What happens when the body self -all without a glass in hand?
Imagine waking up one day and feeling as if you had taken several glasses, with memory loss, irritability and dizziness, without having tried a drop of alcohol. That strange reality was the one faced by a man who, without knowing it, had a peculiar disorder that allowed him to make alcohol in his own organism.
The mystery that baffled doctors
It all started when this individual was arrested for driving in a state that seemed ethyl, without having consumed any alcohol. The breathalyzer test confirmed the impossible: its system showed high levels of blood alcohol. The confusion led to medical consultations, where the specialists initially thought of a bipolar disorder or some type of depression, and ended up prescribing antidepressants and psychological therapy. However, his case remained an enigma, which was only resolved after years of thorough studies and analysis.
The discovery behind the phenomenon: internal fermentation
The definitive diagnosis came in 2017 in a medical center in New York. Result of a meticulous study, experts found that the patient produced alcohol in his own body for an endogenous fermentation process. What makes peculiar his condition is that certain yeasts in his intestine, particularly Candida and Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, began to grow abnormally following an antibiotic treatment. These yeasts ferment carbohydrates in alcohol, creating a cycle in which the body acts as an internal beer factory.
The role of medical treatments and advances
This case, which came to light in a prestigious Congress of Gastroenterology, has opened a new research field around hormonal and metabolic disorders. The doctors, after diagnosis, chose to administer antifungals to reduce the proliferation of yeasts, in addition to modifying the patient’s diet, restricting carbohydrates and sugars that feed fungi. The therapy was effective; In a few months, the man recovered his balance and resumed an almost normal life, without episodes of spontaneous drunkenness and feeling healthy.
A possible, but little known condition
Dr. Barbara Cordell, an expert in molecular medicine, emphasizes that although automatic fermentation syndrome is not very frequent, more and more people report similar symptoms. She herself has received consultations of hundreds of patients in recent years, and currently maintains contact with many of them. The importance of identifying and treating these cases is that, on many occasions, people live deceived by the symptoms, without understanding that their body produces alcohol without having ingested a single alcoholic beverage.
What tells us this story for the future?
While science continues to explore the limits of the human body, cases like this remind us that biology still keeps many secrets. Research in microbioma, fungi and its impact on health promises to open new doors to understand disorders such as this and other phenomena that seem taken from a science fiction novel. The good news is that, with medical advances, these patients have more and more chances of recovering their well -being and leaving behind that uncomfortable confusion to feel that they are drunk without having touched a glass.
