A 50-year-old Toronto woman had a strong smell of alcohol on her breath and felt dizzy, confused and weak. One day, she even fainted while preparing lunch for her children and hit her head on the kitchen counter. The strange thing is that she had not consumed alcohol. It took her two years to convince doctors that she had never drunk alcohol, reports CNN.
She visited her family doctor frequently and went to the emergency room seven times in two years. Doctors found her alcohol level was between 30 and 62 millimoles per liter, while a normal level is less than 2 millimoles per liter, the publication said.
The emergency room doctors asked the woman about her drinking habits. Three psychiatrists at the hospital examined her. However, it was determined that she did not have a drinking habit.
Barbara Cordell, who researches auto-brewery syndrome, told CNN that alcohol levels as high as 62 millimoles per liter are extremely dangerous and can be fatal. Although she hasn’t seen levels that high, she says some people can get by with blood alcohol levels as low as 30 or 40 millimoles per liter.
“I know over 300 people who have been diagnosed with auto-brewery syndrome, and our private Facebook support group has over 800 patients and caregivers. Part of the mystery of this syndrome is how these people can have such high levels and still walk around and talk,” Cordell told the publication.
Dr. Rachel Zewood reported that she told doctors that her religion forbids drinking alcohol, while her husband confirmed that she does not drink. An infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto treated the woman. However, according to Dr. Zewood, the emergency room doctor suggested that she may have auto-brewery syndrome and referred her to a specialist, before she visited the hospital seven times.
The History of Auto-Brewery Syndrome
Auto-brewery syndrome is a very uncommon condition in which bacteria and fungi present in the digestive tract convert carbohydrates from food into alcohol.
According to CNN, the first known case occurred in Africa in 1946, when a 5-year-old boy’s stomach unexpectedly burst. During the autopsy, doctors discovered that his stomach contained foamy fluid that smelled like alcohol.
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Published: June 04, 2024, 09:32 AM IST
