Drunk Driving and Auto-Brewery Syndrome is a farfetched idea for many people, including family, doctors and police officers. Imagine a police officer pulling someone over for drunk driving and the offender is legally drunk. The driver swears he never touched a drop of alcohol. Believe it or not, it is possible and has happened. How is this possible? Is there a possibility that someone is drunk driving and Auto-Brewery Syndrome is their medical reason?
Auto-Brewery Syndrome
Although relatively rare, Auto-Brewery Syndrome or ABS is real a real condition afflicting a small number of people. It is a condition caused by large amounts of yeast in a person’s gut which ferments, just like a brewery brews beer. In essence, a person with ABS has a gut with the ability to produce alcohol from yeast in his gut.
Legally Intoxicated
In some cases, people afflicted with ABS have alcohol levels measuring three and four times the legal limit without touch a drop of liquid alcohol. The person with ABS smells of alcohol, slurs, stumbles, and even passes out. ABS suffers usually function at much high alcohol levels than some who ingests enough alcohol to produce the same blood alcohol level. It is thought, since an ABS sufferer is in a state of intoxication more often and long they become slightly immune to low levels of alcohol in the blood, much like a high functioning alcoholic.
A recent case of drunk-driving as a result of Alcohol-Brewery Syndrome was heard in an upstate courtroom. When the accused woman’s lawyer presented proof of the reason of her intoxication the judge dismissed the case.
Diagnosis of Alcohol-Brewery Syndrome
Most doctors have never heard of Alcohol-Brewery Syndrome. Skepticism is understandable to family, doctors, police and most people who are told that ABS is the reason for the person’s intoxication. When a patient presents with intoxication symptoms and swears to abstinence of alcohol then a mystery is present. A monitored study of the patient’s activities is prescribed.
The patient eats a carbohydrate-rich diet and his blood alcohol is tested. When the alcohol levels increase in a controlled environment where there are no alcoholic beverages it is clear the diet of carbs is the only cause. Doctors have determined that the yeast in the patient’s gut turns the sugars in the starchy foods into ethanol. When ethanol enters the rest of the body the patient becomes intoxicated.
Treatment of Alcohol-Brewery Syndrome
Once determined that no alcohol has been ingested but the symptoms of intoxication return then treatment is relatively easy. A low carbohydrate diet (or low glycemic diet) over weeks eliminates intoxication symptoms. It is unclear as to the underlining reason for ABS, but some think a course of treatment with antibiotics kills the bad bacteria. The prescribed antibiotic also kills the good bacteria in the gut. When the good bacteria is eradicated from the gut then yeast takes over.
Doctors have not determined if there is any other disease of condition responsible for ABS. Environmental factors, such as high mold in the home, are suspicious culprits to ABS. Patients with ABS must follow the prescribed diet and watch their exposure to environmental conditions to prevent future ABS episodes. There are anti-fungal medications which work for some people and not others.
Alcohol-Brewery Syndrome presently has no permanent cure. The treatment is diet, medication, and diligence. The problems for patients with ABS consist of maintaining a sober life, keeping a job, bearing healthy children and establishing healthy relationships with understanding people. The strict diet, medications and environmental restrictions do not always alleviate ABS. Some undiagnosed ABS sufferers have been treated for mental issues since the condition is relatively rare.
