Alcohol and poisoning
Most people can remember a time when they had a little bit too much to drink at a party or function and as a result found themselves doubled up and vomiting. It’s not a particular pleasant experience and for many people they only ever do it once – they just simply never want to go back there.
Unfortunately many are not aware that vomiting can be a life-threatening situation. Alcohol is a powerful depressant and can cause death directly by “turning off” the brain areas that control consciousness, respiration and heart rate, resulting in unconsciousness, coma and then death.
In many cases, drinking too much alcohol will make you sick and you will stop drinking. There are many old wives’ tales about why someone vomits after drinking, but the real reason is quite simple – you’ve been poisoned. Your brain actually has specialised poison control cells that detect when you have had too much alcohol and send a signal to your stomach to vomit. Vomiting is an attempt to get rid of any unabsorbed alcohol. Essentially the logic is, if you can prevent any alcohol that’s still in the stomach from being absorbed into the blood stream, it may prevent further poisoning and, in the process, save your life.
Whereas some people vomit, other people lose consciousness after they have consumed too much alcohol. In these cases, people may die by choking on their vomit because they are too intoxicated to wake up and clear out their airway, or may simply pass out and never wake up. This is due to the concentration of alcohol being so high that the areas of your brain controlling life functions are so depressed that they stop functioning.
Alcohol can be a very dangerous drug and one very important message to remember is never to put a drunk person to bed to “sleep it off”. Even after a person stops drinking, alcohol in the stomach and intestine may continue to enter the bloodstream and lead to a tragic situation. Be aware of the risks and make sure that you carefully monitor anyone who has been drinking to excess – it could save a life.
Remember: if you do not want any negative consequences, do not use the drug and, no matter how many times you have used a substance, never be blasé.
