Doctors save man by pumping 15 cans of beer into stomach

Doctors pumped a man’s stomach with 15 cans of beer to save him from dying of alcohol poisoning. (Photo: Getty Images)
Doctors pumped a man’s stomach with 15 cans of beer to save him from dying of alcohol poisoning. (Photo: Getty Images)

A man at risk of dying from alcohol poisoning had 15 cans of beer pumped into his stomach by doctors in order to save his life.

Nguyen Van Nhat, 48, was unconscious in a hospital in Quang Tri, Vietnam, the Mirror reports. Every hour he was out, doctors pumped a can of beer into his stomach — for a total of 15.

Dr. Le Van Lam told local media that the level of methanol in the man’s blood was 1,119 times higher than the limit, according to the Mirror. Doctors used three cans of beer initially to slow the processing of methanol.

Dr. Lam explained that alcohol comes in two forms, ethanol and methanol, and that the body breaks down ethanol as a priority. Ethanol is contained in most alcoholic beverages, while methanol is found in cleaning products, anti-freeze and bootlegged liquor. Methanol poisoning can cause permanent blindness and death.

By pumping beer, which contains ethanol, doctors were able to perform a proper dialysis before the man’s liver processed all the methanol in his system.

He eventually regained consciousness. It’s not known what he had been drinking.

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