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Acute alcohol poisoning is a medical emergency due to the risk of death from respiratory depression or aspiration of vomit if vomiting occurs while the person is unresponsive. Emergency treatment strives to stabilize and maintain an open airway and sufficient breathing while waiting for the alcohol to metabolize.
Treatment consists of stabilizing the person and using an antidote. The preferred antidote is fomepizole, with ethanol used if this is not available. Hemodialysis may also be used in those where there is organ damage or a high degree of acidosis. Other treatments may include sodium bicarbonate, folate, and thiamine. [2]
Extreme levels of consumption can cause alcohol poisoning and death; a concentration in the blood stream of 0.36% will kill half of those affected. [2] [3] [4] Alcohol may also cause death indirectly by asphyxiation, caused from vomiting. Alcohol can greatly exacerbate sleep problems.
It is the major cause of liver disease in Western countries, and is the leading cause of death from excessive drinking. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Although steatosis ( fatty liver disease ) will develop in any individual who consumes a large quantity of alcoholic beverages over a long period of time, this process is transient and reversible. [ 1 ]
Other conditions that may present similarly include other causes of high anion gap metabolic acidosis such as diabetic ketoacidosis, toxic alcohol ingestion, and starvation ketosis. [2] Toxic alcohol ingestion includes methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning. [6] Pancreatitis, alcoholic hepatitis, and gastritis may also result in similar ...
The symptoms caused by benzyl alcohol exposure include respiratory failure, hypotension, renal failure, severe metabolic acidosis, hematologic abnormalities, convulsions, paralysis gradual neurologic deterioration, cardiovascular collapse, sudden onset of gasping respiration, skin changes and vasodilation.
A growing body of evidence has shown links between cancer and drinking alcohol. In a warning Friday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said cancer risk increases with the number of drinks, but ...
Severe cognitive problems are common; approximately 10% of all dementia cases are related to alcohol consumption, making it the second leading cause of dementia. [52] Excessive alcohol use causes damage to brain function , and psychological health can be increasingly affected over time. [ 53 ]