Alcohol Clearing the myths about Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol ingestion

[dantheman733]

There are plenty of threads floating around on here, drugs-forum and other sites about drinking isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol).

As a pharmaceutical biochemist and former alcoholic, I would like to clear the air...many of the responses make me facepalm.

Most of the threads I'm talking about have uninformed, idiotic answers from people who don't know what they are talking about and are only furthering misinformation.

Many alcoholics resort to drinking iso, even in the form of hand sanitizer.

Let's get some facts straight:

1. Drinking isopropyl alcohol will not, cannot cause blindness. That is methanol (wood alcohol). Methanol causes neural gap formation (brain damage) that can lead to blindness. However, if you drank enough for that to happen you will either be dead or heavily mentally disabled if you survive. Ethanol (what you drink) and isopropyl alcohol do not cause neural gap formation. So no brain damage.

2. Yes, isopropyl alcohol metabolizes into acetone in your blood stream. However, there is always some acetone in your blood. Low levels of acetone are normally present in the body from the breakdown of fat. You would die of alcohol poising long before the extra acetone in your blood would be an issue (though it will give you a nice headache).

3. The reason people die from drinking isopropyl is the same as how people die drinking regular ethyl-alcohol. Alcohol poisoning: both ethanol and isopropyl alcohol cause central nervous system (CNS) depression. Too much and you basically stop breathing. Again, it is not methanol.

The difference is that it takes less isopropyl alcohol to cause this than with ethanol. And no, it is not only because isopropyl/rubbing alcohol is usually sold at a higher concentration (70-99%) than ethanol (40%). Isopropyl causes greater CNS depression on a part to part comparison with ethanol. So if you had one shot of 40% isopropyl alcohol and one shot of 40% ethanol, the isopropyl will actually cause greater CNS depression.

4. Drinking isopropyl alcohol will get you drunk. But yes, you will have the worst hangover ever. Your breath will smell fruity for 24 hours after no matter what you eat or drink. You will notice when you exhale that it still tastes like rubbing alcohol. This is sourced from experience.

5. The high concentration of alcohol (70-99%) in rubbing alcohol formulations can cause irritation to the throat, esophagus and stomach. Same as if you drank 95% ethanol.

6. Regular ethanol taxes your liver and kidneys just as much as isopropyl alcohol does. Many say "don't drink isopropyl alcohol - it will devastate your liver and kidneys with its toxicity!" when in reality regular ethanol is just as bad.

If you cannot get ethanol and find it necessary to drink rubbing alcohol remember to take it slow. Also, mix it with water or another beverage to prevent burning your throat stomach. I obviously do not recommend it but it can be done without killing yourself.

Do not use it rectally. It will dry the fuck out of your a-hole and irritate it. It will tear and bleed the next time you take a shit.

If you have access to vodka or other drinking ethanol there is 0 reason to drink isopropyl alcohol. But if you can't and are having DTs/withdrawals and need it it can be done but monitor yourself and take it slow.

Just wanted to clear up the common myths. Thanks for reading and be safe.

 

[Whosajiggawaaa]

lol. u are very pro drinking rubbing alcohol. what about throwing it in with a chaser ? how is that.

 

[dantheman733]

I'm not pro-drinking it. It's just not as bad as people always say it is.

Like I said, if you can get actual drinking booze then there is no reason to drink isopropyl.

You'll have a hell of a hangover the next day and your breath will taste and smell for awhile.

I just wanted to point out the facts and put out the real information. Instead of the "OMG DON'T EVER DO IT! YOU WILL DIE INSTANTLY AND GO BLIND" comments that are so common.

As far as a chaser....mix it for sure because it is not pleasant. You also don't want to have it irritate your throat. It'll still taste like shit. So mix it and have a chaser on hand.

The intoxication is less euphoria/energy like you get with ethanol and more of the sedation effect.

 

[JM357]

There are plenty of threads floating around on here, drugs-forum and other sites about drinking isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol).

As a pharmaceutical biochemist and former alcoholic, I would like to clear the air...many of the responses make me facepalm.

Most of the threads I'm talking about have uninformed, idiotic answers from people who don't know what they are talking about and are only furthering misinformation.

Many alcoholics resort to drinking iso, even in the form of hand sanitizer.

Let's get some facts straight:

1. Drinking isopropyl alcohol will not, cannot cause blindness. That is methanol (wood alcohol). Methanol causes neural gap formation (brain damage) that can lead to blindness. However, if you drank enough for that to happen you will either be dead or heavily mentally disabled if you survive. Ethanol (what you drink) and isopropyl alcohol do not cause neural gap formation. So no brain damage.

2. Yes, isopropyl alcohol metabolizes into acetone in your blood stream. However, there is always some acetone in your blood. Low levels of acetone are normally present in the body from the breakdown of fat. You would die of alcohol poising long before the extra acetone in your blood would be an issue (though it will give you a nice headache).

3. The reason people die from drinking isopropyl is the same as how people die drinking regular ethyl-alcohol. Alcohol poisoning: both ethanol and isopropyl alcohol cause central nervous system (CNS) depression. Too much and you basically stop breathing. Again, it is not methanol.

The difference is that it takes less isopropyl alcohol to cause this than with ethanol. And no, it is not only because isopropyl/rubbing alcohol is usually sold at a higher concentration (70-99%) than ethanol (40%). Isopropyl causes greater CNS depression on a part to part comparison with ethanol. So if you had one shot of 40% isopropyl alcohol and one shot of 40% ethanol, the isopropyl will actually cause greater CNS depression.

4. Drinking isopropyl alcohol will get you drunk. But yes, you will have the worst hangover ever. Your breath will smell fruity for 24 hours after no matter what you eat or drink. You will notice when you exhale that it still tastes like rubbing alcohol. This is sourced from experience.

5. The high concentration of alcohol (70-99%) in rubbing alcohol formulations can cause irritation to the throat, esophagus and stomach. Same as if you drank 95% ethanol.

6. Regular ethanol taxes your liver and kidneys just as much as isopropyl alcohol does. Many say "don't drink isopropyl alcohol - it will devastate your liver and kidneys with its toxicity!" when in reality regular ethanol is just as bad.

If you cannot get ethanol and find it necessary to drink rubbing alcohol remember to take it slow. Also, mix it with water or another beverage to prevent burning your throat stomach. I obviously do not recommend it but it can be done without killing yourself.

Do not use it rectally. It will dry the fuck out of your a-hole and irritate it. It will tear and bleed the next time you take a shit.

If you have access to vodka or other drinking ethanol there is 0 reason to drink isopropyl alcohol. But if you can't and are having DTs/withdrawals and need it it can be done but monitor yourself and take it slow.

Just wanted to clear up the common myths. Thanks for reading and be safe.

Nice info- not something I'd ever do (not judging- just not a huge fan (I do occasionally drink) of alcohol, not enough to where I could put up with the taste- the cheap vodka I sometimes get is bad enough) but good to know in the sense of harm reduction (especially the part about isopropyl vs. methanol) for someone who may be about to go through DTs and can get their hands on isopropyl and methanol (say after hours when their only choice is to go to a pharmacy (where I live they can't sell alcohol 24 hours a day)).

 

[bingey]

I occasionely ingest small amount of iso with extractions , never thought more of it , it's a great party trick btw (just say no to gasoline though)

 

[szuko000]

The issue is what the body does with various alcohols and how they get converted by metabolism. My biology is rusty but I think methanol gets converted into formaldehyde and formic salts and that is why its toxic. I would be concerned about the metabolic pathways various alcohols take as that is usually the part people dont think about the body will metabolize things via the pathway that makes "the most sense" and it doesnt know if it is creating something more toxic or not it just knows "i can oxidize this alcohol group!" Hydrocarbons, such as gasoline, are bad because the body has no points of oxidization and doesnt know what to do with it (to put it very simply)

I would research the metabolites of the "exotic" alcohols if you wish to ingest them

 

[Smerpderp]

I dug this up. Sorry, but i researched it much, and I too am a biochemist who has gone so far as to have personal experience with TAA. Which is 20X ethanol potency. OP is correct. And IPA reminds me of TAA. Just not as fun and dear god not as dangerous. There are a lot of myths out there though!

 

[ThisIsCrazy]

My best friend died last year.
His blood alcohol levels were lethal and he also had lorazepam in his system.
He was found in some random field, holding onto an empty bottle of hand sanitizer.

 

[Fire&Water]

IPA IIPA (throw in some crystal malt & juniper berries)

some neckbeards would pry' line up to fill their growlers!

 

[speedballs_over]

OP (Dan The Man!) you're not the chemist nor pharmacist you think you are, get off it. I'm a pharmaceutical chemist. So what? Doesn't mean i know everything.

Hyping bad HR info is worse than none at all. Geese.

There's hundreds of blind people in eastern Europe due to tainted alcohol, methanol specifically. They used the wrong source of carbohydrates during fermentation. Many are as fit mentally as they were before the experience.

Nice try.

Edit: that was kind of dick-ish of me up there. I'm coming off benzos on a proper taper and sometimes I rage a bit, esp., in the AM. So, yeah, I'm an asshole...

 

[ovo1024]

OP (Dan The Man!) you're not the chemist nor pharmacist you think you are, get off it. I'm a pharmaceutical chemist. So what? Doesn't mean i know everything.

Hyping bad HR info is worse than none at all. Geese.

There's hundreds of blind people in eastern Europe due to tainted alcohol, methanol specifically. They used the wrong source of carbohydrates during fermentation. Many are as fit mentally as they were before the experience.

Nice try.

Edit: that was kind of dick-ish of me up there. I'm coming off benzos on a proper taper and sometimes I rage a bit, esp., in the AM. So, yeah, I'm an asshole...

Actually he's right, not you. Do you know anything about gap formations?

 

[SKR]

^Agreed. Good contribution Dan, BL thanks you!

 

[SS373dOH]

There are plenty of threads floating around on here, drugs-forum and other sites about drinking isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol).

As a pharmaceutical biochemist and former alcoholic, I would like to clear the air...many of the responses make me facepalm.

Most of the threads I'm talking about have uninformed, idiotic answers from people who don't know what they are talking about and are only furthering misinformation.

Many alcoholics resort to drinking iso, even in the form of hand sanitizer.

Let's get some facts straight:

1. Drinking isopropyl alcohol will not, cannot cause blindness. That is methanol (wood alcohol). Methanol causes neural gap formation (brain damage) that can lead to blindness. However, if you drank enough for that to happen you will either be dead or heavily mentally disabled if you survive. Ethanol (what you drink) and isopropyl alcohol do not cause neural gap formation. So no brain damage.

2. Yes, isopropyl alcohol metabolizes into acetone in your blood stream. However, there is always some acetone in your blood. Low levels of acetone are normally present in the body from the breakdown of fat. You would die of alcohol poising long before the extra acetone in your blood would be an issue (though it will give you a nice headache).

3. The reason people die from drinking isopropyl is the same as how people die drinking regular ethyl-alcohol. Alcohol poisoning: both ethanol and isopropyl alcohol cause central nervous system (CNS) depression. Too much and you basically stop breathing. Again, it is not methanol.

The difference is that it takes less isopropyl alcohol to cause this than with ethanol. And no, it is not only because isopropyl/rubbing alcohol is usually sold at a higher concentration (70-99%) than ethanol (40%). Isopropyl causes greater CNS depression on a part to part comparison with ethanol. So if you had one shot of 40% isopropyl alcohol and one shot of 40% ethanol, the isopropyl will actually cause greater CNS depression.

4. Drinking isopropyl alcohol will get you drunk. But yes, you will have the worst hangover ever. Your breath will smell fruity for 24 hours after no matter what you eat or drink. You will notice when you exhale that it still tastes like rubbing alcohol. This is sourced from experience.

5. The high concentration of alcohol (70-99%) in rubbing alcohol formulations can cause irritation to the throat, esophagus and stomach. Same as if you drank 95% ethanol.

6. Regular ethanol taxes your liver and kidneys just as much as isopropyl alcohol does. Many say "don't drink isopropyl alcohol - it will devastate your liver and kidneys with its toxicity!" when in reality regular ethanol is just as bad.

If you cannot get ethanol and find it necessary to drink rubbing alcohol remember to take it slow. Also, mix it with water or another beverage to prevent burning your throat stomach. I obviously do not recommend it but it can be done without killing yourself.

Do not use it rectally. It will dry the fuck out of your a-hole and irritate it. It will tear and bleed the next time you take a shit.

If you have access to vodka or other drinking ethanol there is 0 reason to drink isopropyl alcohol. But if you can't and are having DTs/withdrawals and need it it can be done but monitor yourself and take it slow.

Just wanted to clear up the common myths. Thanks for reading and be safe.

If alcohol poisoning can ocurr easier with iso opposed to ethyl, wouldn't you think it would be 'harder' on your organs?

Welp either way, it's not a good idea to consume isopropyl, and I wouldn't condone it under any circumstance.. If you're in alcohol wd, go to the ER so they can treat you with benzos..

 

[Limpet_Chicken]

Simply being more potent does not equal greater toxicity as such. A more rapid reaching of the threshold between activity and toxicity (I.e alcohol poisoning in this case, yes but not toxicity-toxicity, such as drinking methanol would produce)

Same as the difference between say, tert-amyl alcohol, and ethanol. The dose of the former is in millilitres but it won't be oxidized to any nasty aldehyde or ketone metabolites because of the tertiary carbon, so its actually, in a dose suited to ITs dose range and not that kind of quantity that one drinks ethanol in, less toxic.

But drink the same amount as you'd find ethanol in a half pint of vodka then your dead meat most likely.


Or drinking diethyl ether for another. Dose is in spoonfuls, Its damn potent, compared to ethanol but drink a big glass of ether and if it only knocks you sideways into last week you just got a reprieve from on high, so to speak. But it isn't what I'd call toxic, As one very famous physician once said, back in the day, 'the dose maketh the poison'


Also be aware that rubbing alcohol is NOT pure isopropanol. Its got methanol in it as a denaturant often, depending on country. In the US it has. And it IS poisonous to drink.

And to add one last thing, iPrOH tastes absolutely disgusting. Even pure iPA has the foullest taste to it, its beyond vile.

I once accidentally, well twice, but different things, went down to the fridge at night fixing to grab me a cold bottle of chocolate milkshake. I didn't. I got hold of and slugged back, separate occasions, a glass of concentrated iPA fly agaric extract, and the other time it was an extraction of szechuan pepper (my GOD that was revolting, I spewed my guts instantly, and got no effects from the alcohol). The solvent used was, at least before it left the bottle, anhydrous isopropanol, burned like bloody fury going down. I would have stuck my fingers down my throat in the case of the fly agaric, there was quite some quantity that had been extracted and it was concentrated into a shot or two sized 'portion' ready for further processing; and I'd stumbled, bleary-eyed and tired down the stairs, and gulped the lot down in one swallow.

Never knew what hit me. Can't say much about hangover, I ended up sleeping the sleep of the dead, I doubt very much even a slap round the face would have been noticed that night. And I slept all night, all day, and awoke the mid-afternoon or so afterwards. So I cannot comment much about the effects of the iPA, but it sure as hell tasted NASTY. And I like the taste of fly agaric, What I do not dry, I sometimes pick, prepare like Blusher (Amanita rubescens) to leach out the poisons and the actives, in order to make a meal of the mushroom itself.