PARIS (AFP) - It may be the longest hangover in the history of binge beer drinking. When a 37-year old man walked into a hospital emergency room in Glasgow, Scotland last October complaining of "wavy" vision and a non-stop headache that had lasted four weeks, doctors were at first stumped, the British journal The Lancet reported Friday.
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The unnamed patient "had no history of head injury or loss of consciousness; his past medical record was unremarkable, and he was taking no medications," Zia Carrim and two other physicians from Southern General Hospital said in a case report.
Body temperature and blood pressure were both normal, and a neurological exam scanned negative.
But when an eye specialist was called in, the fog began to clear, at least for the doctors.
The patient, said the ophthalmologist, had swollen optical discs, greatly enlarged blind spots and what eye doctors call "flame haemorrhages," or bleeding nerve fibres.
"We sought a more detailed history" from the patient, noted Zia drly.
That is when the man revealed he had consumed some 60 pints -- roughly 35 litres -- of beer over a four day period, following a domestic crisis.
Severe dehydration caused the alcohol, the doctors guessed, had led to a rare condition called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). A scan of the brain's blood vessels confirmed the diagnosis.
CVST -- which can cause seizures, impaired consciousness, loss of vision and neurological damage -- strikes three or four people per million, mainly children, every year in Britain. The cause is generally unknown.
It took more than six months of long-term blood-thinning treatment to restore the man's normal vision -- and to get rid of the headache, the doctors reported.
G Beee? ;)
BluBBen
September 28 2007 7:31 AM EDT
35 litres in four days!? O.O That's a reall man! :-P
Monday night I consumed 5 cans of beer, 15 pints of beer, 5 measures of whiskey and 5 shots of aftershock. That guy is a lightweight ;P
QBRanger
September 28 2007 8:10 AM EDT
We see this not infrequently in America.
Mostly as you stated in children, but also in women who just gave birth.
Due to the loss of blood often see in childbirth they become dehydrated and get CVST.
How many buckets is that ?
QBsutekh137
September 28 2007 9:50 AM EDT
35 liters = ~9500 drams = 46 fifths = 9.2 gallons = 789 jiggers = 1183 ounces = 98 cans of beer (US) = over 4 cases (24 12 oz. beers in each case = over 16 six-packs = 0.122 hogshead (UK) = 0.244 barrels (UK, wine)
In other words, CRAZY! *smile*
AdminG Beee
September 28 2007 1:00 PM EDT
I'm safe and well, but thanks for your concern GL :p
60 pints over 4 days is not big and it's not clever, however when broken down into "reasonable" sections of a typical bank holiday weekend it doesn't sound nearly as bad and kinda resembles at least one or two weekends on my calendar. I'm often a 2 shorts for the price of 1 pint kinda guy though, however if I weren't I can see where 60 pints come from.
e.g.
- 2 Pints = Fri lunch: 1hr and back to the office
- 2 Pints = Fri pm: 1hr after a hard week at work
- 10 Pints = Fri pm: 4hrs and a night out with some mates
- 2 Pints = Sat noon: 1hr and a pre lunch quicky up the street
- 8 Pints = Sat early pm: 4hrs of bookies and football
- 10 Pints = Sat pm: 5hrs but a wee nap before out with a few mates
- 1 Pint = Sun am: 10mins "hair of the dog" pre-golf
- 8 Pints = Sun early pm after golf at the club
- +3hrs = 6 pints If careless and afternoon falls into night :)
- 1 Pint = Mon am 10mins "hair of the dog" pre-golf
- 10 Pints = Mon early pm Bank holiday in the golf club
1 Orange juice and a bowl of frosties before heading off to work on Tuesday.
Disclaimer: Scotland has a poor record for health and has a definite drink culture. I'd never advise irresponsible drinking. Agreed, my definition of "irresponsible" is likely to be different from some...
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