Alcohol and Radiation

[ALZU]

How does it work? Is it true Soviets used vodka to treat radiation poisoning (or at least slow it's effects)?

Or is it just a myth from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (Ukrainian RPG Chernobyl game)

[Gelgoog]

Sounds like some yakov smirnoff joke.

I bet the russians just got irratadiated people drunk so that the would die without putting up much of a fuss. If it were true I have a feeling cancer patients would enjoy their radiation treatments alot better

[C-Rob]

Sounds like some yakov smirnoff joke.

I bet the russians just got irratadiated people drunk so that the would die without putting up much of a fuss. If it were true I have a feeling cancer patients would enjoy their radiation treatments alot better

Radiation and a shot of jack!

They did once try radiation on cockroaches once, 30% of the ers survided the radiation equivalent of a nuclear explosion.

However I dont think they could get the cockroaches to drink Vodka

I think it might be possible to have it be absorbed by their shell directly. or soak bread in it for a while and have them eat that.


I saw a smashed roach earlier today, I'll have to find some that are alive, capture them, and see what a drunken roach is like!

[Surgeon]

Pretty sure that's just a joke on Russian/Ukrainian culture/stereotypes. I don't see how alcohol would have any kind of effect on radiation...

[John I Tzimisces]

Pretty sure that's just a joke on Russian/Ukrainian culture/stereotypes. I don't see how alcohol would have any kind of effect on radiation...

well, I'd imagine the idea is not that alcohol has an effect on radiation, just the idea that alcohol consumption might enable the body to fight radiation poisoning...

[Space Wolves]

But..but it works on STALKER

But honestly, does it work? lol

[Gelgoog]

Should we get myth busters to test it out?

[Space Wolves]

Should we get myth busters to test it out?

Its not worth there lives, they give us much entertainment, i rather not have the chance of them getting killed.


Then again maybe the radiation might grow hair on Jamie Hyneman

[ALZU]

Should we get myth busters to test it out?

They did once try radiation on cockroaches once, 30% of the ers survided the radiation equivalent of a nuclear explosion.

However I dont think they could get the cockroaches to drink Vodka

[roy34543]

I doubt that it works lol. I dont see how the two are even remotely related anyway , considering radiation usually works by disrupting the cells DNA patterns.
Vodka just has nasty effects on the brain for the most part.

[Gelgoog]

maybe the test is to see which will kill you faster... a very high dosage of radiation or using a dialysis machine to switch your blood with vodka

[yoyomb]

Well, I came across this study recently, in which mice were given alcohol and exposed to radiation. There was a significant difference between the amount of deaths after 30 days between the control group and the booze group: alcohol seemed to decrease the amount of deaths! I believe the most extreme group was the males: at a dose of 700 mSv, 36% died instead of 7o% after 30 days while on alcohol. The female group had a ten-twenty percent decrease.

The article's over here http://www.springerlink.com/content/jh92886718632q1g/
A table of research is visible on the preview page (just scroll down and squint)

Anyone else found some weird stuff about this?

[Bernem]

Well, I came across this study recently, in which mice were given alcohol and exposed to radiation. There was a significant difference between the amount of deaths after 30 days between the control group and the booze group: alcohol seemed to decrease the amount of deaths! I believe the most extreme group was the males: at a dose of 700 mSv, 36% died instead of 7o% after 30 days while on alcohol. The female group had a ten-twenty percent decrease.

The article's over here http://www.springerlink.com/content/jh92886718632q1g/
A table of research is visible on the preview page (just scroll down and squint)

Anyone else found some weird stuff about this?

The finishing paragraph of the study you found:

It may be concIuded from these results that the use of alcohol after irradiation is ineffective. The data
on the increased toxicity of alcohol to irradiated animals provide a warning against the use of alcohol in work
in which irradiation is possible.

from the same study:

Alcohol has no curative properties; that is, it
does not decrease mortality when introduced after irradiation.
In several experiments alcohol was introduced after
irradiation, but in no case was there a real decrease of
mottality.

The most interesting results were obtained with
large doses of alcohol. It was found that large but not
lethal doses of alcohol, administered against a background
of irradiation, caused death. This effect was especially
pronounced when alcohol was administered after irradiation.
Table 2 shows the results of one such experiment.
In this experiment strain H males received 150-200 mg
doses of alcohol and irradiation at a dose of 700 r. At
this dosage the mice began to die not earlier than the
third or fourth day; on the other hand, toxic doses of
alcohol caused death of nonirradiated mice within the
first two days. Therefore the mortality during the first
two days must be attributed to alcohol, and the later mortality to irradiation. Table 2 shows a quite real and
considerable increase of the toxicity of alcohol, although in the final analysis its administration before irradiation
has a protective effect tn this case also.

A quick calculation reveals, that the protective doses of Ethanol injected in the mice equal a dose of aprox. 0,14l of pure Ethanol for a human of 70kg (that's 50mg of ethanol for a 20g mouse). And that would have to be prior to irradiation. Mice are a lot more resistent to ethanol intoxication than humans due to their in comparison huge liver.
The maximum dose of ethanol administered to the mice was 200 mg. That equals 0,55 liters for a human.

[Gobbledigook]

It doesn't prevent you from getting irradiated... at all.

But, at the time, if people had nothing to take with them when they went into say Chernobyl would anyone want to go?

I mean how does this sound: "Vasili, Vasili, you just go to the plant, pick up some metal, and then you can have an endless supply of vodka which will prevent anything and everything bad from happening to you!"

Way better than: "Well of course you're going to die Tovarshi, but you're doing it for Mother Russia!"

[Elfdude]

Alcohol complicates the treatment of radiation sickness and kemotherapy because it's an irritant. It doesn't help it.

Marijuana on the other hand...

[Turtle Hammer]

If the greatest herb known to mankind was good for treating radiation I wouldn't be suprised. But alcohol being effective against radiation I think is probably bunk. As mentioned, the greatest likelyhood is that it was used as a placebo and to keep people too drunk to care.

[Stark of Winterfell]

I think that to many in Russia and Ukraine vodka is a cure-all drug.

[blekaut]

The thing elfdude mentioned is a cure-all drug

[loolz]

Most likely its just myth. Red wine actually works for radiation .

[Himster]

If you're going to get mutated you may as well have a good time while doing it.