The New York herald., 1920-01-04
WOOD ALCOHOL VICTIMS DIE IN
AGONY AND PROMPTLY, BUT IF
SURVIVING ARE TOTALLY BLIND
Poison Attacks Nerves. Congests Brain Spinal Cord and All
Viscera and Causes Dropsy of the Lungs-One of
Most Powerful ToxneS

those compa lively pure preparations OF
wood alcohol containing traces OF these
substances are undr!nkable. Finally a
method Of deodor!zng was invented, and
puro white product Is now obtained. I,
tastes and looks Ike real grain alcohol
and In this lies the danger Of ignorance
Those who drink do 80 without being ablO
to detect anything different from the
usual.
Another Interesting thing about the
poisonous properties of wood alcohol is
that. TO use an Irishman's method Of ex-
preston, It is not so poisonous as its prod
ucts. Taken into the body, it Is common
knowledge that foodstuffs, for instance,
are oxidized by the addition OF oxygen and
splitting up OF the molecules into smaller
chemical units, and these in turn are oxi-
died In the same manner until compara-
lively simple end-products are excreted.
In the case of grain alcohol the end-prod-
ucts are carbonic dioXide and water, and
the chemical process is a simple one,
easily accomplished by the body cells. Not
so, however, with wood alcohol. Oxida ton
is difficult, and the first change, that TO
formic acid and formaldehyde. is the only
one. Both of these substances are power
full poisons and difficult of eXcretion. The
results are comparable, so far as certainty
is concerned. with the cyanides, which arc
the most powerful poisons known.
No Relief for Pains.
He who takes a drink OF wood alcohol
by mistake usually knows that something
is wrong Very quickly. There is burning
pain in the stomach, for which there Is
no respite or relief. This pain quickly
spreads over the whole abdomen, and soon
coma intervenes. The pulse becomes fast
and feeble. Commissions may ensue, in
which the patient. staggering around, un-
conscious, gives every evidence of being
blind The vomiting which begins soon
after the poison is taken persists often
only pure blood coming away. The pupils
of the eyes are dilated, and the respira-
tions are slow. There is a coma growing
deeper and deeper. The 'extremities are
cold and clammy and in from fifteen to
twenty hours the patient dies of heart
collapse.
The picture, of course. is not pleasant
one-few pathological pictures are But
the certainty and accuracy with which the
symptoms progress is scarcely paralleled
by anything in toxicology There are
cases which recover. Symptoms are not
50 severe, and instead of death blindness
supervenes. This toxic amblyopia" of
wood alcohol is interesting because it is
a perfect example of what men of science
know as selective action. Poisons are
known which do little harm in the body
IN small doses except, for example to
pdrdlyZS lne lDlru cr9nlal nerve. In the
case of wood alcohol the action in small
doses is to paralyze the optic nerve, and
from microscopic examination after death
this action is eXquisitely focal and
forceful.
Attacks Vital Organs.
In general the characteristic action of
wood alcohol on body tissues is to at
tack the nerves. There is marked con-
gestion of the brain and spinal cord con-
geston of all Viscera, and, as terminal
event, oedema or dropsy of the lungs
There are few persons who having taken
wood alcohol and reached the stage of
coma ever recover with or without eye
sight. They die. The milder INVESTIGATIONS
may get will with the help of intelligent
treatment. This must rest on the ability
of the physician or person in charge to
make n proper diagnosis, and sometimes
this is very difficult to do in view of the
fact that many diseased conditions pro-
duce similar symptoms.
Nature helps in a very marvellous way.
Much of the unoXidzed methyl spirits
absorbed are re-excreted into the stomach,
waiting to be washed out by the stomach
tube. Much of the poison and the poison
Gus formic acid may be removed in this
way. Then the question of warm appli-
cations. heart Stimulants and other means
accessible TO a good physician comes up
and they all help to tide over the period
Of strain on the excretory organs.
There is justification, therefore, in the
statement that the drinking of wood
alcohol will never become a habit in any
one individual.