Side Effects of Alcohol Poisoning

The habit of drinking oodles of alcohol, can lead to the side effects of alcohol poisoning, which are quite grave. 'Binge drinking', is a term labeled on those who consume more than five drinks in one sitting. Those who usually consume more than five drinks, aim at getting drunk during a span of a single evening/day, that is, within a few hours.

When alcohol poisoning takes place, it isn't necessarily a condition that falls upon alcoholics, but others as well. Binge drinking is also when one mixes different alcohol types like whiskey, rum, gin, wine and so on, including repetitive shots (drinking it neat), that can lead to severe alcohol poisoning. It can inflict a lot of harmful effects on the body, as well as social outbursts like creating a drunken scene, drunk driving, accidents, harming others, and so on. Those who drink alone, are likely to go through rough patches in their lives, experiencing depression and loneliness, using this as their motive for drinking. Teens are more likely to get involved in alcohol consumption, at a much younger age than what is legal.

A 'shoulder tap', which is a common situation underage drinkers engage in, is when they make an older person walk into a store and buy alcohol for them. This is either someone they know, or someone they encounter randomly on the streets. Overtime, this can escalate into a full-blown habit. Find out what causes this condition, and what the effects and damages are, when brought upon those who over-drink.

Acute Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms

The side effects of alcohol poisoning first showcase in a drinker symptoms, that can be a sure sign of this, where it can lead to an acute condition of the same, which is quite a scary advancement. Before we get into signs of alcohol poisoning, we first look into the factors that lead up to this in the first place, when it comes to consumption.

• How strong is the alcohol that one is consuming? Is it neat, or mixed with a juice/soda/tonic?
• How fast is he/she downing one drink?
• How fast can the body metabolize the alcohol intake?
• Has the person eaten before drinking, or is he/she on an empty stomach?
• How many drinks can he/she down? Do they have the capacity to do so, or are they pushing their bodies into doing it?

After these points are looked upon, one can then move on to identifying the symptoms of acute alcohol poisoning.

• Seizure
• No reaction when pain is inflicted
• Dazed and confused
• Absent minded
• Semi conscious
• Difficult to wake up the person
• Cold, clammy hands
• Pale skin
• Breathing rate slows down
• Bluish tinted skin
• Unconscious

What are the Side Effects of Alcohol Poisoning?

The severity of the side effects can lead to a lot of damaging results in a person, who needs to seek immediate treatment. Before we get into the long-term side effects of alcohol poisoning, we look into the immediate side effects of the same.

Breathing Difficulties
When under the influence of too much alcohol, one may slip into a coma, since they can cease breathing all together because of the alcohol's effect on the nerves. This possession of nerves by the alcohol, then overtakes the involuntary functions of that person, making them stop breathing completely, possibly even leading up to death.

Hypothermia
One can experience a cold flush from drinking too much alcohol, which is one of the common side effects of alcohol poisoning. The alcohol dilates blood vessels, thus leading to a quick loss of heat from the body, making one feel cold and clammy. One can turn a bluish tint when it comes to skin tone, leading to excessive vomiting and even seizures.

Uncoordinated Movement
When under the influence of alcohol, one can tend to seem dazed and cannot function well, like not being able to walk right, or speaking in a gibberish fashion. This then leads to one falling asleep, and not being able to wake up no matter how much one tries to get them to get up. This is a case of acute alcohol poisoning where the one who's had too much to drink, hasn't actually passed out, but is unconscious. The only way to help the one in question, is to either call the ambulance or perform CPR if his/her breathing stops. If you still cannot wake them up, then the situation is labeled as the aforementioned kind.

Dehydration
When one is dehydrated, it is because of a drop in sugar levels in the blood, especially after one has thrown up excessively. Another very common reaction from the side effects, is a hangover. This happens when one drinks way too much alcohol, that even the body cannot process, or when one mixes different alcohol types in one sitting. It is an unpleasant feeling of constant nausea, and throwing up at different intervals of the next day, since the body needs to rid itself of the excess alcohol. A quick remedy for this, is to eat bananas or drink a milkshake that is banana-based, since it has a lot of sugar content and allows blood sugar levels to spike, making you feel better.

Impaired Gag Reflex
The side effects can be a pretty scary situation, in that, one can vomit so excessively, causing him/her to choke on their vomit, since their gag reflexes fail on them. This can lead to death, due to the choking.

Mixing Drugs with Drinks
There are many people who drink alcohol, and even include drugs during that period of consumption. Mixing drugs during binge drinking, can have severe effects on a person. Drugs like phenobarbital, tranquilizers, barbiturates, codine, heroin, cannabis, darvocet, and opium can have detrimental effects on a person, when coalesced with alcohol.

Long-Term Alcohol Poisoning Side Effects

The body can only take so much of harmful outside elements, that constantly bombard the system to take in more and more. The long-term effects of alcohol consumption, can lead to physical impairments, like acute alcohol poisoning.

• Increases the risk of kidney failure.
• Increases one's chances of having a stroke, or even heart diseases.
• Can lead to dementia or neuropathy.
• Can lead to erectile dysfunction, and infertility, commonly in men.
• Imbalance in memory.
• Inflamed pancreas.
• Menstrual difficulties in women and infertility
• Skin damage, that can be permanent.
• Loss of nutrients and vitamins in the body.
• Can damage the esophagus, leading to pain and difficulties in swallowing, even hemorrhage.
• Stomach ulcers.
• Can lead to gout arthritis.
• Intestinal problems
• Birth defects in children, when women drink alcohol during pregnancy
• Cancer of the mouth, throat, breast, tongue and liver.
• Obesity
• Hepatitis
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Liver cirrhosis

The side effects as you can see, aren't something to be taken lightly. The most you can do to help yourself/others, is to stress on adequate alcohol consumption, without binging. If you have kids, make sure you enlighten them on alcoholism and alcohol abuse, while making sure they stay away from it until they reach an ideal drinking age. Drink responsibly!