Doctor Blames Surgical Hand Wash For Intoxication

A doctor in New Zealand was convicted of driving while intoxicated, and still insists that his blood alcohol level was due to using surgical hand wash gel which contains alcohol. Yet when he was pulled over, he admitted drinking two glasses of wine.

Ian Denholm, 53, an orthopedic surgeon, was pulled over on July 6, 2007 for driving while intoxicated. At the time of the arrest, he admitted to having had two glasses of wine. When he was tested at the police station, he had a breath alcohol level of 593 micrograms - over the legal limit of 400 mcg. Although he pleaded not guilty in the Wellington court, he was fined $275 (£180) as well as having his medical license suspended for a period of six months. Denholm insists that because he has eczema, the surgical hand wash gel which has alcohol in it was easily absorbed into his skin. He says that is what drove his BAC over the legal limit. Because the doctor is on call over the Christmas holiday season, the judge agreed to postpone his license suspension until January 23.