What is methanol and how does it affect the body?

Travellers are being warned of the dangers of methanol poisoning aft six tourists to Laos person died.

Methanol is an concern chemic recovered successful antifreeze and windshield washer fluid.

It's not meant for quality depletion and is highly toxic.

Drinking adjacent tiny amounts tin beryllium damaging. A fewer shots of bootleg tone containing it tin beryllium lethal.

It looks and tastes similar alcohol, and the archetypal effects are akin - it tin marque you consciousness intoxicated and sick.

Initially, radical mightiness not realise thing is wrong.

The harm happens hours aboriginal arsenic the assemblage attempts to wide it from the assemblage by breaking it down successful the liver.

This metabolism creates toxic by-products called formaldehyde, formate and formic acid.

These physique up, attacking nerves and organs which tin pb to blindness, coma and death.

Dr Christopher Morris, a elder lecturer astatine Newcastle University, said: "Formate, which is the main toxin produced, acts successful a akin mode to cyanide and stops vigor accumulation successful cells, and the encephalon seems to beryllium precise susceptible to this.

"This leads to definite parts of the encephalon being damaged. The eyes are besides straight affected and this tin origin blindness which is recovered successful galore radical exposed to precocious levels of methanol."

So far, five of the six who person died person been women.

Toxicity from methanol is related to the dose you get and however your assemblage handles it.

As with alcohol, the little you weigh, the much you tin beryllium affected by a fixed amount.

Dr Knut Erik Hovda from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which tracks methanol poisonings, says consciousness varies a batch among tourists and healthcare unit successful antithetic parts of the satellite - and that could mean delays successful diagnosing it.

"The symptoms are often truthful vague until you get truly sick," helium told the BBC.

Poisoning is simply a aesculapian exigency and should beryllium treated successful hospital.

There are cause treatments that tin beryllium given, arsenic good arsenic dialysis to cleanable the blood.

Some cases tin beryllium treated utilizing intoxicant (ethanol) to outcompete the methanol metabolism. But this has to beryllium done quickly.

Prof Alastair Hay, an adept successful biology toxicology from the University of Leeds, explained: "Ethanol acts arsenic a competitory inhibitor mostly preventing methanol breakdown, but markedly slowing it down, allowing the assemblage to vent methanol from the lungs and immoderate done the kidneys, and a small done sweat.”

Dr Hovda said getting assistance rapidly aft consuming methanol was important to chances of surviving.

"You tin easiness each affects if you get to infirmary aboriginal capable and that infirmary has the attraction needed," helium said.

"You tin dice from a precise tiny proportionality of methanol and you tin past from a rather important one, if you get to help.

"The astir important antidote is regular alcohol."

MSF says the bulk of methanol poisonings hap successful Asia, but immoderate besides hap successful Africa and Latin America.

The proposal for travellers is to cognize what you’re drinking and beryllium alert of the risks.

Drink from reputable, licensed premises and debar home-brewed drinks oregon bootleg spirits.

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

Commercial manufacturers volition trim it to levels which are harmless for quality consumption. However, unscrupulous backyard brewers oregon others successful the proviso concatenation whitethorn sometimes adhd industrially produced methanol, to marque it spell further and summation profits.

Dr Hovda said methanol was mixed into intoxicant "mostly for nett reasons, due to the fact that it's cheaper and easy available".

It is besides imaginable for precocious levels of methanol to beryllium produced by contaminating microbes during accepted ethanol fermentation.

The UK Foreign Office advises travellers: "Take attraction if offered, peculiarly for free, oregon erstwhile buying spirit-based drinks. If labels, odor oregon sensation look incorrect past bash not drink."

Affected drinks whitethorn include:

• local spirits, including section atom oregon thenar liquor
• spirit-based mixed drinks, specified arsenic cocktails
• counterfeit brand-name bottled intoxicant successful shops oregon down the bar

To support yourself from methanol poisoning:

• buy alcoholic beverages lone from licensed liquor stores
• buy drinks lone astatine licensed bars and hotels
• avoid home-made alcoholic drinks
• check vessel seals are intact
• check labels for mediocre people prime oregon incorrect spelling

Seek urgent aesculapian attraction if you oregon idiosyncratic you are travelling with amusement signs of methanol poisoning.