Editing Ethanol (section)

=== Medical ===
{{Main|Alcohol (medicine)}}
Ethanol is the oldest known [[sedative]], used as an oral [[general anesthetic]] during surgery in ancient [[Mesopotamia]] and in [[Middle Ages|medieval times]].<ref name="Powell1996" /><ref name="Schnelle" /> Mild intoxication starts at a [[blood alcohol concentration]] of 0.03-0.05% and induces [[Induced coma|anesthetic coma]] at 0.4%.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.medicalsecretsmd.com/post/natural-old-school-anesthesia-ancient-opium-alcohol-marijuana | title=3 Natural, Ancient Anesthetics No One Talks About: Opium, Alcohol, Marijuana | last=Kaveh | first=Anthony | website=Dr. Anthony Kaveh, MD | access-date=December 30, 2022}}</ref> This use carries the high risk of deadly [[alcohol intoxication]], [[pulmonary aspiration]] and vomiting, which led to use of alternatives in antiquity, such as [[opium]] and [[cannabis]], and later diethyl ether, starting in the 1840s.<ref name= Grattan>Grattan, N. "Treatment of Uterine Haemorrhage". ''Provincial Medicine and Surgical Journal''. Vol. 1, No. 6 (Nov. 7, 1840), p. 107.</ref>

Ethanol is used as an [[antiseptic]] in medical wipes and [[hand sanitizer]] gels  for its bactericidal and anti-fungal effects.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Pohorecky | first1=Larissa A. | last2=Brick | first2=John | title=Pharmacology of ethanol | journal=Pharmacology & Therapeutics | date=January 1988 | volume=36 | issue=2–3 | pages=335–427 | doi=10.1016/0163-7258(88)90109-X | pmid=3279433}}</ref> Ethanol kills [[microorganism]]s by dissolving their membrane [[lipid bilayer]] and [[Denaturation (biochemistry)|denaturing]] their [[protein]]s, and is effective against most [[bacteria]], [[fungi]] and [[virus]]es. It is ineffective against bacterial [[Endospore|spores]], which can be treated with [[hydrogen peroxide]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors=McDonnell G, Russell AD | title=Antiseptics and disinfectants: activity, action, and resistance | journal=Clinical Microbiology Reviews | volume=12 | issue=1 | pages=147–179 | date=January 1999 | pmid=9880479 | pmc=88911 | doi=10.1128/CMR.12.1.147}}</ref>

A solution of 70% ethanol is more effective than pure ethanol because ethanol relies on water molecules for optimal antimicrobial activity. Absolute ethanol may inactivate microbes without destroying them because the alcohol is unable to fully permeate the microbe's membrane.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection/disinfection-methods/chemical.html | title=Chemical Disinfectants {{!}} Disinfection & Sterilization Guidelines {{!}} Guidelines Library {{!}} Infection Control {{!}} CDC | website=www.cdc.gov | language=en-us | access-date=2018-01-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.researchgate.net/post/Why_is_70_ethanol_used_for_wiping_microbiological_working_areas | title=Why is 70% ethanol used for wiping microbiological working areas? | website=ResearchGate | language=en | access-date=2018-01-29}}</ref> Ethanol can also be used as a disinfectant and antiseptic by inducing cell dehydration through disruption of the osmotic balance across the cell membrane, causing  water to leave the cell, leading to cell death.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ethanol | url=https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00898 | website=www.drugbank.ca | access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref>

Ethanol may be administered as an [[antidote]] to [[ethylene glycol poisoning]]<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Scalley | first1=Robert | name-list-style=vanc | title=Treatment of Ethylene Glycol Poisoning | journal=American Family Physician | date=September 2002 | volume=66 | issue=5 | pages=807–813 | pmid=12322772 | url=https://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0901/p807.html | access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> and [[methanol poisoning]].<ref name=EM2016>{{cite journal | last1=Beauchamp | first1=GA | last2=Valento | first2=M | title=Toxic Alcohol Ingestion: Prompt Recognition And Management In The Emergency Department. | journal=Emergency Medicine Practice | date=September 2016 | volume=18 | issue=9 | pages=1–20 | pmid=27538060}}</ref> It does so by acting as a [[competitive inhibitor]] against [[methanol]] and [[ethylene glycol]] for [[alcohol dehydrogenase]] (ADH).<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Sasanami | first1=Misa | last2=Yamada | first2=Taihei | last3=Obara | first3=Takafumi | last4=Nakao | first4=Atsunori | last5=Naito | first5=Hiromichi | title=Oral Ethanol Treatment for Ethylene Glycol Intoxication | journal=Cureus | year=2020 | volume=12 | issue=12 | pages=e12268 | doi=10.7759/cureus.12268 | doi-access=free | issn=2168-8184 | pmc=7827791 | pmid=33510981}}</ref> Though it has more side effects, ethanol is less expensive and more readily available than [[fomepizole]] in the role.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Anseeuw | first1=Kurt | last2=Sabbe | first2=Marc B. | last3=Legrand | first3=Annemie | date=April 2008 | title=Methanol poisoning: the duality between 'fast and cheap' and 'slow and expensive' | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18446077/ | journal=European Journal of Emergency Medicine | volume=15 | issue=2 | pages=107–109 | doi=10.1097/MEJ.0b013e3282f3c13b | issn=0969-9546 | pmid=18446077 | s2cid=23861841}}</ref>

Ethanol is used to dissolve many water-insoluble medications and related compounds. Liquid preparations of [[analgesics|pain medications]], [[Cold medicine|cough and cold medicines]], and mouth washes, for example, may contain up to 25% ethanol<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.mssny.org/App_Themes/MSSNY/pdf/AlcoholContent.pdf | title=Alcohol Content in Common Preparations | publisher=Medical Society of the State of New York | access-date=October 8, 2019 | archive-date=29 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429232655/https://www.mssny.org/App_Themes/MSSNY/pdf/AlcoholContent.pdf | url-status=dead}}</ref> and may need to be avoided in individuals with adverse reactions to ethanol such as [[alcohol-induced respiratory reactions]].<ref name="Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2013">{{cite journal | vauthors=Adams KE, Rans TS | title=Adverse reactions to alcohol and alcoholic beverages | journal=Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology | volume=111 | issue=6 | pages=439–445 | date=December 2013 | pmid=24267355 | doi=10.1016/j.anai.2013.09.016}}</ref> Ethanol is present mainly as an antimicrobial preservative in over 700 liquid preparations of medicine including [[acetaminophen]], [[iron supplement]]s, [[ranitidine]], [[furosemide]], [[mannitol]], [[phenobarbital]], [[trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole]] and [[over-the-counter]] [[cough medicine]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors=Zuccotti GV, Fabiano V | title=Safety issues with ethanol as an excipient in drugs intended for pediatric use | journal=Expert Opinion on Drug Safety | volume=10 | issue=4 | pages=499–502 | date=July 2011 | pmid=21417862 | doi=10.1517/14740338.2011.565328 | s2cid=41876817}}</ref>

Some medicinal solutions of ethanol are also known as [[tincture]]s.