In the U.S., paramedics don’t charge for a visit unless the person needs to go to the hospital. For a man, binge drinking is when you have five or more drinks in less than 2 hours. Teens and college-age adults are most likely to engage in binge drinking.

Treatment for alcohol poisoning

Naloxone is a medication that reverses the effects of opioids and can return normal breathing to a person who has difficulty breathing or who’s stopped breathing due to an opioid overdose. An overdose happens when your body is overwhelmed by the amount of toxic substances in your system. These substances can be medications, alcohol, other drugs or a combination of each. In addition to being aware of alcohol poisoning symptoms, you should also understand what you can do to prevent it from happening.

Stay with the person until emergency services arrive

• The amount of alcohol that it takes to get alcohol poisoning differs for each person.
• Ingesting alcohol and other drugs together intensifies their individual effects and could produce an overdose with even moderate amounts of alcohol.1 What results is a lethal cocktail.
• Rapid fluid ingestion alters the fluid concentration in the body, potentially disrupting fluid and electrolyte balance.

Or find out more about how our symptom checker works before you try it for yourself. At this stage, a man might have consumed three to five drinks in an hour, or two to four drinks for a woman. At this time, a person will begin to experience emotional instability and a significant loss of coordination.

• Consuming large amounts of alcohol can lead to significant impairments in motor coordination, decision-making, impulse control, and other functions, increasing the risk of harm and alcohol poisoning.
• A person can usually tell when they are intoxicated, but it may be challenging to spot the signs in others.
• 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.
• If you survive an overdose without these complications, your long-term outlook will be very good.

Risk factors

A low level of alcohol intoxication causes mild symptoms, while severe intoxication, or alcohol poisoning, can be life threatening. In addition to the serious risk of death, alcohol poisoning can also lead to irreversible brain damage. Other long-term complications of heavy alcohol use include addiction, cancer, cirrhosis, liver disease, vitamin deficiencies, and mental health problems. It also increases the risk of unintentional injuries due to falls, drowning, assault, and car accidents. If you’re with someone who might have drunk too much, call 911 right away. If you or your friend are under the legal drinking age, you might be worried about the legal consequences.

Support links

Alcohol overdose is a serious issue and may lead to death if not treated. If you suspect that someone has an alcohol overdose, call 911 for help immediately. Don’t try to remedy the situation yourself; cold showers and coffee may not be enough to revive someone in extreme cases. Because this automatic function is being interfered with, when someone drinks to the point of unconsciousness and then vomits, their gag reflex will not kick in, and they can choke, asphyxiate, and die.

Alcohol Poisoning Risks

However, ingestion of too much alcohol too fast can overload the liver and lead to high levels of alcohol in the blood, alcohol overdose which can be poisonous and affect basic life functions. Health professionals need as much information as possible to determine the best way to treat alcohol poisoning. Provide specific details about when drinking started, how much was consumed, whether drugs or medications were consumed and how much food was eaten beforehand.

• Alcohol intoxication occurs when a person drinks an excess of alcohol in a short period.
• With no gag reflex, a person who drinks to the point of passing out is in danger of choking on their vomit and dying from a lack of oxygen (i.e., asphyxiation).
• It is possible to consume a fatal amount of alcohol before passing out or losing consciousness.

Alcohol dependence is a factor in 30 percent of deaths from alcohol poisoning, according to the CDC. Anyone who drinks large amounts of alcohol in a short amount of time is at risk of alcohol poisoning. Teenagers and young adults often binge drink or engage in high intensity drinking.

• Drinking such large quantities of alcohol can overwhelm the body’s ability to break down and clear alcohol from the bloodstream.
• If a head injury or other complication is suspected, doctors may perform further tests.
• If you suspect that someone has an alcohol overdose, call 911 for help immediately.
• Lying down, especially on their back, increases a person’s risk of choking on their vomit.

The signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication result in alterations in a person’s consciousness, cognition, perception, judgment, affect, or behavior. These can vary between people and depend on the severity of intoxication. Not only the effects of alcohol but also the complications caused by it – such as accidents and violence – are a major threat to a person’s health.