Alcohol Poisoning Treatment

Alcohol poisoning treatment is a serious condition that may lead to irreversible brain damage, at times even death. There is a significant difference between getting plain drunk and being poisoned from alcohol. While the former leads to temporary effects like lack of coordination, slurred speech and the inability to think clearly, alcohol poisoning can lead to fatal consequences.

Often an inevitable result of alcohol abuse, a person who has been affected by alcohol poisoning will usually show symptoms like losing consciousness or passing out, irregular breathing, seizures, hypothermia or unnaturally low body temperature, paleness and throwing up. Passing out is the most dangerous symptom of all, since there is every possibility that if affected severely, the person could be quite close to death.

Though it is better that you ask for medical help when these symptoms mentioned above start showing, there are a few things that can be done to control the situation. First, make sure the person is warm enough, to save him from hypothermia. Under no circumstances should the patient be allowed o take a cold shower, since it will only aggravate the situation. Make sure that the person’s body is covered with blankets and is getting enough heat all the time.

Next, make him lie down on his side, so that he does not choke while unconscious. Give him plenty of water or other oral re-hydration salts to drink. All the excessive sweating and vomiting invariably lead to dehydration, so his body needs a lot of water. At all times you must make sure that the person does not slip into a coma, since then things may start becoming more critical. Keep a careful watch on his breathing and do everything possible to keep him awake. Once he gets to the hospital and is under professional medical care, his stomach will be pumped to get rid of all the alcohol in his body. The alcohol in his blood stream too needs to be flushed out, and that is done with the help of kidney dialysis.

Of course the best way to prevent someone from having to endure such situations is to ask them to keep their drinking under check. However, if such a situation arises, then the things mentioned above are what you can do if someone is succumbing to alcohol poisoning in your presence, but proper alcohol poisoning treatment must be administered by a medical professional.