If ethanol has analgesic properties, why isn't it used for clinical purposes?
Until 1940, it was actively used for pain relief. It's hard to imagine, but the operations were performed under ethanol anesthesia. A person with a body weight of 70 kg had to drink 250 ml of vodka in pure ethanol.
When used systemically, it has the ability to induce analgesia and general anesthesia. The cells of the central nervous system are most sensitive to ethanol, especially the cells of the cerebral cortex, acting on which, ethanol causes a characteristic alcoholic excitement associated with a weakening of inhibition processes. Then there is also a weakening of excitation processes in the cortex, suppression of the spinal cord and medulla oblongata with suppression of the activity of the respiratory center.
Now it is not used for these purposes.
Until 1940, it was actively used for pain relief. It's hard to imagine, but the operations were performed under ethanol anesthesia. A person with a body weight of 70 kg had to drink 250 ml of vodka in pure ethanol.
When used systemically, it has the ability to induce analgesia and general anesthesia. The cells of the central nervous system are most sensitive to ethanol, especially the cells of the cerebral cortex, acting on which, ethanol causes a characteristic alcoholic excitement associated with a weakening of inhibition processes. Then there is also a weakening of excitation processes in the cortex, suppression of the spinal cord and medulla oblongata with suppression of the activity of the respiratory center.
Now it is not used for these purposes.
As Pushkin mentioned, alcohol used to employed as a pain killer. However, it's not a very efficient analgesic when compared to others like ASA (acetyl salicylic acid). There are some studies that support the use of ethanol for chronic pain diseases:
" There are several good reasons why alcohol, usually by mouth but occasionally by the intravenous route, should be considered as a component of the management of severe chronic pain. First, alcohol is a very potent analgesic, as anyone who has sutured lacerations in an intoxicated patient can affirm - local anaesthesia is commonly not required. Further, it is possible to induce substantial analgesia with doses of alcohol that do not induce an unwanted drunken state. Second, to many patients the central effects of the narcotic analgesics are unfamiliar and frequently disturbing, producing not euphoria but dysphoria and depression. As a result, patients frequently take less aanalgesia than is required for optimal pain control. By contrast, the effects of alcohol are familiar to most people and are usually regarded as pleasant, tending to produce euphoria and banish depression. Third, the ingestion of alcohol promotes appetite, whereas narcotics frequently induce nausea and anorexia. Fourth, alcohol is the only analgesic agent that is also a source of calories; this enhances its value in cancer patients. Fifth, alcohol is readily combined with narcotics as an adjuvant drug - witness the gin in Brompton mixture. Finally, whereas many patients have strong preconceived ideas about the evils of narcotics, profound disapproval of the taking of alcohol is relatively uncommon, especially when it is recommended for a medical purpose. This ancient and valuable agent should be considered as a component of pain management. " From: https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/29/alcohol-pain-relief
There is also this paper that discusses about ethanol use as analgesics: https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(16)30334-0/abstract
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