A woman has been blind for 18 days from methanol poisoning after she went to a bar to celebrate a friend's Birthday.
Radharani Domingos was hospitalised for 15 days having consumed a cocktail made with cachaça, sugar, lime, and ice in Brazil.
A day after her night out at the Ministrão bar - which has now been closed - on 19 September, the 43-year-old got sick and reported problems with her vision.
The interior designer was then referred to an emergency room and got transferred to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
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Radharani's sister, Lalita Domingos, claims medics were investigating a possible stroke before detecting the substance in her system 10 days later.
The Mirror reports that there has been 225 confirmed cases of methanol poisoning, largely in Sao Paulo, as Radharani is one of the first patients to speak out publicly.
"For a few moments I thought I was going to see my walls but I'm just groping," she told Fantástico via G1.
"The revolt at this moment is to try to understand why they are tampering with the drink.
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"They poisoned me and they are poisoning other people. It's disgusting that you order caipirinha and take methanol."
On what her life has been like since getting out of hospital, she added: "A little relief from leaving the hospital environment after 15 days and a little panic.
"I'm very active at home, I'm very active in life and then you stop, totally depend. You can't describe it."
It comes after Brazil’s health minister Alexandre Padilha called the situation 'abnormal and unlike anything else in our history regarding methanol poisoning in the country'.
He added: "I advise everyone to avoid distilled products, especially colorless ones, unless you’re certain of their origin. These are not essential items."
What does methanol poisoning do to you?
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Dr Christopher Morris, a senior lecturer at Newcastle University, told the BBC: "Formate, which is the main toxin produced, acts in a similar way to cyanide and stops energy production in cells, and the brain seems to be very vulnerable to this.
"This leads to certain parts of the brain being damaged. The eyes are also directly affected and this can cause blindness which is found in many people exposed to high levels of methanol."
How to avoid methanol poisoning
Dr Knut Erik Hovda, from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said the best way 'ease all effects if you get to hospital early enough and that hospital has the treatment needed'.
"You can die from a very small proportion of methanol and you can survive from a quite substantial one, if you get to help," the expert warned.
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"The most important antidote is regular alcohol."
He noted that methanol was mixed into alcohol 'mostly for profit reasons, because it's cheaper and easily available'.
The UK Foreign Office advises when travelling: "Take care if offered, particularly for free, or when buying spirit-based drinks. If labels, smell or taste seem wrong then do not drink."
Topics: Food And Drink, Health, News, Travel, Alcohol
Anish Vij