Blood alcohol content Archives - Jeffrey Sterling, MD

From the Health Library of SterlingMedicalAdvice.com: "How can I get alcohol out of my system quicker?"

It’s a frequent misconception that there are a ton of remedies you can take to help you eliminate alcohol quicker or get less drunk. Alcohol is eliminated by what’s called zero-order kinetics. This process means that a fixed amount of alcohol is eliminated from the body at a time. Nothing you’re doing, including coating your stomach, eating (including a cheese tray) or drinking coffee is going to make you less intoxicated (referral to the legal definition of how much you have in your system). Now being less dehydrated helps the blood alcohol concentration, and drinking coffee (which is a stimulant and can counter the depressant effects of alcohol) may make you feel more alert, but my best remedy for you is to sleep it off (unless you’re intoxicated to the point that you need medical attention).
Bonus question: “Does vomiting help?”
Vomiting is only of value in eliminating alcohol that hasn’t yet been absorbed into the bloodstream. Once the alcohol is in your system, it needs to be eliminated as discussed.
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Straight, No Chaser: Alcohol Facts and Fiction – The Myth Busters Edition

I’m going to put my personal spin on an old favorite: Alcohol Facts vs. Fiction. Here’s your six-pack (plus one for the road) of common myths just waiting to be busted.
1. If I drink too much, I’ll get a beer belly.

FALSE: Any ‘belly’ is caused by poor dietary intake and insufficient exercise. A beer drinker who’s otherwise in shape won’t have a beer belly. The young lady in the picture above is more likely to get a beer belly from the potato chips than the booze, which will give her plenty else about which to be concerned.

2. I get drunker from mixing dark liquor and light liquor, or from switching between beers and wines.

FALSE: You’re drunk exclusively because of the concentration of alcohol in your body. Nothing more or less.

3. Drinking coffee sobers me up.

FALSE: Alcohol in eliminated from the body by a certain fixed percentage per hour, regardless of height, weight, age or sex. Nothing you’re doing, including drinking coffee or taking a cold shower is accelerating that process.

4. A man of the same height and weight as a woman can more easily tolerate the same amount of liquor.

TRUE: Women tend to get more affected by liquor than men because women (on average) have a higher proportion of fat stores than men. This allows the blood alcohol concentrate to become higher in women quicker when consuming the same amounts.

5. Drinking more frequently helps me ‘hold my liquor’ better.

TRUE OR FALSE, YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED IF THIS IS HAPPENING. If you find yourself better able to hold your liquor, your first concern should be whether or not you’re exhibiting signs of alcohol tolerance, with is an indication of dependency.

6. I can drive home because one or two drinks don’t make me drunk.

FALSE: For your purposes, drunk is a legal definition based on your blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Even if you feel fine, after a single drink, your BAC will be high enough to get you put behind bars if something happens and you’re tested, regardless as to how you ‘feel’.

7. I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a drunk. Alcoholics go to meetings. Drunks go to parties.

FALSE and only FUNNY until someone dies.
Actually, you both go to the emergency room. And to jail. Way too often. Like this guy arrested for a DWI after crashing into a cop car while wearing the shirt. Stay classy.

If you have any other questions or myths you’d like busted, tee them up for me, and I’ll address them. Cheers!