Alcohol Poisoning

Ideally, in order to avoid alcohol poisoning, you need to drink only one drink per hour. This includes a 12 ounce beer, a ten ounce wine cooler, a four ounce glass of wine and an ounce of 80 proof hard liquor. This may vary according you your tolerance to alcohol and your body weight. Keep track of how much alcohol is in each drink and how often you are drinking it.

Alcohol poisoning is nothing to mess with. It cannot be fixed by drinking black coffee, taking a cold shower or bath or by sleeping or walking it off. These myths just do not work. The only thing that really works to get rid of alcohol poisoning is time and support of the person's vital signs while they are working off the alcohol. Too many of those who drink excessive alcohol die from their behaviour. This is something that can be completely preventable.

Alcohol is a nervous system depressant. Without it, the nerves that control the involuntary actions like breathing and the gag reflex are diminished. In fatal cases of alcohol poisoning, the individual loses the ability to breathe and lose their gag reflex. The cause of death is asphyxiation. While the person is passed out, their blood alcohol level can continue to rise so that just "sleeping it off" may not be the best choice.

Signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning include mental confusion, seizures, vomiting, slow breathing (less than 10 breaths per minute), irregular breathing with at least ten seconds occurring between breathing, hypothermia, paleness, and bluish skin color (cyanosis).

If you are around someone who you suspect has alcohol poisoning, you need to pay attention to the signs and symptoms present in alcohol poisoning. Make sure you know that someone who has passed out may actually die. If there is suspicion of alcohol poisoning, you need to call 911 to get help for the affected person. Don't try to guess how drunk the person may be.

If a person has alcohol poisoning that is untreated, he or she may choke on their vomit, they may have slower and slower breathing that eventually stops, the heart may stop beating, there may be severe hypothermia from low body temperature and there may be seizures due to a severe case of low body temperature. Even if the person doesn't die from the disease, there can be irreversible brain damage from lack of oxygen to the brain. As said, it is nothing to mess with.

If someone is intoxicated and is at risk for alcohol intoxication, you need to continually monitor the drunken person. You need to evaluate their breathing and heart rate to make sure the breathing is rapid enough to support life and that they don't have an arrhythmia. Wake the person up frequently if they are unconscious. Do not put a drunken person in charge of another drunken person. Do not put the person through exercises. Do not let the person drive either a bike or a car. Don't give the person any kind of food, liquid or medications to try and sober them up. Do not use a cold shower to wake them up because the shock of the cold can contribute to unconsciousness.

Call 911 if the person stops breathing for ten seconds or more or if they are breathing less than 10 breaths per minute. If you cannot awaken the person who is unconscious, you need to call 911. If the person's skin is cold, clammy, blue or pale, call 911. If the person has continuous, uncontrolled vomiting, it is time to call 911.

Stay with the person who is vomiting and keep them sitting up. If they cannot sit up, leave them on their side so they don't aspirate their vomit. If the person chokes on their vomit, call 911 immediately. If the person has used other drugs along with alcohol, call 911 as you cannot tell what the interaction of the drugs and alcohol will be. If the person is not cooperating with your helpful measures, get help by calling 911. Alcohol poisoning is a medical emergency and can be fatal if not treated.