Rượu thuốc

[3] In one method, the snakes can be soaked, or macerated in wine along with other ingredients with medicinal properties in Chinese medicine including ginseng, scorpions, Ming ariala (Đinh lăng), Fallopia multiflora (Hà thủ ô đỏ), Morinda officinalis (Ba kích) etc to remove odour.

[6] It is believed among Vietnamese that drinking rượu thuốc may cure or alleviate several diseases (but not the ones caused by viruses or bacteria).

In addition, rượu thuốc has external use on the skin including soaking, massaging, covering, and washing areas with pain to treat arthritis, sore muscles, hives, and so on.

There have been cases where unregulated use of producing and consuming homemade rượu thuốc led to alcohol poisoning and skin allergies when used as topical treatments against acne.

Alcohol poisoning from rượu thuốc happens mainly for two reasons, either the rice wine used did not come from a proper facility and contains methanol, a toxic alcohol used in various households and industrial agents,[7] or the ingredients used in the maceration process is toxic for consumption (i.e. Gelsemium elegans (Lá ngón), neglectful preparation of coucal (Chim bìm bịp) in rice wine without removing its viscera and fur containing parasites).