Applied to the skin, alcohols are used to disinfectskin before a needle stick and before surgery.[2] They may be used both to disinfect the skin of the person and the hands of the healthcare providers.[2] They can also be used to clean other areas,[2] and in mouthwashes.[3]
In the Netherlands, pentobarbital is part of the standard protocol for physician-assisted suicide for self-administration by the patient.[16] It is given in liquid form, in a solution of sugar syrup and alcohol, containing 9 grams of pentobarbital. This is preceded by an antiemetic to prevent vomiting.[16]
Absolute ethanol is used as a sclerosant in sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy has been used "in the treatment of simple pleural effusions, vascular malformations, lymphocytes and seromas."[20]
Ethchlorvynol, developed in the 1950s, was used to treat insomnia, but prescriptions for the drug had fallen significantly by 1990, as other hypnotics that were considered safer (i.e., less dangerous in overdose) became much more common. Also, ethchlorvynol is not compatible with intravenous injection like ethanol—serious injury (including the loss of limbs due to vascular injury) or death can occur when it is used in this manner.[21] It is no longer prescribed in the United States due to unavailability, but it is still available in some countries and would still be considered legal to possess and use with a valid prescription.
Vodka was alleged to be an effective homemade hand sanitizer, or an ingredient in one. The company whose brand was alleged to be protective responded to the rumours by citing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statement that hand sanitizers needed to be at least 60% alcohol to be effective, and stating that their product was only 40% alcohol.[24][25][medical citation needed]
Beer is one of the earliest known ingredients for wound healing. A medical prescription from Mesopotamia describes a method for healing wounds:[27][28]
Pound together fur-turpentine, pine-turpentine, tamarisk, daisy, flour of inninnu strain; mix in milk and beer in a small copper pan; spread on skin; bind on him, and he shall recover.
Early doctors recognized that ethanol was a risky anesthetic because it could lead to death from alcohol poisoning or vomit inhalation (pulmonary aspiration). This led to use of alternatives in antiquity, such as opium and cannabis, and later diethyl ether starting in the 1840s.[30] As safer options became available, ethanol was eventually phased out as a general anesthetic.
Methylpentynol, discovered 1913, prescribed for the treatment of insomnia, but its use was quickly phased out in response to newer drugs with far more favorable safety profiles.[31][32][33] The drug has been replaced by benzodiazepines and is no longer sold anywhere.[34]
^Jameel RA, Khan SS, Kamaruddin MF, Abd Rahim ZH, Bakri MM, Abdul Razak FB (October 2014). "Is synthetic mouthwash the final choice to treat oral malodour?". Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons—Pakistan. 24 (10): 757–762. PMID25327922.
^World Health Organization (2019). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/325771. WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
^Barceloux DG, Bond GR, Krenzelok EP, Cooper H, Vale JA (2002). "American Academy of Clinical Toxicology practice guidelines on the treatment of methanol poisoning". Journal of Toxicology. Clinical Toxicology. 40 (4): 415–446. doi:10.1081/CLT-120006745. PMID12216995. S2CID26495651.
^Adams KE, Rans TS (December 2013). "Adverse reactions to alcohol and alcoholic beverages". Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 111 (6): 439–445. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2013.09.016. PMID24267355.
^Zuccotti GV, Fabiano V (July 2011). "Safety issues with ethanol as an excipient in drugs intended for pediatric use". Expert Opinion on Drug Safety. 10 (4): 499–502. doi:10.1517/14740338.2011.565328. PMID21417862. S2CID41876817.
^Glauser FL, Smith WR, Caldwell A, Hoshiko M, Dolan GS, Baer H, et al. (January 1976). "Ethchlorvynol (Placidyl)-induced pulmonary edema". Annals of Internal Medicine. 84 (1): 46–48. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-84-1-46. PMID942681.
^Grattan, N. "Treatment of Uterine Haemorrhage". Provincial Medicine and Surgical Journal. Vol. 1, No. 6 (Nov. 7, 1840), p. 107.
^Hirsh HL, Orsinger WH (January 1952). "Methylparafynol—a new type hypnotic. Preliminary report on its therapeutic efficacy and toxicity". American Practitioner and Digest of Treatment. 3 (1): 23–6. PMID14903452.
^Herz A (March 1954). "[A new type of hypnotic; unsaturated tertiary carbinols; experimental studies on therapeutic use of 3-methyl-pentin-ol-3 (methylparafynol)]". Arzneimittel-Forschung. 4 (3): 198–9. PMID13159700.
^Hines RD (2002). The Pursuit of Oblivion. p. 327.