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Dying man saved w/ vodka...true story - 10/12/2007 7:29:16 PM

Owner59

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Who knew that the antidote for anti-freeze(ethylene glycol) poisoning,was booze?

Australian doctors have kept an Italian tourist alive by feeding him vodka through a drip for three days, medical staff in Queensland say.
The 24-year-old man, who had swallowed a poison in an apparent suicide attempt, was treated while in a coma.
Doctors set up the drip after running out of medicinal alcohol, used as an antidote to the poison.
Medical staff said the patient had made a full recovery, and the hangover had worn off by the time he woke up.
He had been taken to hospital in the northern Queensland town of Mackay after swallowing ethylene glycol - a poison contained in anti-freeze.
"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," Dr Todd Fraser said in a statement.

http://frostfirefizz.com/categories/health

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RE: Dying man saved w/ vodka...true story - 10/12/2007 7:34:03 PM

Celeste43

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Doctors have done this for years on end. If there's any alcohol in the system, it will attach to alcohol receptors. If it's a poisonous alcohol, then you need to replace it with nonpoisonous. The trick is getting the ratio right. Too little and your receptors get the poisonous kind. Too much and you shut down the CNS.

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RE: Dying man saved w/ vodka...true story - 10/12/2007 7:42:50 PM

ChicagoSwitchMal

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I know what my next excuse for stumbling in drunk is.

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RE: Dying man saved w/ vodka...true story - 10/12/2007 8:26:34 PM

CuriousLord

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As Celeste43 said, it's an old practice.

You see, alcohol's poisonous. Including that stuff people drink to get drunk- that's why it works. But, methanol is particularly dangerous. It's about twice as poisonous as ethanol (the stuff you drink), but that's not the main problem. Your liver tries to process alcohols to break them down into other things. When it tries to break down methanol, it only turns it into even more toxic and poisonous things.

The solution? Flood the liver with ethanol. Have it so busy processing it, that it doesn't get a chance to process most of the methanol before the kidneys can filter it out.

Edit: Ahh.. hah. Just read the OP again. I just thought of rubbing alcohol since it's more common for people to drink it.. (thinking it's an alternative to booze). Ah wells, same concept.

< Message edited by CuriousLord -- 10/12/2007 8:30:09 PM >

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RE: Dying man saved w/ vodka...true story - 10/12/2007 9:33:28 PM

mnottertail

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I believe it was Paul who said, Give strong drink to a dying man......

Jesus H. Christ

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