. In fact, Jones says that ethanol has long been used in emergencies for detoxifying people poisoned with methanol.
Jones has also proposed another substance which blocks breakdown of methanol, 4-methyl pyrazole, as a possible way to prevent the misery of the morning after. Thomas Gilg and colleagues at the University of Munich’s department of forensic chemistry have proved it works. In 1993 they took 4-methyl pyrazole with plenty of plum brandy and managed to avoid a hangover. However, the drug is being developed only as a replacement for ethanol in methanol detoxification, not as a hangover cure."**
so the answers seem to be:
Yes
Only as a hangover antidote. A hospital would probably be a little more scientific about it!
3)Don’t know. According to various half-recalled memories, it could save your life, but I have no cites.
Is there any truth to the assertion that ethanol is effective in reducing the seriousness of methanol poisoning? YES
If so, is it really as simple as downing a few cold ones after work? NO
Or is it more like administering an intravenous dose within a short time after methanol exposure? YES, BUT NOT JUST ONE DOSE, A CONTINUOUS INFUSION.
How effective is the treatment? SAVES LIVES
Is this the standard way of treating methanol poisoning? YES Is there a better way? NOT ONCE THE METHANOL HAS BEEN ABSORBED FROM THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. HOWEVER, IN REALLY SEVERE METHANOL POISONING, OTHER TREATMENTS (SUCH AS CORRECTION OF METABOLIC ACIDOSIS, HEMODIALYSIS AND PERITONEAL DIALYSIS) MAY BE USED IN ADDITION.
If this does work, is the reason pretty much what I’ve described? MORE OR LESS Or, how and why does it actually work? THE TOXICITY OF METHANOL IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT IS CONVERTED BY THE BODY INTO FORMIC ACID WHICH IS QUITE TOXIC. THE CONVERSION REQUIRES ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE, AN ENZYME IN THE LIVER. IF YOU GIVE ETHANOL TO A PERSON WHO HAS CONSUMED METHANOL, THE ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE WILL ACT PREFERENTIALLY ON THE ETHANOL AND THERE WILL BE LESS ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE AVAILABLE TO CONVERT METHANOL TO FORMIC ACID, SO THAT IT WILL BE PRODUCED MORE SLOWLY AND ITS CONCENTRATION WILL DROP.
In any case, should I maintain a steady beer intake, just to be on the safe side? I DON’T SEE HOW IT COULD HELP SINCE EVEN WITHOUT THE BEER, THE AMOUNT OF FORMIC ACID YOU ARE PRODUCING FROM YOUR SLIGHT METHANOL EXPOSURE IS PROBABLY BELOW THE THRESHOLD FOR TOXICITY AND SINCE EVEN WITH THE BEER YOU WILL STILL BE EXPOSED TO THE SAME AMOUNT OF FORMIC ACID, JUST AT LOWER CONCENTRATIONS AND OVER A LONGER TIME PERIOD. HOWEVER, I COULDN’T FIND ANY INFORMATION ON WHETHER CHRONIC, LOW LEVEL EXPOSURE TO METHANOL CAUSES ANY PROBLEMS AND WHETHER, IF IT DOES, THOSE PROBLEMS ARE GREATER OR LESSER AMONG BEER DRINKERS.
Hey, thanks for the info. To be honest, I had thought that this was just a plausible-sounding UL, but now I know better.
Hey, I, uh, also heard that, uh, high-quality, imported ethanol products do a much better job of slowing methanlo absorbtion than the domestic, dollar-a-bottle medicine. Can I, uh, deduct the expense of “treatment” from my taxable income as an employment-related expense?
