People who binge drink (drink more than five drinks in an hour) are also at risk for alcohol overdose. Many people consume alcohol because it has a relaxing alcohol poisoning effect, and drinking can be a healthy social experience. But consuming large amounts of alcohol, even one time, can lead to serious health complications.
- Rapid drinking can bring BAC so high that mental and physical functions are negatively affected.
- The term intoxication is commonly used when large amount of alcohol is consumed along with physical symptoms and deleterious health effects.
- That means you run the risk of choking on your vomit and damaging your lungs or even dying.
What to know about alcohol intoxication
- One of the main concerns for people who lose consciousness is the risk of choking on their vomit and dying from a lack of oxygen or the lungs becoming damaged from aspiration, Dr. Farmer says.
- Alcohol poisoning is the presence of so much alcohol in the blood that it alters the function of the brain and other organs.
- This includes breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and gag reflex, which prevents you from choking.
- If you see signs of alcohol poisoning, such as throwing up, seizures, slow breathing, or severe confusion, don’t hesitate to call 911.
Meanwhile, the liver is able to process alcohol at a rate of about one standard drink an hour, so somebody who spaces out their drinks is likely to decrease their chances of dying from drinking alcohol. Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain. A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma or death.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Alcohol use disorder is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol or continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems. This disorder also involves having to drink more to get the same effect or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking. Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism.
Complications of alcohol poisoning
Alcohol consumption can have an impact not only on the incidence of diseases, injuries and other health conditions, but also on their outcomes and how these evolve over time. In the emergency room, a doctor will check their BAC and look for other signs of alcohol poisoning, such as a slow heart rate and low blood sugar and electrolyte levels. An alcohol overdose is typically treated in the emergency room. The emergency room physician will monitor your vital signs, including your heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Your height and weight determine how quickly your body absorbs alcohol.
Having too much alcohol in your blood stops your body working properly and can be life-threatening. SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. Next, the person is checked for bruising, bleeding, or other injuries that could have occurred. If there’s a concern of injury to internal organs, various tests might be performed. An exam of the heart and lungs is also crucial during this time because it can show signs of aspiration.
Signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning
What are alcohol poisoning treatments?
- It also includes binge drinking — a pattern of drinking where a male has five or more drinks within two hours or a female has at least four drinks within two hours.
- At this stage, a man might have consumed three to five drinks in an hour, or two to four drinks for a woman.
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