McKie argued it was important for people to not only be prevented from drinking alcohol laced with methanol but to also understand the symptoms to get help in time.
“Look out for your friends, if you notice a friend who seems more ill, get them help,” McKie said.
Some of the symptoms of methanol poisoning can include:
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Vomiting, poor judgement, loss of balance and drowsiness are early signs
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12-48 hours after drinking symptoms can include abdominal pain, vertigo, hyperventilation, breathlessness, blurred vision and/or blindness, coma and convulsions
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Vision issues are a distinctive red flag, particularly blurry vision, trouble looking at bright lights, and in some cases complete blindness. “Snowfield vision” (seeing snowy static like an old TV) or tunnel vision can also occur
MacDonald also advised people look out for each other while travelling and to know the risks.
“Enjoy your travel but ultimately it’s really important to have all the information that you possibly can before you do go to these places because I think ultimately it’s very difficult to ultimately eliminate all risk,” he said.
“If you have the information at hand and you can recognise situations in which you might be at higher risk and you can recognise the symptoms and then you can mitigate those risks and do the best you can to look after yourself and look after your friends.”
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer said the government was using the campaign to amplify its own travel advice for people to check the Foreign Office’s warnings.
Asked how this information reaches young people such as backpackers who may not be visiting government websites, Falconer said the campaign was using a range of ways.
“We’re partnering with influencers on TikTok, YouTube, other influencer channels… we’re trying to make sure that we get [the campaign] out through all the channels,” Falconer said on BBC Breakfast.
“The campaigners and families have been working with other people too to try and make sure there’s content out there so it’s now in the PSHE [Personal, Social, Health and Economic education] curriculum, it’s being pushed online, trying to make sure it gets wide reach.”
The full list of countries listed as posing a risk of methanol poisoning are: Brazil, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, The Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9929dg5l5lo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
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