It can be difficult to decide if you think someone is drunk enough to warrant medical intervention, but it’s best to err on the side of caution. You may worry about the consequences for yourself or your friend or loved one, particularly if you’re underage. But the consequences of not getting the right help in time can be far more serious.

A psychiatric evaluation should be performed and may have to be repeated as the patient becomes more lucid. As blood alcohol concentration increases, so does the effect of alcohol—as well as the risk of harm. Even small increases in BAC can decrease motor coordination, make a person feel sick, and cloud judgment. This can increase an individual’s risk of being injured from falls or car crashes, experiencing acts of violence, and engaging in unprotected or unintended sex. When BAC reaches high levels, blackouts , loss of consciousness , and death can occur.

How does alcohol cause intoxication?

Such binge drinking can lead to extremely high blood alcohol levels and the threat of alcohol poisoning. Teaching your teen thewarning signs of extreme intoxicationcan help prevent the dangerous consequences of underage drinking. Help is available for you no matter which stage of alcoholism you’ve reached. Thousands of people find a solution to their drinking through alcohol rehab each year. Alcohol addiction treatment teaches you more about the nature of your condition and provides you with the tools you need for long-term recovery. If you feel like your drinking problem is chronic but your life isn’t falling apart, don’t continue down this dangerous path.

Vision issues, including decreased peripheral vision, blurriness, and delayed glare recovery.

An individual’s BAC can continue to rise even while the person is unconscious.

Ethanol toxicity results from the ingestion of large amounts of ethanol, usually in the form of alcohol. It affects multiple organ systems in both the acute and chronic phases. This activity outlines the evaluation and management of ethanol toxicity and reviews the interprofessional team’s role in managing patients with this condition. Drinking too much and too quickly can lead to significant impairments in motor coordination, decision-making, impulse control, and other functions, increasing the risk of harm. Continuing to drink despite clear signs of significant impairments can result in an alcohol overdose.

This disease is progressive, and your health will eventually bear the brunt. The further someone’s drinking progresses, the easier it becomes to notice their lack of control. Middle-stage alcoholism is when their drinking problem reaches more serious levels. With chronic alcohol use, the number of GABA receptors is increased, requiring more and more alcohol stages of alcohol intoxication to create the same level of inhibition. This tolerance partly explains the alertness of chronic alcohol users at blood alcohol levels that in others would cause coma or death. Benzodiazepines also bind to the GABA receptor, making them useful in alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol also inhibits the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS, glutamate.