Talking About Alcohol Poisoning With Your Teen | Young Adult
Talking about alcohol poisoning with your teen | young adult is so important because it just might save a young person’s life.
It seems at least once a week I read a story about a young person’s death due to alcohol poisoning – often with friends in the vicinity. Talking about what it is, what it looks like, what to do with your teen or young adult child can save a life. Talking about it also offers another opportunity to talk with your teen or young adult child about their own drinking (or reinforce their decision not to drink). Here are some facts you can share with your teen as a basis for this conversation. They are prepared by National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Task Force on College Drinking. For a pdf, print version copy, click here.
What Happens to Your Body When You Get Alcohol Poisoning? |
| Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing and the gag reflex (which prevents choking). A fatal dose of alcohol will eventually stop these functions.It is common for someone who drank excessive alcohol to vomit since alcohol is an irritant to the stomach. There is then the danger of choking on vomit, which could cause death by asphyxiation in a person who is not conscious because of intoxication.You should also know that a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can continue to rise even while he or she is passed out. Even after a person stops drinking, alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. It is dangerous to assume the person will be fine by sleeping it off. |
Critical Signs for Alcohol Poisoning |
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What Should I Do If I Suspect Someone Has Alcohol Poisoning? |
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What Can Happen to Someone With Alcohol Poisoning That Goes Untreated? |
Even if the victim lives, an alcohol overdose can lead to irreversible brain damage. Rapid binge drinking (which often happens on a bet or a dare) is especially dangerous because the victim can ingest a fatal dose before becoming unconscious. Don’t be afraid to seek medical help for a friend who has had too much to drink. Don’t worry that your friend may become angry or embarrassed-remember, you cared enough to help. Always be safe, not sorry. |
Lisa Frederiksen
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I have personal experience with alcohol poisoning. When my son was 15 years-old I got a phone call at 10:00 at night from his dad who he’d moved in with to attend high school 3 months before. It was the last day of school before Christmas break. My son went with a group of friends downtown and met up with a group of older guys. They passed around a bottle of vodka. They guys were heading out and so my son grabbed the bottle and chugged. Within minutes he knew he’d drank too much too fast and told his friend to take care of him if he passed out. Within 20 minutes my son was on the ground nearly unconscious. Thank God his friend called my son’s dad and told him what happened. When my ex got there our son was immobile. He loaded him in the car and took him to emergency. They hooked him up to monitors and IV fluids and waited it out. His blood alcohol level was .25%.
I’ve since learned that if someone smokes pot while drinking alcohol it suppresses nausea and people tend to drink far more and the body does not naturally purge the toxic alcohol. This may be why we’re seeing a spike in alcohol poisoning. The THC levels of the hybrid pot that’s grown now is 25%. Compare that to pot grown in the 70’s at 1% to up to 3% by the 80’s.
You never think it could happen to your kid. We got lucky. My son is now in an outpatient drug and alcohol program. He attends AA meetings as part of the program and is regularly tested. We got a lot of flack from friends and family for putting him in the program. People told us “it’s just a stage”. But how do you know? I’m not willing to play the shell game. Unfortunately, my son’s dad is no longer on board with the program and is not supportive. So far my son is choosing to still attend even though there won’t be any consequence from his dad. That speaks volumes.
I later learned from my son and his dad that his dad knew he was drinking and smoking pot and looked the other way thinking it was a harmless ‘stage’. There is alcoholism on both sides of the family. My son’s dad was a drinker and stopped only because of a Hep C diagnosis. He continues to smoke pot. These are all factors in why kids will keep pushing the boundaries wondering if anyone is paying attention.
I tell my son that alcoholism is an invisible line and you never know when you’ve crossed it until it’s too late.
Thank you for this critical post Lisa . . .
Wow, wow, wow!! I can’t thank you enough for sharing your, you son’s and his father’s story, Beachmamma. This is sure to help others – especially the point you make about ‘looking the other way,’ ‘this just a stage’ – as you said, “But how do you know?”
Early use (such as the kind your son was engaged in), genetics and social environment are three of the five key risk factors for developing alcoholism (the other two being mental illness and childhood trauma) – for other readers, here’s an informative link about risk factors – http://www.hbo.com/addiction/understanding_addiction/14_some_people_become_addicted.html.
Your son is fortunate to have you fighting so hard to help him, and big, big kudos to him for sticking with his program in spite of the “out” — that shows a great deal of strength and courage on his part.
Thanks so very much for your comment…