A 37 year old man was admitted into Southern General Hospital in western Glasgow, Scotland. He was complaining of a persistent headache and wavy vision.
Attending physicians ran test after test but were completely stumped when tests showed everything to be normal. The inquisitive doctors found that his symptoms had been affecting him for the past 4 weeks.
Zia Carrim and two other doctors from Southern General Hospital said, “the anonymous man had no history of head injury or loss of consciousness; his past medical record revealed nothing remarkable, and he wasn’t taking any medications. His body temperature and blood pressure were both normal, and a thorough neurological exam scanned negative.” The mystery grew but they were determined to get to the bottom of it.
After the medical testing was finished the man was transferred to Ward 8, the Opthalmology School within Southern General Hospital, to examine his eyes. There the attending Opthalmologist did another medical history where it was determined that the man had a dispute with his girlfriend 4 weeks earlier. That dispute sparked a drinking binge that included at least 60 pints of Scottish ale over a four day period. That may not seem like a lot to many U.S. College students but Scotland holds the current record for the world’s strongest beer coming in at 41% ABV (alcohol by volume). The Scotsman drank the equivalent 7.5 gallons of Scottish beer and at say even 10% ABV that is the equivalent of ½ gallon of 80 proof Vodka each day for the 4 days.
Further medical investigation revealed that the man had swollen optical disks, enlarged blind spots and bleeding nerve fibers in his eyes, all traced to severe dehydration caused by his nonstop drinking and subsequent alcohol withdrawals. He was diagnosed with a rare medical disorder called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST).
The Scotsman was treated with blood thinners for more than six months to restore his vision and end the headaches.
Alcoholism is a severe problem in Scotland so much so that physicians at the hospital would not make further comment for fear that local men might imitate his behavior.
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