Alcohol Poisoning - Causes, Risk Factors, Symptoms, And Treatment

Addictions

Worldwide, taking in alcoholic beverages is expected in social gatherings. If you consume less than the advised maximum daily limits, there is lower risk of harming your health. On the other hand, there is no universally accepted safe amount of alcoholic beverage and it is quite simple to drink over what is suggested.

Substantial or habitual drinking of alcohol can have a detrimental effect on your health, social life, and career. One of the negative effects of drinking alcohol is alcohol poisoning and this comes about if you consume considerable amounts in a short amount of time. This is a dangerous condition since it can have an effect on your respiratory system, cardiac activity, and gag reflex. It can also cause coma due to the fact alcohol is a depressant, and in large amounts, can shut down most of the systemic functions. Severe alcohol poisoning can be life threatening and people who recover from it may have permanent brain damage.

Symptoms of alcohol poisoning

There are plenty of alcohol poisoning signs and symptoms including confusion and stupor. Patients may also feel nauseated and vomit. The blood sugar may also go down low enough to cause seizures. They may also present with a slow rate of respiration, often as slow as eight beats per minute or fewer. Irregular breathing may also occur, and this can cause cyanosis in the skin which indicates decreased oxygen in the blood. Patients affected with alcohol poisoning may faint, and is often not easy to rouse. The body temperature can also drop so low leading to cardiac arrest. It is not required to have all of these symptoms before you seek medical help.

Risk factors

Age - According to statistics, young teens and college students have a higher tendency to binge drink. Surprisingly however, nearly all deaths as a result of alcohol poisoning is greatest in middle age adults. This is likely because older individuals are not able to process alcohol as efficiently as teens and young adults.

Sex - Boys and men have a higher tendency to have alcohol poisoning than young and adult women. In spite of this, women are usually more susceptible to the effects of alcohol because they make less of the enzyme that delays the rate at which alcohol is eliminated from the stomach. To know more about alcohol poisoning please go here.

Your size and weight - The thinner and tinier you are, the more prone you are to alcohol poisoning. For this reason accidental intake of alcohol among children can be potentially deadly.

Treatment

Alcohol poisoning treatment method usually requires supportive care as your body rids itself of the alcohol. This entails stringent monitoring hospital, oxygen therapy, prevention or correction of dehydration through intravenous fluids, and the usage of thiamin and glucose prevent complications.