Facts About Alcohol Poisoning

Excessive drinking can be hazardous to everyone's health! It can be particularly stressful if you are the sober one taking care of your drunk roommate, who is vomiting while you are trying to study for an exam.

Some people laugh at the behavior of others who are drunk. Some think it's even funnier when they pass out. But there is nothing funny about the aspiration of vomit leading to asphyxiation or the poisoning of the respiratory center in the brain, both of which can result in death.

Do you know about the dangers of alcohol poisoning? When should you seek professional help for a friend? Sadly enough, too many college students say they wish they would have sought medical treatment for a friend. Many end up feeling responsible for alcohol-related tragedies that could have easily been prevented.

Common myths about sobering up include drinking black coffee, taking a cold bath or shower, sleeping it off, or walking it off. But these are just myths, and they don't work. The only thing that reverses the effects of alcohol is time-something you may not have if you are suffering from alcohol poisoning. And many different factors affect the level of intoxication of an individual, so it's difficult to gauge exactly how much is too much (BAC calculators).

What Happens to Your Body When You Get Alcohol Poisoning?

Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing and the gag reflex (which prevents choking). A fatal dose of alcohol will eventually stop these functions.

It is common for someone who drank excessive alcohol to vomit since alcohol is an irritant to the stomach. There is then the danger of choking on vomit, which could cause death by asphyxiation in a person who is not conscious because of intoxication.

You should also know that a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can continue to rise even while he or she is passed out. Even after a person stops drinking, alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. It is dangerous to assume the person will be fine by sleeping it off.

Signs of intoxication:

• A person who is overly friendly.
• Someone talking loudly, bragging, or using foul language.
• You will usually find the person annoying or arguing with others.
• The inability to light a cigarette, or attempting to light more than one cigarette at a time.
• Someone with slurred or slowed speech, who tends to lose their train of thought.
• A person who complains about the service.
• Spills the drink or misses their mouth.
• Glassy eyes, dilated pupils, inability to focus, sleepy look, and bobbing head.
• Sudden or unexplained mood changes.
• Drinking faster than usual.
• Staggering, swaying, or the inability to walk.

Critical Signs for Alcohol Poisoning

• Mental confusion, stupor, coma, or person cannot be roused.
• Vomiting.
• Seizures.
• Slow breathing (fewer than eight breaths per minute).
• Irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths).
• Hypothermia (low body temperature), bluish skin color, paleness.

What Should I Do If I Suspect Someone Has Alcohol Poisoning?

• First and foremost, STAY WITH THE INTOXICATED PERSON
• Know the danger signals.
• Do not wait for all symptoms to be present.
• Be aware that a person who has passed out may die.
• If there is any suspicion of an alcohol overdose, call 911 for help. Don't try to guess the level of drunkenness.

Assessing the Intoxicated Person

• Count respirations, or how many times the person breaths in one full minute. If the person is breathing less than twelve times per minute or stops breathing for periods of ten seconds or more, CALL 911.
• Try to wake the person if they appear to be asleep. If you can not wake the person, CALL 911.
• Look at the person’s skin. If it is cold, pale, bluish in color, or sweaty, CALL 911.
• Stay with the person who is vomiting! Try to keep the person sitting up, if they must lay down, keep them on their side with their head turned to the side. Watch for choking, if the person begins to choke, GET HELP IMMEDIATELY.
• Do not attempt to give the person food if they can not get it themselves. Giving the semiconscious person food could cause vomiting, choking, or aspiration.
• If you cannot keep the person awake, position them on their side in a fetal position. Place a pillow in the small of their back to prevent them from rolling out of this position. This is important to help prevent aspiration if the person should vomit. STAY WITH THE PERSON and wake them up frequently. Just because the person is sleeping doesn’t mean that the alcohol cannot get to the brain. Alcohol levels continue to rise, causing the person to become unconscious, rather than asleep. If at any time you can not wake the person up, CALL 911.

What Can Happen to Someone With Alcohol Poisoning That Goes Untreated?

• Victim chokes on his or her own vomit.
• Breathing slows, becomes irregular, or stops.
• Heart beats irregularly or stops.
• Hypothermia (low body temperature).
• Hypoglycemia (too little blood sugar) leads to seizures.
• Untreated severe dehydration from vomiting can cause seizures, permanent brain damage, or death.

Even if the victim lives, an alcohol overdose can lead to irreversible brain damage. Rapid binge drinking (which often happens on a bet or a dare) is especially dangerous because the victim can ingest a fatal dose before becoming unconscious.

Don't be afraid to seek medical help for a friend who has had too much to drink. Don't worry that your friend may become angry or embarrassed-remember, you cared enough to help. Always be safe, not sorry.

Any person that has altered consciousness, slowed respirations, or cool, pale skin is experiencing acute alcohol intoxication (alcohol poisoning). This is a medical emergency and you MUST get help.

DO NOT. . . . . . . . . . . . .
• Laugh, make fun of, or provoke the person
• Exercise the person
• Allow the person to drive a car or bicycle
• Give the person food, liquid, or drugs to sober them up
• Give the person a cold shower; the shock of the cold could cause unconsciousness
REMEMBER: THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SOBER A DRUNK IS TIME!!!!

Critical Information for Women Surrounding Alcohol

Men and women do not respond to alcohol in the same way. Current research indicates that women are not as efficient "drinking machines" as men. There are many factors that influence this difference.

1. Body size is the first factor. Women are, on the average, built smaller than men. Therefore, equal amounts of alcohol cause a higher blood alcohol concentration in women due to the smaller blood volume.

2. Body composition is the second factor. The average female carries more body fat than a male. Body fat contains little water. When consumed, alcohol dilutes in water. Therefore, a female has less body water to dilute alcohol in, causing a higher blood alcohol concentration, even if two equally sized men and women drink the same amount of alcohol.

3. The third factor is a metabolizing enzyme that helps rid the body of alcohol called alcohol dehydrogenase. Women have less of this enzyme than men do. Therefore, more of the alcohol that women drink enters the blood stream as pure alcohol, and stays there.

4. Finally, a woman’s response to alcohol is increased due to hormonal changes when a woman is about to have her period, or is taking the birth control pill.

For these reasons, women can expect more impairment from alcohol than men consuming an equal dose of alcohol. Preliminary research suggests that women develop problems with alcohol more quickly and severely than men do. Therefore to reduce your risk, it is suggested that women limit their consumption to no more than one drink per hour, no more than one drink per day, and never more than four times per week.
Remember, this is not an issue of equality, but one of health!