Symptoms of Alcohol Poisoning Signs, Risks, & Emergency Steps
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Alcohol poisoning from ingesting these non-beverage substances is more common in young children but may also happen if someone is dealing with a severe alcohol use disorder. Alcohol poisoning—also known as an alcohol overdose—happens when you have more alcohol in your bloodstream than your body can process. Understandably, it can be difficult to decide whether it’s time to seek medical help if a person is extremely intoxicated, but really, it’s better to be safe than sorry. The lasting consequences of alcohol-related overdose are far worse than a false alarm.
How to avoid alcohol poisoning
- Drinking on an empty stomach and taking sleeping pills, antidepressants, or pain relievers can make it easier for alcohol to enter your bloodstream and strengthen its effects.
- A drunk person can recover with rest, fluids, and eating a balanced meal, while a person with alcohol poisoning needs to go to the hospital and get an IV or maybe their stomach pumped.
- You may experience a complete loss of memory, confusion, difficulty staying awake, or the inability to wake up.
- Paramedics may also check the person’s blood sugar, as low blood sugar (also called hypoglycemia) can cause seizures.
- It will also rise faster if they haven’t eaten in a while or are mixing alcohol with other substances.
A person with alcohol poisoning who has passed out or can’t wake up could die. On average, drinking more than five drinks in a short period can put someone at risk, though the exact threshold varies. Alcohol poisoning occurs when an individual drinks a large amount of alcohol quickly, overwhelming the liver’s ability to process it. The need for prompt professional aid in cases of alcohol poisoning cannot be overstated.
They’ll also order blood and urine tests to check your alcohol levels. Binge drinking is defined as drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% or higher. Alcoholic drinks contain a form of alcohol known as ethyl alcohol or ethanol.
Avoiding alcohol overdose
Alcohol treatment centers can help you learn how to take control of your drinking. Contact The Recovery Village Ridgefield today to learn about options for alcohol detox, treatment and recovery. If you pace your drinking, allowing time between each drink, you will reduce your overall risk of alcohol poisoning.
Eating With Alcohol Consumption
As you keep drinking and your BAC increases, alcohol poisoning may occur. Confusion, difficulty staying conscious, unconsciousness, and laboured breathing are obvious signs that someone might be experiencing alcohol poisoning. Other warning signs include episodes of vomiting, seizures, slow breathing, and decreased body temperature. Healthcare professionals diagnose alcohol poisoning based on observed symptoms and lab tests, including blood and urine tests to evaluate alcohol levels. When you drink alcohol, your body begins processing it as soon as it enters your bloodstream. A healthy person takes about an hour and a half to process the alcohol in a single drink.
Long-term Effects of Alcohol Poisoning
It’s a myth that a person can recover from alcohol intoxication by sleeping, taking a cold shower, going for a walk, or drinking black coffee or caffeine. In fact, doing these things can put an intoxicated person at greater risk of injury and death. Alcohol intoxication occurs from drinking too much alcohol in a short period of time. The Substance abuse condition is usually linked to drinking too many alcohol beverages. But in some cases, people with this condition might have accidentally or intentionally drank household products containing alcohol, such as mouthwash or vanilla extract. These symptoms indicate that alcohol is seriously affecting your body and vital functions like memory and awareness.
Several factors can increase your risk of developing alcohol poisoning. Most are due to the effect they have on how your body reacts to alcohol or how it processes it. Alcohol poisoning is serious and requires professional medical attention. If an alcohol overdose is suspected, it is best to call for help right away. Binge drinkingis when a person drinks a large amount of alcohol in a short amount of time.
The most serious signs of alcohol poisoning are any symptoms affecting breathing. The other most serious sign to be aware of is decreased levels of consciousness. Someone unconscious can easily choke or be in danger in other ways.
Losing control of bladder and/or bowels
Using alcohol with opioid pain relievers, such as oxycodone and morphine, or illicit opioids, such as heroin, is also a very dangerous combination. Like alcohol, these drugs suppress areas in the brain that control vital functions such as breathing. Ingesting alcohol and other drugs together intensifies their individual effects and could produce an overdose with even moderate amounts of alcohol. To avoid alcohol poisoning, it is necessary to consume alcoholic beverages in moderation. For men, this means sticking to two drinks daily and one drink per day for women.
Is alcohol poisoning the same as an overdose?
In such cases, someone is in danger of choking on their own vomit, leading to asphyxiation and subsequent brain damage.2 Never leave a person alone who you suspect has overdosed on any drug, including alcohol. When alcohol levels in the bloodstream rise too high, the brain’s functions are severely disrupted, affecting areas that control basic survival functions, such as breathing and heart rate. Alcohol poisoning can be fatal, and anyone who exhibits signs of alcohol poisoning should seek immediate medical attention.