Terrible
For the technically minded...
Methylated spirits used to contain max 10% methanol but no longer. The "methylated" refers to the denaturing of the ethanol by adding methanol, or trace amounts of other chemicals to make it unpalatable
The reason methanol is so dangerous is not the methanol per se but what it is metabolised to. It is metabolised to formic acid which stops cells using oxygen. Similar to Cyanide though the cyanide mechanism is different but the end effect of both is the same - the cells can't use oxygen and the body is basically starved of oxygen
Treatment is dialysis and/or reducing the metabolism of methanol to formic acid by flooding the body with ethanol via an ethanol infusion. The body can metabolise only a certain amount of alcohol at a time whether ethanol or methanol so by flooding the body with ethanol, the proportion of methanol going through metabolism is lowered in proportion. These days if available, there is a drug called 4MP which does the same as ethanol infusion but does not have the side effects of ethanol infusion.
The methanol in many cases comes from unregulated backyard fermentation and distillation. There is no way to tell the difference.
Some interesting
methanol poisoning data.
Can anyone translate please:
View attachment 415698