Alcohol Poisoning

Alcohol poisoning is typically the result of binge drinking – consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. It is extremely dangerous, and potentially life-threatening. Alcohol poisoning can affect a person’s heart rate, breathing, and gag reflex.

Common symptoms of alcohol poisoning include repeated vomiting, confusion, irregular or slow breathing (less than eight breaths a minute), low body temperature, blue-tinged or pale skin, or losing consciousness.

A person doesn’t have to exhibit all of these symptoms to have alcohol poisoning. If someone who has been drinking passes out, he needs immediate medical attention. Call 911 and get him to a hospital. Don’t leave him alone while you’re waiting for help to arrive.

Some people may be tempted to let a person who has lost consciousness “sleep it off,” but this can be a life-threatening decision. Alcohol levels continue to rise even after a person has stopped drinking, because there is alcohol in the stomach and intestines that has yet to enter the bloodstream. So the blood alcohol level of someone who has passed out will increase even more, putting her at great risk of severely depressed or arrested breathing.

Also, because the gag reflex of someone with alcohol poisoning isn’t working, it’s possible for the person to choke on his own vomit. For that reason, vomiting should never be induced in a person with alcohol poisoning.

If you suspect someone has alcohol poisoning but that person is conscious, call your local poison control center, tell the staff what symptoms the person is exhibiting, and they can tell you how best to proceed. Be prepared to tell the staff how much and what the person has had to drink and over what period of time.

The people at greatest risk for alcohol poisoning are those with small or thin builds (because their bodies absorb alcohol more quickly), and people who have eaten very little or nothing at all. Drinking on an empty stomach means that as much as 20 percent of the alcohol is absorbed directly from the stomach and can reach the brain in less than one minute.