The five most common types of poisoning include food, carbon monoxide, household chemicals, alcohol, and drugs. There is no way to eliminate the risk of alcohol poisoning. The best way to reduce your risk is to keep your alcohol consumption low or consider non-alcoholic beverages as an alternative. If someone experiences alcohol poisoning, they will need time to recover. After receiving medical intervention, they will continue to have severe hangover symptoms until their condition becomes more stable. A person’s breathing and blood circulation will be extremely slowed.
They can be ingested (swallowed), inhaled into the lungs, injected, or absorbed by the skin. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, alcohol consumption is forbidden,52 and teetotalism has become a distinguishing feature of its members. Jehovah’s Witnesses allow moderate alcohol consumption among its members. Some people may be able to drink more alcohol than others, with fewer effects.
Like alcohol, these drugs suppress areas in the brain that control vital functions such as breathing. Ingesting alcohol and other drugs together intensifies their individual effects and could produce an overdose with even moderate amounts of alcohol. Binge drinking is defined as drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% or higher. A string of deaths in Laos tied to tainted alcohol has raised alarm around the world and renewed concerns about methanol in alcoholic drinks.
Household Chemicals
Mild intoxication is mostly referred to by slang terms such as tipsy or buzzed. As alcohol builds up in the blood, physiological functions slow. Symptoms of alcohol poisoning include confusion, slurred speech, irregular breathing, low body temperature, slowed heart rate, vomiting, seizures, and loss of consciousness. Unconscious persons are at risk of choking if they vomit, due to the dulling effects of alcohol on the gag reflex.
Complications
In doing so, it speeds the replacement of carbon monoxide with oxygen in was eminem an addict your blood. When CO enters your bloodstream, it binds with greater affinity to hemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body) than oxygen. This prevents oxygen from getting to tissues and cells, which can lead to serious tissue damage, even death. Childhood poisonings often occur as a result of accidental ingestion of household chemicals, while adult poisonings are usually drug-related and result from unintentional drug overdose. You’ll need to go to hospital to be monitored if you have alcohol poisoning. It can cause serious complications, like liver and heart failure, which can be fatal.
You don’t have to drink to celebrate the holiday season
Emergency medical attention is necessary at this point to avoid death and severe health problems. If you combine alcohol and drugs, you may not feel the effects of the alcohol. This may cause you to drink more, increasing your risk for an alcohol overdose. Even when someone stops drinking, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can continue to rise for minutes, resulting in worsening symptoms. Drinking too much and too quickly can lead to significant impairments in motor coordination, decision-making, impulse control, and other functions, increasing the risk of harm. Continuing to drink despite clear signs of significant impairments can result in an alcohol overdose.
- In addition to respiratory failure and accidents caused by its effects on the central nervous system, alcohol causes significant metabolic derangements.
- Young adults are more likely to drink excessively, leading to an alcohol overdose.
- But the results of not getting help in time can be far more serious.
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A high percentage of blood alcohol can cause the areas of your brain that support breathing, heart rate, and other critical functions to begin shutting down. Alcohol is processed by the liver, and thus when alcohol is consumed at a rate faster than the liver can metabolize it, it builds up in the bloodstream. Both young people and adults can experience alcohol poisoning. The condition is usually linked to drinking too many alcohol beverages.
Treatment for alcohol intoxication involves supportive care while the body tries to process the alcohol. You must seek emergency medical treatment for a person who’s showing symptoms of alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning is a serious — and sometimes deadly — result of drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time.
If you choose to drink alcohol, doing so responsibly can help you stay away from hangovers. You can also seek information and support from a local healthcare professional, mental health professional, or rehabilitation facility. Recognizing the difference between being drunk and alcohol poisoning can save lives. People who accidentally consume methanol or isopropyl alcohol may need hemodialysis. This is a mechanical way of filtering waste and toxins from the blood.