Recognizing the Signs of Alcohol Poisoning (and What To Do Next)

A drunk individual will have some form of staggered walk. However, an individual with alcohol poisoning will have severely exacerbated manifestations of this symptom. This will portray itself in excessive staggering to the point of being rendered incapable of walking without inducing serious self-harm. This means frequent falling, “jelly leg” like instability, or other similar observable movement deficiencies. Under such circumstances, the individual will need help simply to walk and should not do so alone.

When you're drunk, it's common to slur your words. However, alcohol poisoning takes this to the extreme by causing severely slurred speech. In many cases, people who are exhibiting signs of an impending alcohol poisoning overdose will have indiscernible speech. This is no laughing matter and should be taken seriously. Reach out to local emergency services if someone develops indiscernible speech slurring in conjunction with a drinking session.

When your mind and body have reached their limit, it will begin to shut down or go into a comatose state. This occurs because the body goes into a full shutdown in an attempt to repair and cleanse the body of alcohol toxins. This sign of alcohol poisoning will exhibit itself as nodding in and out of consciousness. This means literally “nodding off” and momentarily reawakening intermittently. In some cases, it can be slept off, but this symptom should be met with swift medical assistance to ensure their safety.

Nausea and vomiting are signs of binge drinking or overconsumption of alcohol. What’s worse is that vomiting further dehydrates your body, increasing your susceptibility to poisoning. It’s important to keep an eye on such instances, as this can be a serious sign of alcohol poisoning. This can lead to alcohol toxin-related blackouts that require immediate medical attention. Seek out the appropriate professionals if you or a loved one begins exhibiting this symptom.

Excessive alcohol consumption or intoxication that borders on poisoning will have severe effects on one’s psyche. This means potential memory lapses, mind fog, or complete obliviousness to one’s surroundings. This can also render the poisoned individual incapable of carrying on a conversation or responding appropriately to simple social communications. These intoxication levels not only pose over-intoxication dangers, but also potential self-harm stemming from distorted or confused circumstances.

An alcoholic blackout is a situation where an individual drinks so excessively that it induces memory loss. These memory lapses can range from mild to severe and be temporary or permanent, depending on the severity. This means they’ll wake up with no recollection of the events leading up to, during, or after their drinking. Indications of a blackout reveal themselves through severe disorientation, coordination, and cognitive ineptitude, and other circumstantial disorientations.

One of the obvious tell-tale indicators of alcohol poisoning involves life-threatening seizures. This is the most severe phase of alcohol poisoning that needs immediate medical help. This occurs when alcohol poisoning is so severe that it sends your body into shock and convulsive. This can be the result of overconsumption, allergic reactions, or other negative bodily reactions that trigger this extreme response.

Incontinence is a term that describes one’s inability to control bladder or bowel movements. If you or a loved one exhibits this sign, it’s a very dangerous sign that your body is in fight-or-flight mode as a result of alcohol poisoning. That's because all organ functions and control are released when your body is trying to fend off near-fatal levels of intoxication.

Slow breathing and respiratory distress are very common adverse bodily reactions to alcohol poisoning. Slow breathing is characterized by fewer than eight breaths within 60 seconds. Correlatively, respiratory distress is defined as oxygen levels that fall below 94 percent. If you or someone you love is experiencing difficulty breathing in conjunction with a drinking session, don't ignore this serious sign of overconsumption of alcohol.