Ethyl or alcohol intoxication is defined as the state of depression of the nervous system due to the ingestion of an excessive dose of ethyl alcohol contained in alcoholic beverages. Popularly, and depending on the degree, it is known by various names, including drunkenness.
Its symptoms include the following:
- feeling of euphoria
- redness of the face
- Lack of coordination of movements
- decreased reflexes
- nausea and vomiting
- weak and rapid pulse
- Decrease in body temperature
- Breathing difficulty and unconsciousness
- Circulatory collapse and ethyl coma (extreme cases)
Complications occur because the vomiting in a state of semi-consciousness they can cause pneumonia by passing part of the expelled material into the respiratory tract. Alcohol stimulates gastric acidity and can lead to inflammation of the stomach. pancreas.
The medical diagnosis is made by the smell of alcohol on the breath and in-coordinated language. In case of doubt, determination of the presence of alcohol in the blood (alcoholemia).
folk remedies
Remedy for alcohol poisoning # 1: have a cup of coffee loaded, since caffeine is responsible for eliminating alcohol from the body in a few hours.
Remedy for alcohol poisoning #2: Pour 1 teaspoon of sugar and another of sodium bicarbonate in a cup of water and sip. Drink several cups to avoid dehydration.
Remedy for alcohol poisoning #3: Pour 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of honey in a glass of water and drink several times a day.
recommendations
In serious cases, it is advisable to transfer the poisoned person to a hospital center so that he or she is subjected to the appropriate treatment for the seriousness of the case.
Questions and answers
From what quantity can it be considered that there is acute poisoning?
A concentration of 150 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood is a sign of acute intoxication, regardless of the symptoms that the individual presents; About 85% of people, when they have that amount of alcohol in their blood, are intoxicated.
However, the amount of drink that is necessary to ingest to reach such a concentration depends on various factors, such as the type of drink, the individual’s weight or the existence of food in the stomach. As a guide, it can be said that a liter of wine or three medium whiskeys are more than enough to intoxicate a person weighing about 75 kg.
On the other hand, it must be taken into account that these amounts are those that produce acute poisoning, but that much smaller amounts, taken regularly, are also harmful to the body. In fact, some alcoholics are completely dependent on alcohol and suffer its harmful effects without ever reaching, or very rarely, the levels of acute intoxication.
Can a drunken state cause death?
Alcohol acts in a similar way to general anesthetics, but, unlike them, the margin between the dose that produces anesthesia and that which dangerously depresses the nerve center that regulates breathing is very small. In general, it is considered that the deadly concentration is 500 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, but it must be taken into account that if a depressant drug has also been taken, for example, barbiturates, the actions of both substances are they are mutually potentiated and death can occur with much lower doses of alcohol.
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Many people consider that alcohol stimulates when they are depressed. Is this true?
No way. They are falsehoods born of ignorance and, sometimes, maintained by economic interests. Alcohol does not stimulate but depresses; what happens is that the first depressed brain centers are the inhibitors, which is why, in the initial moments, the individual feels euphoric, but then falls into a depression deep.
How can you tell which alcoholic beverages are most harmful?
Knowing the amount of alcohol that each one contains. To do this, you have to look at the graduation, which is usually indicated on the bottle label and which expresses the percentage of pure alcohol. For example, a liter of 12° wine contains 120 ml of pure alcohol, while a liter of 45° whiskey contains 450 ml.
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