How to Diagnose Alcohol Poisoning

Dangerous alcohol consumption leads to a potentially life-threatening condition commonly called alcohol or ethanol poisoning. Victims need to receive immediate medical attention to allow a doctor to diagnose the severity of the illness.

Things You'll Need

• Physician

Instructions

Diagnose Cases of Alcohol Poisoning

1. Know the symptoms of alcohol poisoning. While it is always preferable to have a medical professional diagnose the condition, individuals can help by recognizing the signs of alcohol poisoning and taking action to get help for the victim. Common symptoms include confusion, vomiting, breathing abnormalities, weak pulse, hypothermia, bluish or yellowish skin and unresponsive unconsciousness.

2. Bring the victim to an emergency room immediately, where medical professionals can diagnose and treat the illness.

3. Understand that a doctor's first course of action will be to assess the physical, visible signs of alcohol poisoning. Blood pressure, responsiveness, breathing and pulse will all be checked. It will help the doctor if a sober person who has an idea how much alcohol was consumed by the victim is present, in the event that the victim is unconscious, still drunk or otherwise incapacitated.

4. Realize that doctors will commonly order blood tests to be performed on a suspected victim of alcohol poisoning. These are done to assess blood-alcohol levels, as well as the presence or absence of the vital blood sugars that are another telltale sign of excessive alcohol intoxication.

5. Know that urine samples may also be collected in order to confirm the doctor's diagnosis. In obvious or severe cases, this step may be skipped in order to administer treatment.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that prevention is the best cure. Keep alcohol consumption moderate. If it approaches potentially harmful levels, stop drinking immediately and re-hydrate the body with water or by consuming sports beverages that contain valuable hydrating electrolytes.

• All cases of alcohol poisoning should be treated as medical emergencies. Alcohol poisoning can be fatal due to toxicity levels of the blood, but victims also risk choking on or inhaling their own vomit due to alcohol's suppression of the gag reflex.

• Avoid administering acetaminophen to treat a hangover or suspected mild case of alcohol poisoning. If alcohol is still present in the system, its combination with acetaminophen is very taxing on the liver, and can lead to serious medical complications such as cirrhosis of the liver or, in extreme circumstances, death.

• If you feel well enough to go the hospital on your own, remember that you may still have intoxicating levels of alcohol in your system and that you should not operate a motorized vehicle.