Signs of Alcohol Poisoning

How Excessive Drinking Affects the Body

Alcohol is a depressant and has more of an effect than just making you feel down in the dumps. Drinking too much suppresses bodily functions by making them slow down or stop. Involuntary bodily functions such as breathing, heart beat and the gag reflex are affected. This is why some people who drink too much will pass out and die while sleeping. The body could not process the toxins fast enough, so they built up in the person's system and shut down the major organs in the body.

How Much is Too Much

For someone who weighs about 120 lbs, 9 or 10 alcoholic drinks can be lethal, depending on what the person ate before drinking. The blood alcohol level considered lethal for most individuals is .40 percent.

Your Tolerance Level

How much you drink and how long you have been consuming alcohol determines your tolerance level. People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for many years have a higher tolerance. Other factors contributing to a person's lethal limit include:

• Body weight
• Food intake
• How fast someone consumes large amounts alcohol

The body takes approximately one hour to process one ounce of alcohol. This means that if you drink more than one ounce each hour your body starts to accumulate toxic levels of alcohol in the bloodstream.

Knowing the Signs of Alcohol Poisoning

Suppose you find yourself in the following position. Your friend or family member has gone out for a night of drinking. He or she comes home and you can tell your loved one has had too much to drink. How do you know if he or she is suffering from alcohol poisoning? Here are some questions to ask yourself when trying to determine if this person is in trouble:

• Is the person vomiting uncontrollably?
• Does the person seem confused?
• Is the person breathing slowly (less than eight breaths every minute)?
• Is the person breathing irregularly with at least 10 seconds between each breath?
• Does the person feel cold or clammy?
• Is the skin pale or bluish in color?
• Is the person having a seizure (exhibited by shaking involuntarily)?
• Is the person unconscious?
• Are you unable to get the person's attention?

If you answered yes to one or more of the questions above, your friend or family member might be in great danger. Here is what to do to help:

• Turn the person on his or her side so that vomiting doesn't cause choking and asphyxiation.
• Call 9-1-1 immediately, and stay close to your friend.
• Continue to monitor him or her until paramedics arrive.

Warning Signs of Alcohol Poisoning

You can help someone stay away from the lethal limits of intoxication, but spotting the warning signs early and encouraging your friend or family member to slow down or stop drinking is also important. You know your someone has had too much to drink when:

• He or she cannot walk or stand up straight.
• The person exhibits erratic behavior.
• Your loved one feels sick or starts vomiting.
• The person cannot hold a conversation.
• The person cannot make eye contact.
• Your loved one's speech is slurred.

Helping Your Friends

Intoxicated people will usually not listen to someone who tries to tell them to stop drinking. They are living in the moment and want to continue having a good time. Sometimes it's better to try to remove the person from the environment where he or she is drinking or have the person serving stop handing the person drinks. Your friend or family member may be upset with you, but it's better to lose a friend because you saved him or her from alcohol poisoning than losing a friend to death.