Whisky Treats Ethylene Glycol Poisoning

In a 2014 case, doctors treated a 47-year-old former nurse who had swallowed an unknown amount of antifreeze by giving her carefully measured whisky. Ethanol stops the liver from turning ethylene glycol into bad stuff . That 's why it is known as a substitute for the antidote fomepizole . Doctors gave her a loading dose of 2.5 milliliters per kilogram followed by 35 milliliters of whiskey an hour. They placed her beside two patients recovering from alcohol withdrawal, creating an unusual challenge for the hospital staff.

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