Whiskey Restores Sight in Man Blinded by Vodka

Denis Duthie was celebrating his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary with drinks when his world suddenly went dark. Following a four-hour drinking spree — involving vodka on ice and whiskey — at his home on New Zealand‘s North Island, the 65-year-old chef tutor discovered he had gone blind.Duthie then decided to try to sleep off his blindness. But unlike typical alcohol-related blackouts, which end upon awakening, Duthie’s darkness persisted when he opened his eyes the next morning, so his wife took him to Taranaki Base Hospital. Physicians whisked the still-blind man away for surgery upon arrival.Doctors suspected that Duthie was suffering from formaldehyde poisoning, which occurs when methanol — a common byproduct of home-brewed alcoholic beverages — metabolizes into formaldehyde. In his case, they believed that the alcohol he had ingested reacted with the five medications he was taking to manage his diabetes, stuff.co.nz reported. Treatment for this type of poisoning involves administering ethanol, which is commonly found in alcoholic beverages and prevents the formation of the harmful compound. There was just one problem: the hospital lacked enough ethanol to serve as an effective antidote. All hope was not lost for Duthie, though, thanks to the medical staff’s decision to improvise. They sent the hospital’s registrar to purchase a $55 bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label whiskey from a local liquor store, and Duthie received a whiskey drip to his stomach through a tube routed first through his nose. Five days later, Duthie awoke in the intensive care unit with his sight restored, feeling “good as gold.” Although he lost 14 kg (almost 31 pounds) in the hospital, he told that he was impressed with the creative cure.