A 50-year-old woman from Toronto had a strong smell of alcohol on her breath and felt dizzy, confused and weak. One day, she even fainted and hurt her head on the kitchen counter while preparing lunch for her children. The strange part is she did not consume any alcohol. It took her two years to convince doctors that she had never had alcohol, CNN reported.
She repeatedly visited her family doctor and went to the emergency room seven times in two years. Doctors discovered her alcohol levels varied from 30 to 62 millimoles per litre while a normal level is below 2 millimoles per litre, the publication added.
The emergency room doctors asked the woman about her drinking habits. Three hospital psychiatrists examined her. However, it was decided she did not have an alcohol use disorder.
Barbara Cordell, who researches auto-brewery syndrome, has told CNN that alcohol levels as high as 62 millimoles per litre are extremely dangerous and could be deadly. Although she hasn’t seen levels that high, some people can manage with blood alcohol levels up to 30 or 40 millimoles per litre, according to her.
“I know of over 300 people diagnosed with auto-brewery syndrome and we have over 800 patients and caregivers in our private Facebook support group. Part of the mystery of this syndrome is how these people can have these extremely high levels and still be walking around and talking,” Cordell told the publication.
She told doctors her religion forbids alcohol consumption while her husband confirmed she didn’t drink, said Dr. Rahel Zewude. The infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto treated the woman. However, it took seven visits before an emergency room doctor suggested she might have auto-brewery syndrome and referred her to a specialist, according to Dr. Zewude.
History of auto-brewery syndrome
Auto-brewery syndrome is a very uncommon condition in which bacteria and fungi in the digestive system convert carbohydrates from food into alcohol.
The first known case happened in 1946 in Africa when the stomach of a 5-year-old boy burst unexpectedly, according to CNN. During the autopsy, doctors discovered his abdomen contained a frothy liquid that smelled like alcohol.
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Published: 04 Jun 2024, 09:32 AM IST