Why can methanol alcohol cause poisoning?

Methanol in alcohol is an extremely toxic substance. When entering the body, methanol will convert into acids that cause cell damage, especially eyes, brain, blindness and even death.

1.1 What is Methanol? Methanol is also known as carbinol, methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, methyl hydrate, methyl hydroxide, methyl alcohol,... Methanol means methyl alcohol is an alcohol, with the chemical formula CH3OH, is the simplest, light alcohol. , colorless, volatile, flammable, easily soluble in water. Methanol alcohol is a liquid with a characteristic odor, slightly sweeter than ethanol (drinking alcohol).
At room temperature, methanol is a polar liquid, used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and a denaturant for ethanol. Methanol is also used to produce biodiesel through transesterification. In daily life, methanol is often used in industry to make antifreeze, as a solvent in paint cleaners, car glass cleaners, copier printing ink and as fuel for small stoves, ..
1.2 What is methanol alcohol? The main component of drinking alcohol is ethanol with the chemical formula C2H5OH, while methanol has the chemical formula CH3OH. Both of these wines are produced by fermentation and distillation. Whereas ethanol is fermented from starches such as grains, tubers containing starch or sugar, methanol is fermented from raw materials containing cellulose (wood). Unlike ethanol, pure methanol is highly toxic and unfit for drinking.
Why is methanol toxic but make alcohol from methanol? The answer is that for profit, people produce alcohol at a low cost, creating alcohols with very high methanol content, which is easy to cause poisoning.

When drinking methanol alcohol, methanol is easily absorbed through the intestines and skin into the lungs. After entering the body, methanol will reach peak plasma concentrations after 30-60 minutes. This chemical is slowly metabolized in the liver. About 3% of the amount of methanol taken into the body is eliminated via the lungs or unchanged in the urine.
Methanol is a substance with low toxicity. However, after being introduced into the body, methanol will be oxidized to form formaldehyde. This substance is then further oxidized to form formic acid - ant acid, the main component of ant venom. It is formic acid that is considered to be the culprit in cases of methanol poisoning. Finally, formic acid is converted to CO2 and water. These two substances are eliminated through the lungs and kidneys.
Oxidation occurs rapidly causing formic acid to accumulate in the serum and cause toxicity. The accumulation of formic acid in the serum causes a metabolic acidosis. Metabolism of methanol and accumulation of formic acid in the retina causes damage to the retina, damage to the optic nerve, leading to blindness. Formic acid also causes brain damage, which can lead to death.

Using materials with wood residue (cellulose): Normally, ethanol is distilled from rice or cane sugar, so it is not toxic. However, some distilleries use molasses that is not clean of residues (cellulose contains cellulose in bagasse), leading to the phenomenon that during distillation fermentation, the residue decomposes to produce methanol. If using bagasse or using molasses with residue to make alcohol, the methanol content in the alcohol will be high, easy to cause acute alcohol poisoning; Production of alcohol from poor quality ethyl alcohol: A large amount of alcohol on the market is prepared by mixing alcohol with water. On average, 1 liter of alcohol can make 3 liters of alcohol without the effort or cost of making wine by distillation. More dangerously, many owners of alcohol production facilities use poor quality alcohol (cheap, high content of methanol, aldehyde, acetone) so when making alcohol, there will be high content of methanol, aldehyde, acetone. ,...; Accidental use of methanol: Many wineries often add dry alcohol (containing methanol) when distilling. Mixing alcohol from alcohol in this way will make the wine come out faster, more fragrant. However, this is a method of introducing toxic methanol into alcohol, which easily causes severe alcohol poisoning and leads to death; Do not remove the alcohol containing methanol at first: When distilling alcohol, the first stage will create impurities such as methanol, aldehyde, acetone,... because these substances evaporate at low temperature, they are produced right at the first stage. head section. The rule is to leave. However, for economic reasons, there are some winemakers who keep it, mix it with the original distillate and cause harm to alcohol users.

Initial symptoms are like drunkenness: Uncontrollable emotions, behavior, easy anger, anger, unsteadiness;... More severe symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, blurred vision eyes, rapid breathing, lethargy, sluggishness, convulsions, delirium,...; Severe symptoms: Blindness, coma, respiratory failure, severe hypotension, cardiac arrest and can lead to death from alcohol poisoning if not treated promptly. Alcohol poisoning from methanol happens very quickly. After taking about 6-8 hours, the patient has nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness. The above symptoms lasted about 8 hours before death. The time from drinking to death from alcohol poisoning is less than 24 hours.

When you have alcohol poisoning, you should find a way to induce vomiting, then rub your cheeks vigorously, give the victim a cup of hot milk and condensed tea. Next, you should loosen your shirt and pants, let the victim lie in a cool place but avoid direct drafts. Position of the victim: lying face down on the bed, hands down, face to the left. Do not give the victim an antiemetic because it will keep the poison and do not give Paracetamol because it will damage the liver.
If the victim shows signs of convulsions, irregular breathing, coma, falls, bleeding from the ears, eye bags, arrhythmia, etc., immediately bring the victim and the substances they have used ( suspected to be the causative agent of poisoning) to the emergency room.

Methanol poisoning is a serious and dangerous type of poisoning, but it can be prevented by the following ways:
Limit the use of alcohol and beer because this is a toxic substance that adversely affects the liver, heart, and brain. ,... Each person should only drink 1 unit of alcohol per day. Specifically, it is recommended to drink only 300-350ml of beer (concentration of 4%), 150-200ml of champagne (concentration of 11%), 50ml of colored wine (concentration of 17-20%) or 25ml of white wine (concentration of 35%). - 40%); Be careful when using alcohol, only buy alcohol at reputable addresses, with clear origin information; Do not drink alcohol prepared by yourself, soaked with leaves, roots, animals, ... without knowing the ingredients, origin or uses; Do not drink alcohol with methanol content > 0.1%; Do not drink alcohol on an empty stomach; Do not drink alcohol with carbonated drinks; Do not drink alcohol while using drugs such as: Central nervous system depressants, central nervous system stimulants, antihypertensive drugs, hypoglycemic drugs, Cephalosporin antibiotics, Phenicol group (Chloramphenicol). ), Azol group (such as Metronidazol), older generation non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as Diclofenac, Ibuprofen,...); Pregnant and lactating women should not drink alcohol; Recognize early signs of methanol poisoning to promptly take the victim to the emergency room at medical facilities. Methanol alcohol causes alcohol poisoning, depending on the level, which can be dangerous to health, even fatal. Therefore, for good health, each person should limit the use of alcohol. When there are symptoms of alcohol poisoning, it is necessary to take the victim to the hospital for timely emergency treatment.