When most people think of booze, they picture hangovers and traffic accidents, but the truth is that alcohol has occasionally stepped in as an unlikely hero. In this roundup of “10 times alcohol” saved lives, we explore bizarre medical rescues, daring rescues at sea, and even an icy Titanic tale where a splash of spirits made the difference between life and death.
10 Nguyen Van Nhat
In early 2019, physicians at a Vietnamese hospital handed Nguyen Van Nhat, a 48‑year‑old man, a prescription of fifteen cans of ordinary lager. The odd‑looking treatment was meant to counteract a severe methanol poisoning he had suffered after ingesting a contaminated drink.
When Nhat arrived in intensive care, doctors began a regiment of three cans of beer, then followed up with one additional can every hour. The strategy worked because the liver prefers breaking down ethanol before it tackles methanol, buying precious time while dialysis cleared the toxic methanol from his bloodstream.
Although vodka would have delivered a higher ethanol dose, the medical team resorted to beer simply because vodka was unavailable. The method proved successful, and after the course of treatment Nhat was discharged in good health.
9 Ronald Aldom
In 2012, 77‑year‑old Ronald Aldom was rushed to intensive care after a bout of ventricular tachycardia, an erratic heart rhythm that often follows a prior heart attack.
Aldom had previously been fitted with an implantable defibrillator that automatically delivered shocks whenever his heart rhythm went awry. Unfortunately, the device malfunctioned and began sending excessive shocks, worsening his condition.
Standard treatments failed to stabilize him, so physicians turned to a technique called ethanol ablation. By threading a catheter from his groin to the offending artery in his heart, they injected a tiny amount of alcohol.
The alcohol caused a controlled, localized heart attack, effectively silencing the problematic muscle tissue. This reset his rhythm back to normal, and Aldom survived the ordeal.
8 Denis Duthie
In June 2012, 65‑year‑old Denis Duthie, a diabetic, found himself suddenly blind after inadvertently drinking vodka that interfered with his medication.
Duthie didn’t realize his vision had vanished; he assumed the lights had simply gone out and went to bed, hoping they would return in the morning. When they didn’t, he was rushed to surgery.
Doctors suspected formaldehyde poisoning, a condition that can stem from methanol ingestion. Ethanol—found in whiskey—can counteract methanol’s toxic effects, but the hospital’s supply ran low.
A quick trip to a nearby shop secured a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label. The whiskey was poured into an IV drip and delivered straight to Duthie’s stomach, bypassing his mouth so he never became intoxicated. After five days in a coma, he recovered his sight.
7 Charles Joughin
Charles Joughin served as the head baker aboard the RMS Titanic. When the ship struck the iceberg, he first organized the distribution of fifty loaves of bread to passengers boarding lifeboats.
Afterward, he slipped away to his quarters for a drink. He later boarded a lifeboat, but selflessly gave up his seat so more women and children could board, then returned to his cabin for another drink.
As the Titanic began to sink, Joughin threw chairs into the sea to provide makeshift flotation devices. He then fetched more alcohol from the pantry, drinking as the ship split in two.
Joughin found himself clinging to the stern in frigid water for two and a half hours. Remarkably, he survived with only swollen feet, a feat investigators attributed to his high blood‑alcohol level, which delayed the onset of hypothermia.
Normally, intoxication accelerates heat loss, but in Joughin’s case the alcohol caused his blood vessels to constrict just enough to stave off freezing, allowing rescue teams to pull him aboard a lifeboat.
6 Cloe The Dog
A few years ago, Stacy Zammit walked into her Melbourne home to find her American Staffordshire Terrier, Cloe, stumbling and whimpering. The pup couldn’t stand, had lost its appetite, and was crying throughout the night.
The veterinarian diagnosed antifreeze ingestion, likely from the dog licking a puddle of ethylene‑glycol that had leaked from a parked car. Antifreeze is deadly to both humans and animals, causing kidney failure.
When the clinic ran out of standard antidotes, the vet remembered a bottle of vodka gifted by a staff member. He diluted the vodka and administered it via a drip, delivering roughly a third of the bottle over two days—equivalent to eight human shots spaced four hours apart.
Cloe’s kidneys cleared the toxin, and she made a full recovery, wagging her tail once again.
5 Joseph Lehr
In May 2016, Joseph Lehr, his friend Michael Clapman, and an unnamed companion were sailing roughly 183 meters off Rockaway Beach, New York, when a drain plug blew out, flooding their vessel.
They tried to stop the inflow with random objects—metal sheets, socks, even a coffee mug—but water kept rising, threatening to sink the boat.
At the last moment, a party‑going neighbor tossed a handful of corks toward the struggling trio. Lehr snatched a cork from an Absolut vodka bottle and jammed it into the hole, sealing the breach long enough for rescue crews to reach them.
The New York City Fire Department and Police Department pulled the trio to safety, all thanks to a piece of vodka‑cork.
4 Two Elephants
In 2012, a traveling circus found itself stranded in Novosibirsk, Siberia, after the trailer carrying its two massive elephants caught fire. The animals were forced out into a -40 °C wind, and frostbite began to set in on their ears.
Fearing hypothermia, the circus crew administered small shots of vodka—diluted with water—to the elephants. The animals eagerly accepted the liquid, trumpeting in delight as they drank.
After the vodka bolstered their circulatory systems, the elephants were guided into a heated garage where they stayed warm until a replacement trailer arrived.
Rostislav Shilo, director of the Novosibirsk Zoo, later clarified that the elephants never became truly intoxicated; the vodka was watered down to avoid any harmful effects.
3 Unnamed Tourist
In 2007, a 24‑year‑old Italian tourist attempted suicide by drinking antifreeze. He was rushed to an Australian intensive‑care unit where doctors initially used a medicinal‑alcohol drip to counteract the poison.
When their supply of medical‑grade ethanol ran out, the team turned to regular vodka, delivering three shots per hour via an IV for three consecutive days. To prevent the patient from feeling the intoxicating effects, they placed him in a medically induced coma.
The treatment succeeded; the tourist survived, was weaned off the drip, and left the hospital after twenty days, fully recovered.
2 Charlie The Dog
Charlie, a Maltese terrier from Melbourne, Australia, licked ethylene‑glycol that had spilled on his garage floor, putting his kidneys in severe jeopardy.
Veterinarians at Melbourne Animal Accident and Emergency Hospital administered a vodka drip directly into his stomach through a nasogastric tube. The high‑purity ethanol in vodka competes with ethylene‑glycol for the same metabolic enzymes, slowing the formation of toxic acids.
Over a two‑day period, the vets continued the vodka infusion while simultaneously extracting the glycol from his system. Charlie emerged from the ordeal fully recovered, albeit with a mild hangover.
1 Tipsy The Cat
A tiny cat named Tipsy was found near a Lowood, Queensland, shop, barely breathing after ingesting antifreeze. He arrived at a RSPCA clinic with failing kidneys and a rapidly deteriorating condition.
With no medical‑grade alcohol on hand, a nurse remembered an unopened bottle of vodka given to her as a Christmas gift. The veterinarians diluted the spirit and ran it through an IV drip for ten hours.
Thanks to the timely intervention, Tipsy survived, regained full kidney function, and was released back to his owner—though he did sport a brief, feline‑style hangover.