Alcohol poisoning

Date Updated: 01/19/2018

Overview

Alcohol poisoning is a serious — and sometimes deadly — consequence of drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Drinking too much too quickly can affect your breathing, heart rate, body temperature and gag reflex and potentially lead to a coma and death.

Alcohol poisoning can also occur when adults or children accidentally or intentionally drink household products that contain alcohol.

A person with alcohol poisoning needs immediate medical attention. If you suspect someone has alcohol poisoning, call for emergency medical help right away.

Symptoms

Alcohol poisoning signs and symptoms include:

Confusion
Vomiting
Seizures
Slow breathing (less than eight breaths a minute)
Irregular breathing (a gap of more than 10 seconds between breaths)
Blue-tinged skin or pale skin
Low body temperature (hypothermia)
Passing out (unconsciousness) and can't be awakened

When to see a doctor

It's not necessary to have all the above signs or symptoms before you seek medical help. A person with alcohol poisoning who is unconscious or can't be awakened is at risk of dying.

Alcohol poisoning is an emergency

If you suspect that someone has alcohol poisoning — even if you don't see the classic signs and symptoms — seek immediate medical care. Here's what to do:

Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately. Never assume the person will sleep off alcohol poisoning.
Be prepared to provide information. If you know, be sure to tell hospital or emergency personnel the kind and amount of alcohol the person drank, and when.
Don't leave an unconscious person alone. Because alcohol poisoning affects the way the gag reflex works, someone with alcohol poisoning may choke on his or her own vomit and not be able to breathe. While waiting for help, don't try to make the person vomit because he or she could choke.
Help a person who is vomiting. Try to keep him or her sitting up. If the person must lie down, make sure to turn his or her head to the side — this helps prevent choking. Try to keep the person awake to prevent loss of consciousness.

Don't be afraid to get help

It can be difficult to decide if you think someone is drunk enough to warrant medical intervention, but it's best to err on the side of caution. You may worry about the consequences for yourself or your friend or loved one, particularly if you're underage. But the consequences of not getting the right help in time can be far more serious.

Causes

Alcohol in the form of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is found in alcoholic beverages, mouthwash, cooking extracts, some medications and certain household products. Ethyl alcohol poisoning generally results from drinking too many alcoholic beverages, especially in a short period of time.

Other forms of alcohol — including isopropyl alcohol (found in rubbing alcohol, lotions and some cleaning products) and methanol or ethylene glycol (a common ingredient in antifreeze, paints and solvents) — can cause other types of toxic poisoning that require emergency treatment.

Binge drinking

A major cause of alcohol poisoning is binge drinking — a pattern of heavy drinking when a male rapidly consumes five or more alcoholic drinks within two hours, or a female rapidly consumes at least four drinks within two hours. An alcohol binge can occur over hours or last up to several days.

You can consume a fatal dose before you pass out. Even when you're unconscious or you've stopped drinking, alcohol continues to be released from your stomach and intestines into your bloodstream, and the level of alcohol in your body continues to rise.

How much is too much?

Unlike food, which can take hours to digest, alcohol is absorbed quickly by your body — long before most other nutrients. And it takes a lot more time for your body to get rid of the alcohol you've consumed. Most alcohol is processed (metabolized) by your liver.

The more you drink, especially in a short period of time, the greater your risk of alcohol poisoning.

One drink is defined as:

12 ounces (355 milliliters) of regular beer (about 5 percent alcohol)
8 to 9 ounces (237 to 266 milliliters) of malt liquor (about 7 percent alcohol)
5 ounces (148 milliliters) of wine (about 12 percent alcohol)
1.5 ounces (44 milliliters) of 80-proof hard liquor (about 40 percent alcohol)

Mixed drinks may contain more than one serving of alcohol and take even longer to metabolize.

Risk factors

A number of factors can increase your risk of alcohol poisoning, including:

Your size and weight
Your overall health
Whether you've eaten recently
Whether you're combining alcohol with other drugs
The percentage of alcohol in your drinks
The rate and amount of alcohol consumption
Your tolerance level

Complications

Severe complications can result from alcohol poisoning, including:

Choking. Alcohol may cause vomiting. Because it depresses your gag reflex, this increases the risk of choking on vomit if you've passed out.
Stopping breathing. Accidentally inhaling vomit into your lungs can lead to a dangerous or fatal interruption of breathing (asphyxiation).
Severe dehydration. Vomiting can result in severe dehydration, leading to dangerously low blood pressure and fast heart rate.
Seizures. Your blood sugar level may drop low enough to cause seizures.
Hypothermia. Your body temperature may drop so low that it leads to cardiac arrest.
Irregular heartbeat. Alcohol poisoning can cause the heart to beat irregularly or even stop.
Brain damage. Heavy drinking may cause irreversible brain damage.
Death. Any of the issues above can lead to death.

Prevention

To avoid alcohol poisoning:

Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. For healthy adults, that means up to one drink a day for women of all ages and men older than age 65, and up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger. When you do drink, enjoy your drink slowly.
Don't drink on an empty stomach. Having some food in your stomach may slow alcohol absorption somewhat, although it won't prevent alcohol poisoning if, for example, you're binge drinking.
Communicate with your teens. Talk to your teenagers about the dangers of alcohol, including binge drinking. Evidence suggests that children who are warned about alcohol by their parents and who report close relationships with their parents are less likely to start drinking.
Store products safely. If you have small children, store alcohol-containing products, including cosmetics, mouthwashes and medications, out of their reach. Use child-proof bathroom and kitchen cabinets to prevent access to household cleaners. Keep toxic items in your garage or storage area safely out of reach. Consider keeping alcoholic beverages under lock and key.
Get follow-up care. If you or your teen has been treated for alcohol poisoning, be sure to ask about follow-up care. Meeting with a health professional, particularly an experienced chemical dependency professional, can help you prevent future binge drinking.

Diagnosis

In addition to checking for visible signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning, your doctor will likely order blood and urine tests to check blood alcohol levels and identify other signs of alcohol toxicity, such as low blood sugar.

Treatment

Alcohol poisoning treatment usually involves supportive care while your body rids itself of the alcohol. This typically includes:

Careful monitoring
Prevention of breathing or choking problems
Oxygen therapy
Fluids given through a vein (intravenously) to prevent dehydration
Use of vitamins and glucose to help prevent serious complications of alcohol poisoning

Adults and children who have accidentally consumed methanol or isopropyl alcohol may need hemodialysis — a mechanical way of filtering waste and toxins from your system — to speed the removal of alcohol from their bloodstream.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Home remedies for alcohol poisoning won't work. This is an emergency situation.

Dangerous myths

You can't reverse the effects of alcohol poisoning, and you could actually make things worse through some actions. Here's what doesn't work:

Sleeping it off — you can lose consciousness while asleep
Black coffee or caffeine ― this does not counteract the effects of alcohol poisoning
A cold shower — the shock of cold can cause a loss of consciousness
Walking it off ― this does not increase the speed at which alcohol leaves your body