Risk factors that https://ec2-54-79-190-105.ap-southeast-2.compute.amazonaws.com/sober-living/9-weird-things-that-happen-to-your-body-after-a-2/ make someone more vulnerable are lower body weight, poor alcohol tolerance, use of other sedatives or medications, younger age, and underlying health conditions like diabetes or liver disease. Their motor responses and gag reflexes are nonfunctional, and their body temperature drops. Following attempts to quit a drug, or any period of abstinence, tolerance may abate. Should the person suddenly return to using the drug, especially in doses they may have once been accustomed to, overdose may be more likely. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even moderate drinking re not safe for individuals with certain health conditions, such as liver disease or a history of alcohol use disorder. Delaying hospital care increases the likelihood of permanent brain damage, cardiac arrest, or fatal outcomes.
Mixing Alcohol and Drugs
- Long-term effects include brain damage, liver disease, and permanent cognitive impairments.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, alcohol consumption is responsible for 2.6 million deaths annually, accounting for about 5.3% of all deaths.
- Substance combinations such as methamphetamine and cocaine, alcohol and benzodiazepines, heroin and benzodiazepines, and others, can result in additive effects that compound the individual dangers of each drug.
- Alcohol overdose occurs when the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches levels that suppress the brain’s control over critical life functions such as breathing, heart rate, and consciousness.
- This is a clear sign of alcohol poisoning that demands immediate medical help.
Severe symptoms alcohol overdose include hypothermia and unconsciousness, which indicate critical distress. Alcohol poisoning can impair necessary reflexes in your body, particularly the gag reflex—which helps prevent choking on food, liquids, and saliva. An improperly functioning gag reflex significantly increases the risk of choking.
- Yes, medications are used in specific alcohol poisoning cases, especially when non-ethanol alcohols like methanol or isopropanol are involved.
- Hospital treatment continues until the patient’s BAC has dropped to a safe level and their vital signs have stabilized.
- Alcohol poisoning happens when the liver can’t process alcohol quickly enough, causing it to build up in the bloodstream.
- With no gag reflex, a person who drinks to the point of passing out is in danger of choking on their vomit and dying from a lack of oxygen (i.e., asphyxiation).
- The person can become extremely confused, unresponsive, disoriented, have shallow breathing, and can even pass out or go into a coma.
Signs of Alcohol Poisoning: What to Do in an Alcohol Emergency
This is because they are central nervous system (CNS) depressants, which slow down brain activity. Taking a toxic dose of a CNS depressant is what leads to stopped breathing, coma, and death. When one drinks too much or too quickly despite being significantly intoxicated, it can result in an alcohol overdose.1 Alcohol overdose (also known as alcohol poisoning or alcohol toxicity) can be fatal. Knowing the signs of an alcohol overdose is important to keep yourself and others safe. Learn the signs of an alcohol overdose and how to help someone struggling with alcohol misuse below. Alcohol poisoning happens when your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) becomes too high, causing parts of your brain to stop being able to perform critical functions, like controlling your breathing or heart rate.
The Recovery Village Ridgefield
- Higher liquor concentration doesn’t necessarily cause poisoning more quickly, as your body actually absorbs alcohol most efficiently at 10-30% concentrations.
- If you can’t keep them sitting up, put them in the recovery position, on their side with their head turned.
- Once you or your friend gets help, it could take a significant amount of time to get their body back to its usual functioning.
- While vomiting helps reduce the amount of alcohol entering the bloodstream, it also poses significant risks.
- 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.
If you think that someone you’re with may be experiencing alcohol poisoning, it’s crucial to take immediate action. Alcohol poisoning is a stark reminder of the dangers of excessive drinking. It’s not just a temporary setback—it’s a life-threatening condition that can leave lasting damage or even end a life. The physical and emotional toll it takes on individuals and their loved ones is devastating.
The hope was that this would encourage people to seek emergency medical care to help save someone’s life. If the person has overdosed on an opioid, you can administer naloxone (Narcan), a life-saving medication that rapidly reverses the life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose and temporarily restores breathing. Narcan is not meant to be a replacement for professional medical care—rather, it is intended to buy a person Alcoholics Anonymous time while waiting for first responders to arrive. If they aren’t breathing or are showing other signs of a drug overdose, call 911 and provide as much information as possible to the operator.