Antifreeze, Methanol, and Toxic Alcohol Ingestion Emergency Care¶

Swallowing automotive antifreeze (ethylene glycol), windshield washer fluid or contaminated moonshine (methanol / wood alcohol), rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol), or brake fluid (diethylene glycol) is a time-critical medical emergency. Unlike ordinary beverage alcohol (ethanol), methanol and ethylene glycol are converted by human liver enzymes within hours into violently corrosive organic acids: formic acid and glycolic/oxalic acid: that dissolve the optic nerves (causing permanent total blindness), crystallize inside the kidneys (causing acute renal failure), and acidify the bloodstream until the heart stops.

This guide provides step-by-step emergency procedures aligned with clinical directives from the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT), America's Poison Centers (United States), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the UK National Poisons Information Service (NPIS). Acting immediately to call emergency services, understanding why the victim looks "merely drunk" during the first 6 to 12 hours before lethal acid buildup begins, and getting the patient to a hospital for fomepizole (4-methylpyrazole) or ethanol blockade and hemodialysis saves lives and eyesight.

Do this now¶

If you or someone nearby (including a child or pet) has swallowed any amount of automotive antifreeze, windshield washer fluid, fuel line de-icer, denatured alcohol, homemade/counterfeit liquor, or rubbing alcohol:

1. Call Emergency Services or Poison Control immediately: even if the person feels completely normal:
2. Call your local emergency number immediately (911 in the United States and Canada, 112 across the European Union, 999 in the United Kingdom via our emergency numbers directory) if the person swallowed more than an accidental tiny drop, is confused, drowsy, vomiting, breathing rapidly, complaining of blurred vision, or if the ingestion was intentional.
3. Call Poison Control immediately (in the United States, call 1-800-222-1222) while paramedics are on the way so a medical toxicologist can alert the receiving hospital pharmacy to prepare intravenous fomepizole and notify the nephrology dialysis team.
4. Wipe and rinse the mouth with water (spit out, do not swallow): If the liquid was just tasted or splashed into the mouth, have the person spit immediately and rinse their mouth thoroughly with clean water without swallowing.
5. NEVER induce vomiting and NEVER give Activated Charcoal: Do not put fingers down the throat, do not give salt water, and do not administer activated charcoal at home. Toxic alcohols are absorbed from the stomach into the bloodstream within 15 to 45 minutes, activated charcoal does not bind alcohols effectively, and inducing vomiting in a person who is becoming drowsy can cause fatal aspiration into the lungs.
6. Do NOT wait for symptoms to start before going to the hospital: Both methanol and ethylene glycol have a deceptive 6-to-24-hour latent window before toxic acids accumulate. During the first few hours, the person may feel totally fine or simply slightly tipsy, and if they also drank regular beer or liquor (ethanol) at the same time, symptoms can be delayed for up to 36 to 48 hours. If you wait until vision blurs or rapid breathing starts, severe organ damage has already begun.
7. Do NOT give home beverage alcohol (whiskey/vodka) unless explicitly instructed by a Poison Control physician: While pharmaceutical-grade ethanol inhibits liver alcohol dehydrogenase, randomly giving shots of liquor at home to an unmonitored patient (especially a child) can cause fatal respiratory depression, severe hypoglycemia, and aspiration. Only administer oral ethanol in a remote wilderness or austere setting if a Poison Control physician gives you an exact weight-based calculation over the phone while you are en route to a hospital.
8. Bring the original container or photograph the product label and Ingredient / SDS code: Grab the antifreeze jug, washer fluid bottle, or hand sanitizer container (or take a clear smartphone photo of the front label and the back active ingredients list). Knowing whether a coolant is ethylene glycol versus less-toxic propylene glycol, or whether a washer fluid is 30% to 50% methanol, dictates emergency treatment.

Emergency triage and antidotal pathway flowchart¶

flowchart TD
    Start["Suspected Ingestion of Antifreeze, Washer Fluid, Rubbing Alcohol, or Tainted Moonshine"] --> Airway{"Is the patient unconscious, seizing, breathing rapidly (Kussmaul), or having vision changes?"}

    Airway -->|Yes: Critical Metabolic / CNS Emergency| Call911["CALL 911 / 112 / 999 IMMEDIATELY<br/>Give NOTHING by mouth; place in side-lying recovery position<br/>Prepare for rescue breathing / CPR; bring product bottle to ambulance"]

    Airway -->|No: Awake and currently asymptomatic| CallPC["Call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 in US) AND Transport to Emergency Department<br/>NEVER induce vomiting; NEVER wait for symptoms to appear"]

    Call911 --> Substance{"Which Toxic Alcohol was ingested?"}
    CallPC --> Substance

    Substance -->|Ethylene Glycol (Automotive Antifreeze, De-icer, Hydraulic Fluid)| EG["Ethylene Glycol Protocol (Toxic Metabolites: Glycolic + Oxalic Acid)<br/>1. Immediate IV Fomepizole (15 mg/kg loading dose) to block ADH enzyme<br/>2. IV Sodium Bicarbonate for severe metabolic acidosis<br/>3. Cofactors: IV Thiamine (100 mg) + Pyridoxine (50 mg)<br/>4. Urgent Hemodialysis if acidotic, renal injury, or level > 50 mg/dL"]

    Substance -->|Methanol (Windshield Washer Fluid, Heet, Racing Fuel, Adulterated Moonshine)| Meth["Methanol Protocol (Toxic Metabolite: Formic Acid -> Optic Nerve Necrosis)<br/>1. Immediate IV Fomepizole (15 mg/kg) or IV Ethanol infusion<br/>2. High-dose IV Folinic Acid / Leucovorin (1 mg/kg, max 50 mg q4h) or Folic Acid<br/>3. IV Sodium Bicarbonate to trap formate ions outside the retina/brain<br/>4. Urgent Hemodialysis for ANY visual symptoms, acidosis, or high level"]

    Substance -->|Isopropyl Alcohol (70%-91% Rubbing Alcohol, Hand Sanitizer)| Iso["Isopropyl Alcohol Protocol (Metabolite: Acetone -> Ketosis WITHOUT Acidosis)<br/>DO NOT give Fomepizole or Ethanol (blocking ADH prolongs coma)<br/>Supportive airway/BP care, IV fluids, and check for hemorrhagic gastritis"]

    Substance -->|Diethylene Glycol (Brake Fluid, Sterno, Contaminated Syrups)| DEG["Diethylene Glycol Protocol (Metabolite: 2-HEAA -> Renal Failure + Neuropathy)<br/>Immediate IV Fomepizole + Early Hemodialysis"]

The Biochemical Trap: why parent alcohols are harmless until your liver digests them¶

To understand why toxic alcohol poisoning is both so treacherous and so completely treatable when caught early, you must understand a critical biochemical fact: pure ethylene glycol and pure methanol themselves are NOT what destroy your eyes, kidneys, and heart.

How Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH) manufactures lethal acids¶

In their original un-metabolized ("parent") state, ethylene glycol and methanol behave much like ordinary ethyl alcohol (ethanol): they cause mild inebriation, slurred speech, and drowsiness, followed by quiet sleep. The catastrophe begins when the bloodstream carries the parent alcohol to the liver, where two sequential enzymes process it:

1. Step 1: Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH): the exact same liver enzyme that breaks down beer and wine: oxidizes the parent alcohol into a highly reactive aldehyde (glycolaldehyde from ethylene glycol; formaldehyde from methanol).
2. Step 2: Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH) rapidly converts that aldehyde into a devastating, non-volatile organic acid:
3. Methanol \(\xrightarrow{\text{ADH}}\) Formaldehyde \(\xrightarrow{\text{ALDH}}\) Formic Acid (Formate): Directly poisons mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase in the optic nerve and basal ganglia (putamen) of the brain, causing retinal edema, "snowfield" blindness, Parkinson-like brain necrosis, and fatal lactic acidosis.
4. Ethylene Glycol \(\xrightarrow{\text{ADH}}\) Glycolaldehyde \(\xrightarrow{\text{ALDH}}\) Glycolic Acid \(\rightarrow\) Glyoxylic Acid \(\rightarrow\) Oxalic Acid: Glycolic acid causes profound high-anion-gap metabolic acidosis, while oxalic acid binds directly to circulating calcium in your blood (causing life-threatening hypocalcemia, tetany, and cardiac arrhythmias) and precipitates as microscopic, razor-sharp calcium oxalate crystals that plug and shred the renal tubules of the kidneys, causing acute kidney failure.

How Fomepizole (and Ethanol) stops the poison cold¶

Because all of the organ damage comes from the downstream acid metabolites rather than the parent alcohol, medical toxicologists use a brilliant biochemical lock:

• Fomepizole (4-methylpyrazole / Antizol): An intravenous medication that binds to the liver enzyme Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH) with 8,000 times greater affinity than methanol or ethylene glycol. The moment intravenous fomepizole is given in the emergency room, the liver's ADH assembly line grinds to a complete halt. No more formic acid or oxalic acid can be manufactured, and the harmless parent ethylene glycol or methanol is either excreted unchanged in the urine or rapidly washed out of the blood by hemodialysis.
• Competitive Ethanol Blockade: Regular ethyl alcohol (ethanol) has a 10-to-20-fold higher affinity for liver ADH than methanol or ethylene glycol. That means if someone drinks contaminated moonshine that contains both ethanol and methanol, their liver will process all the safe ethanol first before touching the methanol: delaying the onset of methanol blindness and acidosis by 24 to 48 hours. It also explains why hospitals in resource-limited regions where fomepizole is unavailable administer a carefully titrated intravenous (or nasogastric) 10 percent ethanol infusion to keep the liver enzyme occupied while arranging dialysis.

Master diagnostic comparison of the Four Toxic Alcohols¶

Deep dive 1: Ethylene Glycol (Antifreeze) and the Three Clinical Stages¶

Because automotive antifreeze is kept in almost every residential garage and has a sweet, pleasant taste without the harsh burning throat sensation of liquor, accidental ingestions by children and intentional overdoses are common.

Stage 1: The Neurologic / "Drunk Without Alcohol Breath" Stage (30 minutes to 12 hours)¶

Within 30 to 60 minutes of drinking ethylene glycol, the person begins acting intoxicated: slurred speech, unsteady staggering gait (ataxia), euphoria followed by drowsiness, nausea, and vomiting.

• Key clue for family and paramedics: The person appears visibly drunk, yet their breath has zero smell of beer, wine, or liquor (ethylene glycol is completely odorless), and a police or emergency room breathalyzer or blood ethanol test may read zero. In severe overdoses, untreated Stage 1 progresses directly to stupor, coma, and seizures.

Stage 2: The Cardiopulmonary and Acidotic Stage (12 to 24 hours)¶

As the liver converts ethylene glycol into massive quantities of glycolic acid and oxalic acid, the blood pH plummets below 7.1:

• Kussmaul Respirations (Air Hunger): To blow off excess acid as carbon dioxide gas, the body triggers deep, rapid, gasping breaths (Kussmaul breathing). Families often mistake this rapid breathing for an asthma attack or panic attack, when in reality it is a desperate physiological compensation for lethal metabolic acidosis.
• Hypocalcemic Tetany and Cardiac Arrhythmias: As newly formed oxalic acid strips ionized calcium out of the blood to form insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, serum ionized calcium drops dangerously low. The patient develops muscle cramps, carpopedal spasms (stiff, cramped hands and feet), seizures, a prolonged QT interval on the electrocardiogram (ECG), myocardial depression, congestive heart failure, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Stage 3: The Nephrotoxic (Kidney Failure) Stage (24 to 72 hours)¶

Millions of microscopic calcium oxalate monohydrate (needle- or dumbbell-shaped) and calcium oxalate dihydrate (envelope-shaped) crystals precipitate inside the renal tubules of both kidneys, while glycolic acid inflicts direct cytotoxic tubular necrosis:

• The patient develops dull aching pain in the lower back and flanks (costovertebral angle tenderness), blood and crystals in the urine, a rapid decrease in urine output (oliguria) progressing to complete inability to urinate (anuria), and acute renal failure requiring hemodialysis. Fortunately, with early fomepizole and hemodialysis, kidney tubules usually regenerate over several weeks to months.

Why hospitals shine a UV Wood's Lamp on urine (and why a negative test never rules out poisoning)¶

Manufacturers frequently add a tiny trace of sodium fluorescein dye to automotive antifreeze to help mechanics spot radiator leaks under an ultraviolet (UV) blacklight. In the emergency room, doctors sometimes shine a 365-nanometer Wood's lamp on a freshly voided urine specimen (in a non-fluorescent glass tube) or around the child's mouth and shirt: bright yellow-green fluorescence supports antifreeze ingestion. However, never rely on a negative UV urine test to rule out antifreeze poisoning, as many modern long-life orange/pink coolants contain no fluorescein, and fluorescein is excreted out of the urine within 4 to 6 hours.

Deep dive 2: Methanol (Washer Fluid & Tainted Moonshine) and Optic Nerve Rescue¶

Methanol (\(CH_3OH\)), also known as wood alcohol or methyl alcohol, is widely used in blue winter windshield washer fluid (often 30 percent to 50 percent methanol), gasoline-line antifreeze ("Heet" in the yellow bottle), solid chafing-dish fuel (Sterno), model airplane fuel, shellac/paint strippers, and: most tragically in mass-casualty outbreaks worldwide: illicitly distilled or counterfeit alcoholic beverages ("moonshine" or bootleg spirits).

How Formic Acid causes "Snowstorm Blindness"¶

When methanol is oxidized by liver ADH and ALDH into formic acid (formate), formate specifically targets tissues with the highest mitochondrial energy demand: the retinal ganglion cells, the optic disc/nerve, and the putamen (basal ganglia) deep inside the brain.

1. Inhibition of Cytochrome c Oxidase: Formic acid binds directly to the iron center of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (Complex IV of the electron transport chain) inside optic nerve axons. Deprived of cellular ATP energy, the myelin sheaths of the optic nerve swell, demyelinate, and die.
2. Classic visual warning signs (12 to 36 hours after ingestion):
3. Blurry, misty, or hazy vision, classically described by patients as "feeling like I am standing in the middle of a blinding white snowfield or snowstorm."
4. Photophobia (flashes of light or pain in bright light), loss of color vision, and expanding central blind spots (scotomas).
5. Rapid progression to complete, irreversible bilateral blindness with large, dilated pupils that fail to constrict when a flashlight is shone into the eyes.
6. Why Intravenous Sodium Bicarbonate and Folinic Acid save eyesight:
7. Ion Trapping with IV Sodium Bicarbonate: Uncharged, protonated formic acid easily crosses lipid cell membranes and the blood-brain/blood-retinal barrier into the optic nerve, whereas charged formate ions cannot easily cross membranes. By infusing intravenous sodium bicarbonate to raise the patient's blood pH to 7.45 to 7.50, emergency physicians deprotonate formic acid into charged formate ions, chemically drawing the poison out of the optic nerve and brain back into the bloodstream, where hemodialysis can wash it out.
8. High-Dose Folate Cofactor Rescue: Administering intravenous folinic acid (leucovorin, 1 mg/kg up to 50 mg IV every 4 hours) or folic acid supercharges the body's folate-dependent 10-formyl-THF dehydrogenase enzyme system, accelerating the breakdown of toxic formate directly into harmless carbon dioxide and water.

Deep dive 3: Hand Sanitizers, Rubbing Alcohol, and Propylene Glycol¶

Parents frequently call Poison Control in panic after a toddler licks liquid hand sanitizer or drinks from a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Here is how toxicologists triage these exposures:

1. Hand Sanitizer Ingestion in Children (Ethanol vs. Isopropanol vs. FDA-Recalled Methanol)¶

• Standard Ethanol or Isopropanol Hand Sanitizers: Most commercial hand sanitizers contain 60 percent to 70 percent ethyl alcohol (ethanol) or 70 percent isopropyl alcohol: which is roughly 120 to 140 proof (stronger than whiskey or vodka).
• One or two licks off the hands: Completely harmless; simply give the child a sip of juice, milk, or water.
• Swallowing more than a mouthful (more than 1 to 2 pumps / teaspoons): Can cause rapid alcohol intoxication in a small child, drowsiness, and life-threatening pediatric hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood sugar) because ethanol blocks liver gluconeogenesis in young children. If a child swallowed more than a taste of hand sanitizer, give them a sugary drink (apple juice or regular soda) if they are wide awake and call Poison Control immediately.
• Methanol-Contaminated Hand Sanitizers: During global supply shortages, regulatory agencies (such as the US FDA) identified hundreds of imported or counterfeit hand sanitizers illegally manufactured with toxic methanol instead of ethanol. Always check the bottle label and lot against FDA recall lists or call Poison Control if someone swallows hand sanitizer from an unknown or off-brand bottle.

2. Rubbing Alcohol (Isopropyl Alcohol) Ingestion¶

Isopropyl alcohol (70 percent to 91 percent rubbing alcohol) is twice as potent a central nervous system depressant as beverage ethanol, meaning a small volume causes rapid drunkenness, slurred speech, loss of coordination, and deep coma within 30 to 60 minutes.

• Why Isopropanol causes Ketosis WITHOUT Acidosis: The liver converts isopropyl alcohol via ADH into acetone (nail polish remover chemical), which goes no further. Because acetone is a ketone rather than an organic acid, the patient develops a strong fruity acetone smell on their breath and strongly positive blood/urine ketones, but their blood pH remains normal and they do not suffer blindness or oxalate kidney crystals. However, isopropanol is fiercely irritating to the stomach lining and causes painful hemorrhagic gastritis (vomiting blood or coffee-ground material).
• Critical medical rule: Never give fomepizole or ethanol to a patient who swallowed isopropyl alcohol: blocking ADH simply prevents them from clearing the isopropanol and keeps them in a coma much longer.

3. Propylene Glycol ("RV / Marine / Pet-Safe Antifreeze")¶

Not all antifreeze is ethylene glycol. Propylene glycol is marketed as "low-toxicity" or "pet-safe" automotive coolant, RV winterizing plumbing antifreeze, and is also used in small amounts as a food additive and intravenous medication solvent (such as in IV lorazepam). While vastly safer than ethylene glycol (because it metabolizes into normal lactic acid and pyruvic acid rather than oxalic acid), swallowing large mouthfuls of concentrated RV propylene glycol antifreeze can still cause severe lactic acidosis, CNS depression, and seizures, requiring medical evaluation.

Understanding Hospital Lab Diagnosis: The Osmolal Gap vs. Anion Gap Seesaw¶

Because most community hospital laboratories cannot run an immediate gas-chromatography blood test for serum methanol or ethylene glycol levels (which often have to be sent out to a reference lab taking 12 to 24 hours), emergency physicians rely on a classic two-step biochemical "seesaw" on routine blood chemistry tests to diagnose toxic alcohol poisoning at the bedside and start fomepizole immediately:

Phase A: Early Ingestion (Hours 1 to 6): High Osmolal Gap, Normal Anion Gap¶

Immediately after someone swallows antifreeze, windshield washer fluid, or rubbing alcohol, the un-metabolized parent alcohol molecules are circulating at high concentration in the bloodstream.

• What is the Osmolal Gap?: Because parent alcohol molecules are small, uncharged particles dissolved in plasma water, they raise the measured serum osmolality (checked on a freezing-point osmometer) far above the calculated serum osmolality derived from normal blood sodium, glucose, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN): $\(\text{Calculated Osmolality} = (2 \times \text{Sodium}) + \frac{\text{Glucose (mg/dL)}}{18} + \frac{\text{BUN (mg/dL)}}{2.8} + \frac{\text{Ethanol (mg/dL)}}{4.6}\)$
• Clinical interpretation: Normally, the difference between measured and calculated osmolality (the Osmolal Gap) is less than 10 mOsm/kg. An elevated Osmolal Gap above 10 to 15 mOsm/kg (after accounting for any beverage ethanol) is a strong early fingerprint of circulating parent methanol, ethylene glycol, or isopropyl alcohol. However, during this early phase, because the liver has not yet converted much alcohol into acid, the patient's serum bicarbonate is still normal and their Anion Gap is still normal.

Phase B: Late Presentation (Hours 8 to 24+): Normal Osmolal Gap, High Anion Gap Acidosis¶

As hours pass and the liver's Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme converts the uncharged parent methanol or ethylene glycol into negatively charged formate, glycolate, and oxalate acid anions, the seesaw tips in the opposite direction:

• The Osmolal Gap falls back toward normal: Because the parent alcohol has now been consumed and broken down, a late-arriving patient can have a completely normal Osmolal Gap (under 10 mOsm/kg) while still being fatally poisoned. Never allow a normal osmolal gap to rule out methanol or ethylene glycol poisoning in a patient who drank the liquid more than 6 to 12 hours ago.
• The Anion Gap skyrockets: Simultaneously, the newly generated organic acids consume the body's bicarbonate buffer (\(\text{HCO}_3^-\) drops below 15 mEq/L, and often below 5 mEq/L) and drive the Anion Gap (\(\text{Na}^+ - [\text{Cl}^- + \text{HCO}_3^-]\)) above 20 to 30 mEq/L.
• The "Lactate Gap" Clue in Ethylene Glycol: Many hospital point-of-care blood gas machines mistakenly read glycolic acid (the main acid metabolite of ethylene glycol) as "lactic acid" because the two molecules have nearly identical chemical structures on an amperometric electrode, whereas the central hospital laboratory's enzymatic lactate analyzer reads a much lower true lactate level. Finding a huge discrepancy (> 5 to 10 mmol/L) between a sky-high blood-gas lactate and a modest central-lab lactate: known as the "Lactate Gap": is a pathognomonic bedside clue that the patient has ethylene glycol (antifreeze) poisoning.

EXTRIP Guidelines: When is Emergency Hemodialysis Required?¶

While intravenous fomepizole stops the liver from making new toxic acids, it does not remove the lethal formate or glycolate/oxalate acids that have already built up in the blood, nor does it clear high parent alcohol levels quickly in a patient whose kidneys are failing. According to international EXTRIP (Extracorporeal Treatments in Poisoning) consensus guidelines, urgent intermittent hemodialysis is indicated whenever any of the following criteria are present:

1. Neurological or Visual Clinical Signs: Coma, seizures, or any new visual disturbance, blurred vision, or optic disc edema in methanol poisoning.
2. Severe Metabolic Acidosis: Arterial blood pH <= 7.15 to 7.25 or persistent high-anion-gap metabolic acidosis despite intravenous sodium bicarbonate resuscitation.
3. Acute Kidney Injury (AKI): Rising serum creatinine, oliguria, or failure of electrolyte/fluid balance (especially in ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol poisoning).
4. High Serum Parent Alcohol Concentration: Serum methanol or ethylene glycol concentration above 50 mg/dL (500 mg/L) even in the absence of acidosis (or above 60 to 70 mg/dL if fomepizole is already running and the patient has completely normal acid-base and kidney function).

Emergency Remote-Protocol: When and How Poison Control Uses Oral Ethanol¶

In 99 percent of urban and suburban emergencies, you should never give someone alcoholic beverages at home after a toxic alcohol ingestion: instead, call 911 / 112 / 999 and let paramedics transport the patient to a hospital for intravenous fomepizole.

However, if an adult unmistakably swallows automotive antifreeze or methanol windshield washer fluid in a remote wilderness cabin, offshore vessel, or rural location more than 2 to 4 hours away from the nearest medical facility, and you call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 in the United States), the medical toxicologist on the phone may instruct you to administer a measured oral loading dose of 40% ABV (80-proof) distilled spirits (vodka, whiskey, gin, or rum) while emergency transport is underway:

• Why a physician must calculate the dose: The target blood ethanol concentration required to saturate the liver's Alcohol Dehydrogenase enzyme is 100 mg/dL (0.10 g/dL). For a typical 70-kilogram (154-pound) adult, a Poison Control physician typically calculates an oral loading dose of roughly 1.8 to 2.0 milliliters per kilogram of 80-proof (40%) liquor (approximately 125 to 140 milliliters / 4 to 4.5 fluid ounces, diluted in juice or water and sipped over 15 to 30 minutes), followed by a small hourly maintenance sip of roughly 15 to 30 milliliters (0.5 to 1 ounce) per hour during long wilderness transport.
• Strict safety rules if instructed by Poison Control:
• Never give oral ethanol to anyone who is already drowsy, confused, slurring their speech, vomiting, or unable to protect their airway.
• Never guess the dose yourself without Poison Control on the line, especially for a child (where excess ethanol causes fatal hypoglycemia and respiratory arrest).
• Always give sugar (such as orange juice or regular soda) alongside ethanol to prevent hypoglycemia, and write down the exact volume and time of any ethanol given so emergency doctors know why blood ethanol is positive.

Frequently asked questions¶

This guide is for informational purposes and does not replace professional medical evaluation or hands-on training. Because toxic alcohol poisonings can cause coma, seizures, or cardiac arrest, we recommend taking an accredited first aid and CPR course through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), your national Red Cross society, St John Ambulance, or a certified local training provider.

Sources checked¶

• American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT): Practice Guidelines on the Treatment of Ethylene Glycol Poisoning and Practice Guidelines on the Treatment of Methanol Poisoning.
• World Health Organization (WHO) & Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Management of Methanol Poisoning Outbreaks and Clinical Treatment Protocols (Fomepizole, Ethanol, Folate, and Hemodialysis).
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, United States) & Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR): Medical Management Guidelines for Ethylene Glycol and Methanol.
• America's Poison Centers (AAPCC, United States): Triage and Management of Toxic Alcohols, Automotive Fluids, and Hand Sanitizer Ingestions.
• Extracorporeal Treatments in Poisoning (EXTRIP) Workgroup: Systematic Review and Recommendations for Extracorporeal Treatment in Methanol and Ethylene Glycol Poisoning.

Related guides¶

• Poisoning first aid and poison control triage
• Alcohol intoxication, alcohol poisoning, and safe recovery position
• Seizures and status epilepticus first aid
• CPR and rescue breathing for adults
• Pediatric and infant CPR and choking
• Emergency numbers by country