What Really Is Alcohol Poisoning?

We’ve all heard about it. You might have even seen a loved one go through it. We’ve all been warned of how dangerous the effects are, but what really is alcohol poisoning? We know the effects of alcohol on the body after a few drinks. What happens when a person becomes unconscious from drinking? Or maybe their body temperature has lowered? Let’s look at the dangers of binge drinking on the body that lead to this scary condition.

Alcohol Consumption Starts Slow

 According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH), one standard drink is usually one 12-ounce beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 shots of liquor. It’s very important to know how much you’re drinking. This is easier said than done, which is why it is also very important to be educated on the effects of alcohol on the human body and brain. Alcohol abuse starts slowly, but as a person gets drunk they simply have less control over their actions. It becomes easier to make the decision to drink more. Drinking more makes one’s amount of alcohol consumption harder to monitor. That is when problems start to happen.

Drinking alcohol can be really fun, but it’s detrimental to the health of the mind and body. In a short period of time, alcohol abuse can cause deadly effects. Healthy living becomes increasingly hard when abuse becomes an addiction. Alcohol addiction is very prevalent all around the world. It is a huge issue if self-medication through substance abuse becomes an addiction. This issue only intensifies when we consider how much alcohol can damage the body.
     The next time you go out for a drink with friends, ask yourself these questions. Am I drinking slowly? Have I kept track of how much I am drinking? What is my reasoning for choosing alcoholic drinks? If you realize that your alcohol consumption is getting out of hand, take note of how serious alcohol poisoning is. This is something that can happen to anyone who does not pay close attention.

The Danger in Binge Drinking

 It has been brought to the forefront of social media that binge drinking is very bad for you. People have begun to share their stories about how nights of alcoholic beverages went wrong. What happened to them, though? Where did their health take a turn?
After just a few drinks, your body temperature goes up and so does your heart rate. In a short period of time, your prefrontal cortex is affected by the toxins in your alcoholic beverages. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the human brain that controls decision making and some of our coordination. Severe dehydration is also likely with just a few drinks. Blood alcohol content becomes higher with each drink and as it increases, so does your risk of health issues. The alcohol is able to travel through the blood and attack other parts of the body.
Heavy drinking increases the effects of alcohol more than many people realize. Alcohol poisoning occurs when a person’s bloodstream cannot process the toxic alcohol quickly enough. Their blood alcohol content is too high for their body to sustain itself. This causes their body to go into shock. There is a huge difference between this and heavy drinking to be drunk. It’s not likely that a person suffering from alcoholism or even a typical party-goer would purposely put themselves through the signs and symptoms of alcohol overdose.

 Some signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning are mental confusion, vomiting, seizures, slow or irregular breathing and hypothermia. The vomiting is typically cyclical and even if you don’t end up drinking any more alcoholic drinks, it can still last for hours.
 The alcohol affects the physical health, but the mental health of the binge drinker is also going through severe damage. Many who suffer from alcoholism get looped into a cycle of drinking to compensate for the withdrawal symptoms, which is a very easy way to get alcohol poisoning.
The risk of alcohol poisoning goes as far as death, which is very unsettling to think about when you consider how many people drink often. NIH reports that about 88,000 people died of alcoholism last year. A fatal dose of alcohol depends on who the drinker is, but it’s safe to say that binge drinking can have life-changing effects. No alcoholic beverage is worth the risk of your life.

When Alcohol Abuse Turns Into Brain Damage

One of the more scary aspects of alcohol consumption is when alcohol poisoning causes brain damage. Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it lessens the brain’s ability to react to things and control them. The risk of alcohol poisoning in a binge drinker is high, but the damage done to the brain from this alcohol poisoning is not talked about enough.
Similarly to how an eating disorder works, the body gets used to functioning in an unhealthy way with alcohol addiction. As a person drinks more, their body gets used to the presence of alcohol in the bloodstream. The brain and body become addicted to the presence of the toxin.
 There is blood circulating through the brain that nourishes it. As a person drinks more alcoholic drinks, the alcohol sinks into that bloodstream and it reaches the brain. Being that alcohol is so toxic, it is extremely detrimental to the functioning of the human brain. Medical attention is required immediately when binge drinking weakens the coordination and mental processing of a person.
While being intoxicated to the point of severe dehydration and vomit can be really scary, having permanent changes to the brain can also be. While having your blood sugar decrease and your coordination is thrown off is rough, there’s no going back from brain damage.

Have you Experienced Alcohol Poisoning?

If you or a loved one have experienced the signs and symptoms and feel that your alcohol abuse is getting out of hand, do not hesitate to seek help. If the amount of alcohol you’re drinking has resulted in an alcohol overdose, your alcohol abuse could very well be more of an addiction. This is nothing to be ashamed of, but it can have health altering effects. Experiencing alcohol poisoning should be a huge eye-opener.
The signs and symptoms of alcoholism don’t always show up right away in a person, but if you or a loved one is dependent on alcohol to feel normative, the best thing you can do is get help. Alcohol treatment comes in many forms, there is something out there that will be helpful to you and turn your life around. Don’t wait for alcohol poisoning to go to a treatment center. Don’t wait for you or someone you love to be around to drink that fatal dose and lose your life. While you may not think it’s possible, it is.
 If you think you have had alcohol poisoning, it’s best to avoid alcohol and let your body rest. Substance abuse can be continuously harmful if it’s ignored. The dangers of drinking are not worth the fun times, especially when you can have fun without alcohol abuse in your life. If you need help finding out how there are many treatment programs that will guide you to seeing a better future. Alcoholism treatments are made to show you the ways you can have fun and feel happy without being alcohol dependent.