What Is Alcohol Poisoning?

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Dr. David Thomas. I'm a practicing psychotherapist with Whitford Thomas Group in Tampa, Florida. Here to discuss, what is alcohol poisoning? Alcohol poisoning, first of all, alcohol is a depressant and therefore depresses the nerves that are responsible primarily for involuntary actions in the body such as breathing and gag reflex. Gag reflex is designed to prevent us from choking. So, intoxication certainly, alco heavy intoxication alcohol poisoning will affect both breathing as well as the ability to prevent choking. Now, alcohol is an irritant to the stomach so oftentimes when we are intoxicated, vomiting is a common symptom of that. If the system is compromised, certainly the gag reflex is compromised by the alcohol poisoning to the system, one's ability to kind of manage that vomiting or throwing up process is going to be affected. Oftentimes asphyxiation occurs, an individual kind of dies based upon a kind of die on their own vomit. Now, since alcohol also affects the breathing, one's ability to have normal breathing function is going to be affected as well. Oftentimes the breathing becomes very shallow, very slow, and since alcohol is a sedative, one's ability to think can kind of have their faculties intact or going to be affected. So, the individual's ability to deal with the intoxication is going to greatly affect their ability to function as well. But both areas primarily get compromised and some breathing and certainly the gag reflex, and so those are two areas that we get most concerned about with alcohol poisoning and certainly with our youth, as well as all the folks but certainly in our youth. They kind of thrilled and the risk of intoxication is very attractive, so we certainly want to discourage young people to involve in heavy or binge drinking. Well, I hope this information has been helpful to you. From Tampa, Florida, I'm Dr. David Thomas."