How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System

The effects of alcohol intoxication are known to most of us. While certain levels of alcohol in the system are accompanied by slurred speech and trouble walking, with an over consumption of alcohol there are usually much deadlier consequences. Basically alcohol is a system suppressor which impairs judgment, coordination, vision and reaction time and increases drowsiness. With the cases of intoxicated driving on the rise and the authorities getting stricter by the day, most of us are wondering as to how long does alcohols stay in your system, so that it does not show up in an alcohol test. Well for understanding that, we would first need to take a look at what exactly is the blood alcohol content and how it differs from person to person.

Understanding Blood Alcohol Concentration

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or the blood alcohol content is the measure of the alcohol concentration in your bloodstream. It is usually measured in percentage terms, so that, when a person has eight parts alcohol per 10,000 parts blood in the body then the BAC level is said to be 0.08 percent. These levels can be detected by breath, blood, or urine tests, being mostly used for legal or medical purposes. There are however many factors that regulate the difference in the BAC levels in different people, like the weight, gender and the amount and how long before it is consumed. The blood alcohol concentration level is also helpful in finding out, how long the body needs to relieve itself of the alcohol consumed.

How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System

Alcohol is ideally removed from the system by a combination of metabolism, excretion, and evaporation. While upto 10% of the alcohol is excreted through urine and nearly 1% evaporates through breath, 98% of the alcohol in the system is mostly metabolized. A small proportion of alcohol is also excreted through the sweat and tears. Since the normal metabolism of an average human being with a perfectly functioning liver is .015 per hour so the average time needed to drain out the alcohol would ideally be 10 hours. So, an ounce of alcohol is usually not detectable after one to three hours. However, there are many factors which can regulate the time alcohol stays in your system.

Gender: Whether women like it or not but sadly, alcohol stays in a female’s system longer than a male’s because of the fact, that women metabolize alcohol differently than men do.

Weight: Your weight can be a controlling factor. as to how long the alcohol stays in the system. So, one ounce of alcohol will have a greater effect on a 100-pound female than it will on a 300-pound woman.

How many drinks you had: Depending on the functioning of the liver, the alcohol is metabolized. So, for one standard drink, the liver metabolizes the alcohol in an hour. That is why drinking large amounts of alcohol can end in alcohol poisoning. Since, the liver cannot process the alcohol, it ends up being stored in your blood which can be fatal for you.

How much time has elapsed since your first drink: Spreading the total absorption of alcohol, over a greater period of time decreases the alcohol level, thus decreasing the hangover effect. This is because the BAC rate shoots up as soon as you consume the drink.

In addition to this, there are some other factors such as what the person has eaten; how much sleep he/she is; what medications he/she is on and importantly, the actual alcohol content of their chosen "drink". It is observed that some people eat while they are drinking; this is useful as well because some of the alcohol will be absorbed into the unprocessed food. The best recourse for speeding up the body's metabolism is, to eat at least an hour or two before you begin drinking, this will allow the body’s metabolism to start speeding up before hand, enabling the alcohol to immediately break down upon entering your body. Similarly it is observed that heavy drinkers, whose liver may be impaired or person afflicted with liver diseases may metabolize much less than an average person and would thus need to allow a much longer time before taking a blood alcohol test

How to Suppress the BAC Rate

Controlling the BAC rate and speeding up the body's metabolism to relieve the body of the alcohol can be easy with these tips.

• Eat protein rich food along with alcohol. This tends to slow down the absorption of drink.
• Avoid gulping the entire drink.
• Drink liquors like wine or beer which contain moderate amounts of alcohol.
• Avoid drinking contests.
• Drink moderately and occasionally and take juices, ice water and beverages in between.
• Being active helps in controlling the BAC rate.
• Take the advice of the physician in case of drug test ahead.

Alcohol addiction is one of the major reasons for road accidents round the world. Although you might assume that a bottle of alcohol may do no harm but there might be some long term negative effects of alcohol on your body. So steer clear of alcohol addiction and live a longer, healthier life.