Alcohol In Sanitiser Lands Sober Former-Alcoholic In The Hospital With An Allergic Reaction

A 43-year-old man going through treatment for alcohol dependence experienced an acute reaction from using hand sanitiser, reported TOI. This landed him in a hospital where it was found out that he had an elevated heart rate.

This incident also made his wife to assume that he had lost his three years of sobriety. It happened when the man was visiting a bank and had to constantly use sanitiser due to the safety and hygiene protocol everyone has to follow because of COVID-19.

TOI

Soon after, he started to feel uneasy and nauseous and also developed redness on his face and chest. He was then taken to the hospital as he developed tachycardia - a condition where the heart beats more than 100 times per minute. By the time he reached the hospital, his heart rate was 102-103 beats. He was given an anti-allergic and the doctors carried out an ECG.

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His symptoms subsided in an hour. A call was made to his treating psychiatrist, Dr Avinash De Sousa, who explained the scenario to the doctors treating him at the hospital. Dr De Sousa said that the man had been on treatment for alcohol dependence for three years and had suffered from alcohol-disulfiram reaction which was triggered by the alcohol-based sanitiser.

TOI

This rare case was also published in the Oxford journal Alcohol and Alcoholism's July issue, and even prompted the discussion about the reaction being caused by inhalation or absorption of the ethanol in the sanitiser.

Dr De Sousa also said that the drug disulfiram has been used to treat alcohol abuse for sixty years, but such a reaction after using sanitiser was rarely seen.

¡°The drug deters one from drinking by triggering very unpleasant side effects the moment he has even little alcohol. The drug basically interferes with the metabolism of alcohol and the side effects kill the craving for a drink,¡± he said. He also informed that the patient has been sober for three years after almost a decade of alcohol abuse.

Also read: Kerala Prisoner Mistakes Hand Sanitiser For Alcohol, Dies After Drinking It

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Ever since the incident occurred, the man has been taken off the medication. Dr De Sousa added, ¡°We can only hope he wouldn¡¯t go back to drinking again,¡± he said.

Also read: Because Alcohol Is A Must - COVID-19 Patient Runs Away From Hospital To Get A Drink