Laos poisoning victim: I saw a kaleidoscopic light, then went blind

Telegraph

a day ago

A British backpacker who went blind after drinking contaminated alcohol in Laos has recalled seeing a 'kaleidoscopic light' before losing his vision.
Calum Macdonald was on his first solo holiday abroad when he became a victim of methanol poisoning in the town of Vang Vieng last November.
Six people died including Simone White, 28, a lawyer from Orpington, in south-east London.
Mr Macdonald told the BBC that after the blinding light subsided, he sat down with friends at his hotel and asked for a light to be turned on. When they told him it was already on, he realised he had lost his vision.
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, he recalled being offered free whisky and vodka shots at the Nana Backpackers Hostel.
He said: 'The point at which I really started to notice some strange side effects was when we briefly got off the bus to cross the border into Vietnam, and we went through the border office.
'We had to fill out a number of forms to get across to the other side – and at that point, sort of my entire vision was engulfed in this blinding white light. I remember having this kaleidoscopic blinding light in my eyes to the point at which I couldn't see anything.
'And I just thought, you know, this is very strange. I couldn't actually see where I was walking.'
He said the white light had subsided by the time his group arrived at a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam.
'My friends and I were sitting in the room and I said to my friends: 'Why are we sitting in the dark here? Let's turn on a light.' And they informed me that the light was, in fact, already on.'
Mr Macdonald was taken to hospital, but struggled to breathe during the journey to the point where he could 'barely get my words out'.
He said a number of tests were carried out in Laos but it was not until he got back to England that he was told 'it was definitely related to something I'd been drinking'.
Mr Macdonald wants more information about methanol poisoning to become available, especially to students who might be preparing to go on a gap year.
He said: 'I think I definitely feel a sense of responsibility as someone who's been lucky enough to survive this, to try and get the message out. Because I know certainly, if I'd known about it, I wouldn't be in this situation.
'And I know I have a lot of friends that have also done similar sort of gap years in travelling around even that particular area. And so definitely I think it's quite important.'
Mr Macdonald said he later found out that two Danish girls he had met that evening had died. Australian citizens Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, and an American man also died.
Mr Macdonald added: 'I've had the opportunity to speak to a number of other families that have been affected by this, and they're far more knowledgeable and have been campaigning for awareness for a lot longer than I have been involved. What they tend to say generally is that sometimes the advice isn't put in strong enough terms.
'And so I think, I guess if I was to put out a recommendation to people, although I'm certainly not an expert or a medical professional, I would probably say that if you did want to drink alcohol in some of the affected countries, probably just to avoid spirits entirely.'
Methanol is sometimes added to mixed drinks as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, but can cause severe poisoning or death. It is also a byproduct of poorly-distilled home-brew liquor and could have found its way into bar drinks inadvertently.
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: 'Methanol poisoning and counterfeit alcohol are a serious problem in some parts of the world and we continue to work closely with the relevant local authorities and the travel industry to tackle this complex issue.
'We seek to make clear the risks to British people travelling abroad and we raise awareness through our travel advice and Travel Aware campaign.'