Effects of Binge Drinking
What are the short-term effects of binge drinking?
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Blurry vision
• Shakiness and exhaustion
• Loss of consciousness
• Inability to make good decisions
• Behaving aggressively and getting into fights
• Respiratory arrest
• Choking to death on vomit
• Sudden death from stroke
• Loss of reasoning ability, movement control, and reaction speed -- all of which make you deadly behind the wheel of a car
• Alcohol poisoning -- nausea and/or vomiting; can progress to unconsciousness, coma, or death
What Happens to Your Body When You Get Alcohol Poisoning?
A person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can continue to rise even while he or she is passed out. Even after a person stops drinking, alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. It is dangerous to assume the person will be fine by sleeping it off.
Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing and the gag reflex (which prevents choking). A fatal dose of alcohol will eventually stop these functions.
Even if the victim lives, an alcohol overdose can lead to irreversible brain damage. Rapid binge drinking (which often happens on a bet or a dare) is especially dangerous because the victim can ingest a fatal dose before becoming unconscious.
Critical Signs for Alcohol Poisoning
• Mental confusion, stupor, coma, or person cannot be roused.
• Vomiting.
• Seizures.
• Slow breathing (fewer than eight breaths per minute).
• Irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths).
• Hypothermia (low body temperature), bluish skin color, paleness.
What Should I Do If I Suspect Someone Has Alcohol Poisoning?
• Know the danger signals.
• Do not wait for all symptoms to be present.
• Be aware that a person who has passed out may die.
• If there is any suspicion of an alcohol overdose, call 911 for help. Don't try to guess the level of drunkenness.
What Can Happen to Someone With Alcohol Poisoning That Goes Untreated?
• Victim chokes on his or her own vomit.
• Breathing slows, becomes irregular, or stops.
• Heart beats irregularly or stops.
• Hypothermia (low body temperature).
• Hypoglycemia (too little blood sugar) leads to seizures.
• Untreated severe dehydration from vomiting can cause seizures, permanent brain damage, or death.