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What Effects Do You Get When You Drink Alcohol?

The consumption of alcohol is as old as civilization itself and is legally regulated in over 100 countries. Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that causes reduced attention and slow reactions when taken in large quantities. When someone starts to drink alcohol, a number of bodily and neurologic effects start to happen. The effects compound upon each other, and the state of the person gets increasingly impaired psychologically and physically as more alcohol is consumed.

  1. Euphoria

    • If your blood alcohol content is between 0.03 and 0.12 percent, you are in the euphoric state. You can check your blood alcohol content by using a breathalyzer. In this euphoric state, you have increased self-confidence and sociability and you start to lose your inhibitions. Your face may go flushed and your attention span will start to dwindle. The alcohol starts to impair your judgment.

    Lethargy

    • If your BAC is between 0.09 and 0.25 percent, you are feeling varying degrees of lethargy. Your reactions are very delayed and you feel quite sedated. Your thinking starts to seem cloudy, and memory is difficult to recall. A profound lack of balance characterizes this state; walking and running may prove difficult or even dangerous.

    Confusion

    • If your BAC rises to between 0.18 and 0.30 percent, you are in a state of intense confusion. The alcohol impairs your senses and dulls your analytic thinking abilities. You have little control over your emotions, and you are prone to fits of rage or deep sadness. Your speech is slurred, and you feel very dizzy. Vomiting characterizes this state, as your body attempt to purge the alcohol from your system.

    Stupor

    • If your BAC is between 0.25 and 0.40 percent, you are in a very dangerous state. You lapse in and out of consciousness and can appear to have partial amnesia. Vomiting continues to occur and you may experience urinary incontinence. Many people die in this state due to inhaling their vomit or by respiratory depression. People in this state are often fully unconscious.

    Coma

    • If your BAC is between 0.35 and 0.50, percent you need medical attention immediately. Your heart rate is dangerously low, and you have a strong chance of dying from respiratory depression. You are in a coma at this point, and your pupils will likely not respond to light. Most deaths from alcohol poisoning occur in this BAC range.

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