It’s a myth that a person can recover from alcohol intoxication by sleeping, taking a cold shower, going for a walk, or drinking black coffee or caffeine. In fact, doing these things can put an intoxicated person at greater risk of injury and death. BACs between 0.60% and 0.80% are commonly fatal.7 However, the amount of alcohol it takes to kill a person can vary by individual factors. It’s important to be aware that binge drinking, or having 5 drinks for men or 4 drinks for women within a period of two hours, can cause a BAC that is higher than 0.08%. If a person is showing signs of an alcohol overdose, you should seek emergency medical attention right away.
The steps for administering Narcan are also easy to follow. Because of alcohol-induced impairment, it is often assumed that someone who is intoxicated would accept help if alcohol overdose able to do so. In some situations, a medical team may order imaging studies such as a brain computerized tomography (CT) scan to see if there is head trauma or bleeding.
Check if it’s alcohol poisoning
The faster someone with alcohol poisoning receives proper treatment, the better their long-term health outlook. Beyond merely surviving, ensuring someone with alcohol poisoning is treated quickly can prevent continuing heart problems as well as permanent brain and organ damage that can lead to future health issues. Even when someone stops drinking, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can continue to rise for minutes, resulting in worsening symptoms. It’s important to note that the effects of naloxone only work for 30 to 90 minutes, but after that time, a person can overdose again if opioids are still in their system.
Alcohol poisoning occurs when a person’s blood alcohol level is so high it becomes toxic. This typically occurs when people consume excessive amounts of alcohol in a short space of time. Alcohol overdose is preventable on an individual and societal level. Using alcohol with opioid pain relievers, such as oxycodone and morphine, or illicit opioids, such as heroin, is also a very dangerous combination.
Who May Be at Risk?
Unfortunately, some of these nerve signals control automatic bodily responses, which means that if you drink enough alcohol, it can literally cause your body to shut down. So, more specifically, alcohol poisoning is what occurs when you drink more alcohol in one sitting than your body is capable of processing. People may feel euphoric while drinking alcohol because ethanol stimulates the release of dopamine, a feel-good chemical in the brain.