At a time of year when excess food and drink are the order of the day, it doesn’t hurt to know the line between believing that we have gone too far with alcohol and confirm that we are suffering from alcohol poisoning. It is not a banal reflection if we take into account that this alteration can lead to a coma and even death.
Although it is usually associated with consumption in minors, hundreds of cases are also reported annually in adults, with the Christmas season likely to increase the emergency care statistics for a symptomatology that is quite specific. The risk equation is an intake of large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Fateful combination that affects basic functions such as breathing, heart rate and body temperature.
In addition to the logical unbalanced intake of alcohol, there are other factors to take into account in the impact that this substance has on our body: height and weight; metabolic diseases; medication intake; and our body’s own process when metabolizing alcohol, which is not the same in all cases.
Symptoms that confirm poisoning
A priori, it is easy to identify how the first consequence that abusing this substance has on the body translates: by depressing the central nervous system, it slows down brain functions. If we have ingested an amount that we are not used to, we will feel a kind of brain fog. In the most severe cases, this confusion worsens to the point that difficulty staying conscious or awake. But it is not the only sign, we must add:
- Vomiting.
- Seizures.
- Breathing below eight breaths per minute.
- Pale, bluish or grayish skin.
- Hypothermia.
The gradation of alcohol and its impact
At the metabolic level, the main feature of alcohol is that the body absorbs it quicklyat a much faster rate than the nutrients in food, and it also takes a long time to eliminate it. From 4 percent alcohol that a beer can have (more if it is artisanal) to a minimum of 40 percent of certain liquors, the range of effects is diverse and it is important to know exactly what we are consuming and what gradations we are mixing.
From the Ministry of Health point out that excessive alcohol consumption is considered from 40 grams daily in the case of men and 20-25 grams daily for women. Alcohol is, along with tobacco, two of the most harmful toxins for the body, and can trigger everything from cognitive alterations to being a risk factor for cancer, among other diseases.
References
Mayo Clinic (sf). alcohol poisoning. https://www.mayoclinic.org/es/diseases-conditions/alcohol-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354386
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