The liver can only break down a certain amount of alcohol per hour, which for an average person is around one standard drink 8. The blood alcohol concentration BAC rises, and the feeling of drunkenness occurs, when alcohol is drunk faster than the liver can break it down. However, BAC does not correlate exactly with symptoms of drunkenness and different people have different symptoms even after drinking the same amount of alcohol. NB - The legal drink driving limits for drivers 20 years and over are a breath alcohol limit of micrograms mcg of alcohol per litre of breath and a blood alcohol limit of 50mg of alcohol per ml of blood.
The alcohol limit for drivers under 20 years is zero. Have a look at a table of the symptoms of effects at different levels of blood alcohol concentration BAC. Go to the health effects section to find out how alcohol can affect your health.
This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The health care provider will measure and monitor the person's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure.
The person may receive:. Survival over 24 hours past the drinking binge usually means the person will recover. A withdrawal syndrome may develop as alcohol levels in the blood drop, so the person should be observed and kept safe for at least another 24 hours.
Aronson JK. Ethanol alcohol. In: Aronson JK, ed. Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs. Waltham, MA: Elsevier; Lee JP. Acute alcohol and drug poisoning. In: Lee JP, ed. The effect on your body depends on your age, gender, weight and the type of alcohol.
Your bloodstream distributes alcohol quickly to your brain, kidney, lungs and liver. On average, your liver takes an hour to break down one unit of alcohol. This can depend on:. If your weight is low, you feel the effects of alcohol more quickly because you have less tissue to absorb alcohol. Most children and young people are smaller and weigh less than adults.
Alcohol can affect them quickly. Your body changes as you reach old age. You have increased body fat and decreased body water. This affects how your body processes alcohol.
If you still drink the same amount of alcohol you drank in adulthood, you feel the effects more severely. Older people who drink too much alcohol are at greater risk of physical and mental health problems including:. Alcohol affects women more quickly than men. Women are usually smaller and weigh less than men, and have less tissue to absorb alcohol. The woman will get drunk more quickly and feel the effects for longer.
They have lower levels of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol. Women feel the effects of alcohol more quickly before a period and during ovulation. The contraceptive pill can have the opposite effect — it takes longer for alcohol to leave the body. A woman in this situation might drink more than she realises before she feels the effects.
You absorb 20 per cent of alcohol into your bloodstream through your stomach and the rest into your bloodstream through your small intestine. Drinking a small amount of alcohol stimulates your appetite because it increases the flow of stomach juices. A large amount of alcohol dulls your appetite and can cause malnutrition. You can develop a stomach ulcer by drinking too much alcohol. This can happen when the stimulated gastric juices mix with the high alcohol content and irritate your stomach lining.
Alcohol dulls the parts of your brain that control how your body works. This affects your actions and your ability to make decisions and stay in control.
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