The poisoning of alcohol occurs whenever an individual consume a high volume of alcohol within a short duration. One of the common cause of alcohol poisoning is binge drinking. According to the report given by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking is a kind of drinking pattern which results in raising the alcohol concentration in the person’s blood to about 0.08 gram percent. This usually occur whenever a man consume 5 or more alcoholic drinks within a duration of 2 hours and when a woman consumes 4 or more drinks within a duration of 2 hours.
Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms and Signs
An individual that has consumes a toxic amount of alcohol may become unresponsive, extremely confused, and disoriented. The person may be breathing shallowly, and having bluish-tinged or pale skin. The person can likewise become unconscious and slip into a coma.
The person cannot be roused, and may not be able to respond to voice, shaking or pinching of the skin. He or she may experience the metal confusion of coma. Such individual will breath slowly with only a few breath within a minute, it is also possible for such individual to experience lapses which can be up to 10 seconds between the breath. He or she may likewise have seizures, convulsions or rigid spasms of the body. Such individual may also vomit during the sleep and would not wake up during the process. Learn more about the symptoms of alcohol poisoning.
Preventing Alcohol Poisoning
The poisoning of alcohol is life threating, and the prevention would ensure a life is saved. Just like any life threatening situation, the best thing is to prevent its occurrence in the first place. It is also crucial to know the appropriate thing to do to help another whenever they are faced with a life threatening situation. Having that in mind, alcohol poisoning can be prevented with these approaches:
Pace and Space – Ensure you sip your drink rather than chugging. Ensure you alternate with non-alcoholic beverages and don’t have more than one drink per hour. This is because the average duration it takes most people to eliminate the alcohol in 2 standard drinks is 3 hours.
Eat before and while drinking – The rate of absorption of alcohol into the body system is much slower when there is food (proteins containing food) within your stomach. This would reduce the rate of absorption and thus prevent alcohol poisoning.
Avoid mixing alcohol with other drugs – Some over-the-counter and prescription drugs such as antihistamines, sedatives can enhance alcoholic effect. Caffeine and stimulants (i.e. Energy Drinks) can also make you feel less impaired.
Use caution when sick or tired – Whenever you are sleeping deprived or ill, alcohol leaves the body slowly.
Avoid “mega” drinks – Long Island Ice Tea, Margaritas, AMF or Kamikazes contains five or more alcohol than other standard drink.
Set your limit before you start – So as to set your limits, think about the activities you have the following day such as tests, early morning classes, athletics competition. This is because alcohol poisoning can affect the way you think as well as reduce your performance.
Avoid drinking games – Drinking games usually promote the rapid ingestion of alcohol and may result to “black outs” or severe intoxication. Additionally, during games there is no likelihood that you will stop at your own personal limit you set before going to the party.