TARANAKI, New Zealand — A man was cured of blindness by ingesting a bottle of whiskey, doctors say.
Denis Duthie, 65, was celebrating his parent’s 50th wedding anniversary and drank a large amount of vodka when he reported going blind, according to Stuff.co.nz.
After drinking for four hours, Duthie went to the restroom and suddenly lost his vision. After going to bed and waking up the next day, he still couldn’t see and was rushed to the ICU.
Doctors said that Duthie was suffering from formaldehyde poisoning. His body metabolized the methanol found in the alcohol which created formaldehyde as a byproduct.
The prescribed treatment is medical grade alcohol, but because the hospital was out of it, they went to a liquor store and bought a bottle of whiskey instead.
Duthie had a tube inserted though his nose and was directly fed the whiskey. After 10 days, he was in stable condition and his eyesight returned; he says he can see clearer than he did before he went blind.
Duthie also thinks that the mixture of alcohol with a variety of his diabetes medicine played a part in his temporary blindness. Doctors wouldn’t confirm his theory.