Alcohol use and taking opioids or sedative hypnotics, such as sleep and anti-anxiety medications, can increase your risk of an overdose. Examples of these medications include sleep aids, such as zolpidem and eszopiclone, and benzodiazepines, such as diazepam and alprazolam. Even drinking alcohol while taking over-the-counter antihistamines can be dangerous. 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. When Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011, the music world lost one of its most promising young talents.
Factors that increase the chance of alcohol poisoning
If necessary, they can refer you to a rehabilitation center to get the drinking under control. Alcohol deaths in 2022 were highest among people aged 45 to 64, males, people living in rural areas, and AIAN people. Alcohol death rates for AIAN people are by far the highest–5 times higher than death rates for White people, the racial group with the next highest prevalence. Across age groups, people aged 45 to 64 have the highest alcohol death rate, followed by 65+.
When to Go to the Hospital for Alcohol Poisoning
- 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.
- The symptoms of alcohol intoxication range from mild to severe, depending on how much alcohol a person consumes and how quickly their body metabolizes it.
- Medical professionals may recommend additional treatment, such as medications and therapy, for someone who has experienced an alcohol overdose.
- Jehovah’s Witnesses allow moderate alcohol consumption among its members.
- People who want to practice safe drinking can limit their consumption, avoid mixing alcohol with medications or other types of alcohol, and speak with loved ones or a doctor for longer-term support.
He introduced her to heroin and other hard drugs, as she had his name tattooed over her right breast and he inked hers behind his right ear. Theirs was an on-and-off relationship at first, as they were frequently separated by his infidelities and stints in prison. Her wrenching downward spiral did little to blunt the shock of Winehouse’s death at age 27. As a dramatized version of her life appears on the silver screen in the biopic Back alcohol overdose to Black, here’s what to know about what led to the “Rehab” singer’s demise. In Kentucky, 160,000 doses of Narcan — the drug that can save someone’s life during an opioid overdose — were distributed last year, Ingram said, adding that he hopes even more doses are circulated this year. For more information about alcohol’s effects on the body, please visit the Interactive Body feature on NIAAA’s College Drinking Prevention website.
What is Alcohol Poisoning?
If anyone shows signs of severe intoxication, contact emergency services immediately. Severe alcohol intoxication — or alcohol poisoning — is a dangerous condition that requires immediate medical attention. A high BAC level impairs balance, speech, and motor function. Severely high levels may result in an alcohol overdose and be life threatening. It’s a myth that a person can recover from alcohol intoxication by sleeping, taking a cold shower, going for a walk, or drinking black coffee or caffeine.
She had already demonstrated her natural brilliance on her landmark, Grammy-winning album Back to Black in 2006. Over one million Americans have died from drug overdoses since the late 1990s, including more than 100,000 per year in the last few years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, overdose deaths declined slightly for the first time in five years, decreasing three percent from 2022, according to preliminary data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
Alcohol Poisoning and Overdose: Signs and Symptoms of Alcohol Overdose
- The condition is usually linked to drinking too many alcohol beverages.
- Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help.
- Age, sensitivity to alcohol (tolerance), gender, speed of drinking, medications you are taking, and amount of food eaten can all be factors.
- The person can become extremely confused, unresponsive, disoriented, have shallow breathing, and can even pass out or go into a coma.