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Monday, October 11, 2004

Comments

Azygos

Liz,

Excellent post with good information about when to call 911 for alcohol poisoning. I am curious about who wrote the pamphlet for UC Davis as there is a point in there I’m not sure I agree with from a medial care perspective. It may be that the authors felt that it was more important to get the information out rather than quibble over a minor (and unproved) detail.

I’m not sure where you got the .40 figure for a critical level but the emergency rooms I have worked in all had .30 as a critical level for alcohol poisoning. I have seen 13 and 14 year old children with alcohol poisoning stop breathing and need to be put on a ventilator. For that matter I’ve seen young adults and adults intubated and put on ventilators for alcohol poisoning.

One thing the pamphlet does not tackle is the mixture of Ecstasy (the drug) and alcohol. Ecstasy and other stimulants can interfere with the bodies antidiuretic hormone. This hormone governs the desire for thirst, and water retention. Alcohol causes one to become dehydrated, ecstasy accelerates this problem. When you mix ecstasy and alcohol you become dehydrated, sometimes fatally, because you lose the desire to drink fluids coupled with an actual loss of fluid. As the body continues to lose fluids and the persons temperature rises. The person sometimes experiences brain death secondary to extreme internal temperatures. One patient I cared for had a rectal temperature of 107, and died the following day.

Just something to think about before dropping that next ecstasy tab and washing it down with a beer.

MIKE

i was wondering is anyone could answer this... me and my buddy split a 40oz of vodka. I drank my half quite fast, probably in a half an hour. after a couple hours i vomited four times then went to sleep. What kind of condition do you think i was in? i am a 15 year old male who weighs 170 lbs.

viyaz

I feel very enlightened after reading your site. I enjoyed those pictures of people spewing and naked girls -_^. Please post more ^^v

Danielle

I'm really glad that u put this up its very moving, and very realistic. It proves how careless some people can be in their "golden years"

Another tragic case for the list: Matthew Pearlstone. Cornell student died March 17 while visiting at the U of VA.

Bridger

I live in montana, and it seems the only thing to do is to drink... This is speaking for the point of view of someone who is going on 21 (aug 29) for the curious... I was the son of a biker, and grew up at the parties and around bars... I do not drink heavily, and (due to actually listening to the stories) make it a point to fall asleep on my side, vomit when I need to, and all of the other such precautions... anyway, I would just like to state that I didn't see anywhere on here that says when intoxicated one should avoid playing in water (drink it, it helps hang over) but the effect of being in water, on the human body, is dehydration. As was stated earlier, alcohol dehydrates the body... If one's friend insists on using the restroom at any point in time, one should keep them out of the tub. Showers are not as bad as the tub, but in case of drowning, one should not let the use that either. If partying near a lake/pond/ocean/pool/other-form-of-body-of-water do not let them get in, play too near... Because, if one gets into a substance the dehydrates from the outside, and has consumed one the works from within, they are screwed... It happened to me once, not fun!

Jerry

This doesn't just happen at frat parties. We had an employee who drank too much while working a trade show. We didn't realize how much at the time. We were VERY lucky she didn't die. We really didn't know how bad it was until we were told she'd passed out in the bathroom. Rather than call 911 she was taken to her hotel room and put in bed.

Jules

Hi, I'm worried about my brother, he's 32 and definitely an alcoholic. My parents have been down to his house tonight and he was in bed, but didnt wake up (not that they tried to shake him or anything) they checked him for signs of cuts because he text his friend saying that he'd found blood when he woke up after heavily drinking earlier. My parents don't seem that worried, but I'm thinking he may have had an alcohol overdose. I know it's better to be safe than sorry, but what if he's just sleeping? As I've not seen him, I don't know what he looks like, but it sounds pretty bad to me. My parents found a bit of blood on the carpet, but only spots, so I thought he could have coughed it up or it could be vomit as they werent positive it was blood. Also, this morning he was round his friends house and was looking for alcohol in the middle of the night and apparently urinated on their carpet, so sounds like he was in an altered state too (more than usual). If anyone could reply ASAP please do.

Millenium

Drink till your drank point!!! But not over drunk line!!!

benjamin

See alchol is crazy they should take it away and legalize pot :)

ashley

the pic are ************************lol

Brian

OK.. first.. this was an interesting article with some good points and bad.. bein a 21 year old male (june 11) i have had my fair share of drinking and plenty of stories to go with it. I have been drinkin ever since i could remember from wine to liqour to beer. I stand 6'2" and barely weigh 150. I attended the University of Tennessee and all i can recall is lots of parties with beer and liquor and drugs. I have found myself blacked out many nights, waking up in wierd locations, and never seemed to vomit. I have mixed ecstasy, acid, weed, pills, and pretty much anything else with large amounts of beer and have never had a problem. But then again I also know when to call it quits, and thats where other people fail. So you cant really make judgements on mixtures of substances cause not every persons make up is the same.

Next.. you mention a few fraternities in your article and i would like to clarify one thing.. Fraternities are known for one thing.. drinking.. and drinking a ton.. kids who pledge for the fraternities you mention know this.. The UT chapters were well known for there parties and there pledge parties.. so basicall people should be smart enough to know these things and be able to quit when its time and not say, "Lets get another drink."

but once again.. nice article..

Brian

Oh and another thing.. everyone passes out from drinking here and there.. and some cant be woken up.. its happened to me.. i know this cuz i live with my girlfriend and she tells me the next day.. so you really cant tell if someone has alcohol poisoning unless you have a breathalizer or you just happened to be a doctor.. and vomitting cant really be consider as a symptom unless yes the person is passed out and does not wake up while doing it..

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