Apparently a lot of individuals are unaware that if they drink too much too quickly, they can experience symptoms of an alcohol overdose.  What is more, many individuals are also unaware that in certain instances, people can die from alcohol poisoning.

There are, however, several people who are very aware of the dangers of alcohol poisoning.  Question:  why do these “more knowledgeable” individuals get inebriated and do so on a fairly regular basis?  Do these individuals think that drinking deaths only happen to someone else?  Do they think that because they are in relatively good physical condition that hazardous and abusive drinking cannot kill them?  Are they in denial about their own mortality?

Whatever the reason, every year thousands of alcohol abusers in the U.S. suffer from an alcohol overdose and approximately once per week, someone needlessly dies from alcohol poisoning.

Last night the TV news anchor reflected on the death of a fifteen-year-old girl who died from alcohol poisoning and then asked the following questions: “How can we teach our teenagers more about alcohol abuse and binge drinking so that they do not kill themselves from an alcohol overdose?  Do we need to overhaul our educational system so that our students can better learn how to avoid the risks of hazardous and abusive drinking?

In a similar manner, what part do parents play in substantially reducing the incidents of teenage alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency in our society?  Is it possible that many of our pre-teens and teenagers gravitate to alcohol when they face difficulties because they lack the coping skills that are needed to deal with their problems?”

Andy left the bar around 10 PM and went home to sleep off his drunkenness.  When he woke up the next morning he had a throbbing headache and an even more painful hangover.  Furthermore, his body ached so badly that he felt like he fell out of his car while he was driving home the previous night from the bar.

After calling off “sick” at the office, he camped out on the couch, watched some TV, slept, and pretty much did a lot of nothing for most of the day before he started to feel half-way “normal.”  When he thought about his drinking from the previous night and the great discomfort he suffered through earlier in the morning, he wondered if perhaps what he had gone through was really symptoms of alcohol poisoning.  As terribly as he felt, the thought that he may have had alcohol poisoning from his abusive drinking made him feel even worse.

I went to a car dealer’s customer appreciation party today.  There was plenty of food and plenty liquid refreshments including soda, bottled water, and bud lite.  I noticed that most of the people drank responsibly but there were a few guys who just couldn’t get enough of the “free” beer.  In fact, I’m sure that a few of the guys got a real good “buzz” from drinking many cans of beer.

At one point, one of the guys who was drinking quite heavily asked me if I wanted a beer.  The funny part is that he knows that I don’t drink.  I think he was just testing me to see if I would “give in” and have a beer.  I declined his offer and then told him how thankful I was that I don’t drink because I never have to worry about getting a DUI or suffer from alcohol poisoning and I know that I am not ruining my health from abusive drinking.

According to various research studies, even though 40 percent of college freshmen say they binge drink (four or more drinks on one occasion for females and five or more drinks on one occasion for males), a new study has discovered the fact that that up to 20 percent of male college students go quite a bit further than the binge drinking threshold, ingesting more than 10 or 15 drinks per drinking occasion.

Not only is this statistic shocking because such drinking behavior can lead to major problems if any of these college students were to drive, but this kind of hazardous and abusive drinking can also lead to alcohol poisoning, which in some instances can be fatal.

Whenever a person goes out to drink, he or she should NOT drink on an empty stomach. Alcohol poisoning occurs when a person has had significantly more alcohol than the person’s liver can process (or metabolize). This really means that a person should NOT drink abusively or excessively at ANY time.  In other words, a person should drink in moderation and responsibly or not at all.

Any time a person drinks irresponsibly, he or she is engaging in alcohol abuse.  And if a person’s abusive drinking is excessive, then he or she can experience alcohol poisoning (also called an alcohol overdose).

I know it sounds easy and may seem like a cop-out, but the best way to avoid an alcohol overdose is:  1) Do not drink on an empty stomach and 2) Always drink responsibly and in moderation.

Apparently a number of people do not realize that alcohol poisoning doesn’t only happen when a person involves himself or herself in one heavy drinking incident but that it may also happen from a constant infusion of alcohol in the blood stream.

In other words, while most instances of alcohol poisoning probably occur after a person has consumed significantly more than his or her body can metabolize during one drinking situation, it is also possible for a person who is a chronic alcohol abuser or an alcoholic to also experience an alcohol overdose due to excessive drinking over a period of time.

The alcoholism and alcohol abuse research findings substantiate the fact that in rare situations, alcohol poisoning can be deadly.  Alcohol poisoning can be particularly problematic for adolescents who have a strong need to impress their friends with their drinking ability but who, because of their inexperience and youth, do not realize how hazardous and abusive drinking will affect their behavior, their mind, and their body.

And the part about an alcohol overdose that is most unfortunate is that all instances of alcohol poisoning are preventable if people could refrain from unhealthy and excessive drinking.

Apparently a lot of people do not realize that alcohol poisoning can happen to someone who gets intoxicated only once or twice per year.  In other words, if a person only gets drunk on his or her birthday, for example, he or she is still engaging in alcohol abuse.  And if the person has had significantly more alcohol than his or her liver can metabolize, he or she can experience an alcohol overdose.  And the worst part of this is that in rare circumstances, an alcohol overdose can be fatal.

The bottom line is this:  in order to avoid alcohol abuse or alcohol poisoning, a person needs to always drink in moderation or not al all.