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Levels of Alcohol Intoxication

Many stages of alcohol intoxication exist, each with their own physical and mental effect on the body. The higher the blood alcohol level the more severe the effects are. Many factors influence blood alcohol levels including the drinker's age, amount of food in the drinker's stomach, tolerance, gender, weight, emotional or physical state and the number of drinks consumed per hour. Knowing the stages of alcohol intoxication as well as the symptoms can help you recognize when you or someone you know has had too much to drink, preventing severe illness and death.

  1. Low Levels of Intoxication

    • When your blood alcohol level is between .01 and .03 you are not yet considered legally drunk and you do not show signs or symptoms of intoxication, according to the University of Indiana website. You will feel relaxed and less shy but appear sober to others. When your blood alcohol level is between .04 and .07 you will continue to feel relaxed, uninhibited and have a warm feeling in your body. Your reaction time slows and you experience impaired judgment and problems with your attention, self-control and memory.

    Legally Drunk

    • When your blood alcohol level reaches .08 you are legally considered drunk, according to the University of Prince Edward Island. Signs of intoxication may become obvious to others at this stage. You may begin to suffer poor balance, blurry vision as well as impaired speech, reduced hearing and a delayed reaction time. Your memory and sense of reason are impaired and your judgment skills and self-control are lowered. At this stage your driving skills are seriously impaired and it is illegal for you to operate a motor vehicle in this condition.

    Moderate Levels of Intoxication

    • When your blood alcohol level is between the levels of .09 and .125 you continue to show impaired speech, poor balance, blurry vision and delayed reaction time. Your motor coordination is delayed and your judgment skills are reduced. Your speech is slurred and your vision, reaction time, hearing and balance are significantly reduced. Blood alcohol levels between 0.13 and 0.15 result in major motor skill problems and loss of physical control. You will have major balance problems and blurry vision. At this level the relaxed feeling felt earlier fades away and dysphoria, a state of anxiety and restlesness, begins to develop, according to the University of Indiana website.

    High Levels of Intoxication

    • Blood alcohol levels between 0.16 and 0.20 result in a strong feeling of dysphoria and nausea and the drinker may experience incontinence. The effects of the alcohol on the body becomes obvious and the drinker is visibly intoxicated. At blood alcohol levels of 0.25 the drinker needs help when walking and suffers from mental confusion. The feeling of dysphoria and nausea continues and vomiting may occur. Blood alcohol levels of 0.30 result in a loss of consciousness and at 0.40 and up the drinker will have clammy skin and may slip into a coma or die due to respiratory arrest.

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