How to Avoid Alcohol-Related Harm

Binge drinking has become a trend on adolescents and young adults alike.  It is described as drinking heavily in a short period of time for the purpose of getting drunk. It is potentially harmful and can cause short-term and long-term harms.

Short-term harms can be related to health, accident or crime. Persons under the influence of alcohol may experience nausea, vomiting, headaches, possible memory loss (blackout) or worse, alcohol poisoning which can lead to one’s death. Alcohol affects judgment and cognition putting the person at risk for accidents, theft and shame. Research has shown that alcohol has been a factor in sexual offenses, burglaries and street crimes. Long-term abuse of alcohol may lead to liver or brain damage. 

Some people may find it difficult to abstain completely from alcohol. Even non-alcoholics have a hard time controlling their alcohol intake when pressured during a social event. In order to avoid potential harm brought about by alcohol intoxication, here are 5 reminders you should know next time you prop a bottle to your mouth:

1. Eat before/while you drink. One of the reasons why a person’s blood alcohol concentrations rise quickly even after a few bottles is because he/she drinks on an empty stomach.  Eating will slow the absorption of alcohol in the stomach; although the effect is temporary. It will also keep your hands off the bottle for some time. Just remember to avoid salty foods as it will make you thirsty.
2. Don’t rush. Drink slowly and don’t finish your drink in gulps. Take sips and avoid “rounds” as it will make you drink faster just by keeping up with the others.
3. Know your limit. If you know that you have a low tolerance for alcohol, choose beverages that have low alcohol content. Be aware of what you drink and learn how to say “no” if you feel nauseated or if you feel like you had enough. Don’t push yourself.
4. Make space. Alcohol may cause vasodilation and others may vomit. The effects may differ from one person to another. But both can rob you of your body’s water and electrolytes. It is important to stay hydrated. Drink cold water in between drinks and try to busy yourself with other things. Dancing, chatting with friends, or playing games would keep your mind from alcohol.
5. Be with the right people. It is important that you drink with people you know and trust. They will be the ones to interrupt you if they recognize that you had enough. Stay close to them and avoid being alone with strangers.  

References:

Binge drinking: the facts http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/binge-drinking

The effects of binge drinking http://health.ninemsn.com.au/azindex/689748/binge-drinking

BLACKOUT

I woke up with blurry visions on my mind. I stared blankly at the ceiling asking myself if I was dreaming. I could not recall what happened last night. It was too fast that I seemed to lose track of it all. Finally, the idea sank into me. I had a blackout…again.

It was 9:21 PM and the constant knocking on my bedroom door woke me up. My two girl friends, Ruby and Chin, came over to ask me out for a drink. I was hesitant at first. I was not prepared but they were able to convince me with their eager persuasions. At exactly 10:00 we hailed a cab and went to the bar where we used to drink.

Conversations poured in as we filled our glasses with vodka alternating it with beer. Bottle after bottle after bottle, we drank. The liquid seemed tasteless to me that I would finish my drink in a few gulps. It was more than a month since my last alcohol intake.

 I can still remember entering the club and having a conversation with another friend. Beer bottle in one hand, I kept talking but I can’t remember now what I was talking about. That was my last clear memory and everything else were glimpses of what seemed to be a nightmare.

The next day, my friend showed me pictures of last night and I looked at them confusingly. She told me stories of what happened and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Oh no, not again,” I thought. Unknown to them, I’ve been experiencing blackouts several times before. Usually every time I indulged in alcohol.

Blackouts, as what Dr. Aaron White would describe, are episodes of amnesia (partial or complete loss of memory), during which subjects are capable of participating even in salient, emotionally charged events - as well as more mundane events - that they later cannot remember. (Blackouts are not to be confused with the act of passing out.) These periods of amnesia are primarily “anterograde”. It means that alcohol impairs the ability of the person to form new memories while he/she is intoxicated but does not erase memories that were formed before intoxication.

 People around you would not even notice that you are experiencing this kind of condition because you are able to do things—simple and/or complicated, like driving a car, talking to complete strangers, dancing on top of a table, crying out loud and other complicated and sometimes humiliating behaviors.


There are actually two qualitatively different types of blackouts: en bloc and fragmentary blackouts. People who are experiencing en bloc blackouts cannot recall any details from events that ensued while in the period of intoxication, regardless of efforts by others to facilitate recall. It is as if the process of transferring information from short-term to long-term storage has been completely blocked. It is also unclear when this type of blackout ends because people tend to fall asleep before they are over. However, they are able to keep information active in short-term memory for a few seconds that’s why they can do even the most complicated things.

Fragmentary blackouts on the other hand, involve partial blocking of memory formation during the events that took place while in the intoxicated state. People who experience these are often aware that they are missing pieces of events after being reminded that the events occurred. Reminders would cue some recall of some missing information. According to research, these are more common than the en bloc type.

What causes these blackouts? Research suggests that drinking large quantities of alcohol precede blackouts. Also, gulping drinks and drinking on an empty stomach, each of which leads to a rapid rise in alcohol concentrations in the blood. Women are also at greater risk since they have lesser body weight and proportion of body fat than men.

These blackouts are potentially dangerous since people under the influence of alcohol are fearless and mostly go beyond their limits. People experiencing these were reported to get involved in crime or accidents. Lucky me! I have trusted friends who laugh at my silly antics but would always keep an eye on me making sure I don’t get into trouble and we would always go home together safely.

References:

Alcohol, Memory Blackouts and the Brain

By Aaron M. White, Ph.D.

http://www.enotalone.com/article/11280.html

Alcohol-induced blackouts are not
reserved for alcoholics

http://www.hazelden.org/web/public/ade080218.page