Symptom of alcohol poisoning and treatment at home

Symptoms after alcohol poisoning arise for several reasons. We will describe them below. It should also be noted that such unpleasant signs of intoxication are clearly pronounced. Do not notice them quite difficult.

general information

Alcohol poisoning (symptoms, treatment at home will be described further) takes the leading position in our country among all domestic poisonings. In more than 60% of cases, this condition leads to death. Most of them (about 95-98%) occur before the provision of medical care.

Since to recognize the symptoms of severe alcohol poisoning and what measures to take in order to avoid tragic consequences? You will learn about this in the article presented.

What is alcohol?

Alcohol refers to beverages that contain ethanol (wine or ethyl alcohol). This is a chemical colorless and volatile substance of moderate toxic activity, which is easily ignited. Ethanol can be mixed with ordinary water in any quantities. It easily dissolves in fats, and also easily penetrates biological membranes and spreads rapidly throughout the body.

Intoxication, poisoning, intoxication

Alcoholic intoxication represents a special state of human HC that arises from the intake of beverages containing ethanol.

There are four degrees of intoxication:

• lung;
• average;
• Heavy;
• coma.

At the initial stage, this state manifests itself as an unreasonably joyful, as well as upbeat mood (i.e., euphoria). Consciousness of the drunken persists (there may be minor disturbances). After a while, the thinking processes slow down. In addition, the mental and physical activity of a person decreases, the oppression of his consciousness occurs, and he becomes sluggish, sluggish and sleepy.

With the development of coma, they say strong alcohol poisoning.

As for severe intoxication, this condition is associated with the toxic effect of the products of the decomposition of ethanol on the human body.

What are the symptoms of alcohol poisoning?

Speaking about the symptoms of alcohol poisoning, we can not fail to note the fact that they can manifest themselves in different ways. It depends on the amount of drink and the quality of the drinks. In addition, the symptom of alcohol poisoning is closely related to which system or human body has been exposed to toxic effects.

GIT

In the primary lesion of the digestive system, a person experiences abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. What is associated with each listed symptom of alcohol poisoning?

Pain in the abdomen is due to the direct damaging effect of ethanol on the mucosa of the small intestine and stomach.

Diarrhea occurs due to a violation of the absorption of minerals, water and fat, as well as a rapidly occurring deficiency of the enzyme, which is necessary for the assimilation of lactose.

Nausea is a sign of general intoxication.

As for vomiting, most often it has a central character. In other words, it is associated with the toxic effect of alcohol on the central nervous system.

CNS

When a nervous system is affected, a person observes: mental excitement, delirium, euphoria, impaired coordination of movements, hallucinations, increased sweating, seizures, decreased body temperature, pupil dilatation, attention impairment, thermoregulation, and speech and perception.

Each mentioned symptom of alcohol poisoning is associated with a violation of the metabolism of nerve cells, oxygen starvation, damage to the action of ethanol on the cells of the central nervous system and the toxic effect of the intermediate products of the decomposition of alcohol (acetate, acetaldehyde, ketone bodies).

CAS

The first signs of alcohol poisoning from the heart are:

• A decrease in blood pressure;
• cardiopalmus;
• dizziness;
• Redness of the face;
• General weakness;
• Pallor of the skin;
• malaise.

The appearance of such symptoms is due to the fact that the patient loses a lot of fluid during diarrhea or vomiting. Also, due to increased vascular wall permeability, fluid from the vascular bed passes into the space between the cells. To compensate for the volume of blood (circulating), the human body includes the following compensatory mechanisms: narrowing of peripheral vessels and increased heart rate. Due to this, the blood is redistributed and saturates more important organs.

Respiratory tract

How does alcohol poisoning affect the respiratory system? Symptoms with such a lesion are expressed in the following:

• Acute respiratory failure;
• Noisy and rapid breathing.

The listed signs arise because of the defeat of the respiratory center, the development of cerebral edema and metabolic disturbance. The emergence of acute respiratory failure is associated with the tongue's westernization, ingestion of the vomit into the respiratory tract and reflex spasm of the bronchi, larynx.

Renal system

With renal damage, the patient has increased urination or, conversely, decreased urination (sometimes until completely absent).

Such conditions are due to the fact that by decreasing the secretion of the antidiuretic hormone (hypothalamus, which delays water in the body), ethanol increases the process of urination. In addition, alcohol facilitates the removal of calcium, potassium, magnesium from the human body, disrupting their absorption in the intestine. Thus, there is a shortage of these elements.

In severe cases, ethanol damages the structure of the kidneys.

Damage to the liver

Symptoms of alcoholic liver poisoning are also pronounced. These include severe pain in the right upper quadrant, as well as yellowing of the skin and sclera. Such signs arise because of the damaging effects of ethanol on liver cells and intracellular metabolism.

Acute alcohol poisoning: symptoms

In case of severe poisoning, the patient may fall into a coma. At the same time, he loses consciousness, and also does not respond to any external stimuli (for example, loud noises, patting his cheeks, tingling, and others).

The concentration of alcohol in the systemic blood stream, equal to 3 g / l and above, causes someone. At present, two phases are distinguished: superficial and deep. Consider their symptoms in more detail.

• Superficial coma.

Such a state is characterized by: loss of consciousness, floating movements of eyeballs, decreased pain sensitivity, excessive salivation, different pupils (narrowed-enlarged), reaction to irritation by defensive movements or changes in facial expressions, palpitations, reddening of the skin and eyes, dyspnoea .

• Deep coma.

Symptoms of poisoning with alcohol surrogates are often accompanied by a loss of pain sensitivity, a decrease in body temperature, the absence of tendon reflexes, seizures, loss of muscle tone, a decrease in blood pressure, pallor or blueness of the skin, a decrease in the depth and frequency of breathing, a pronounced increase in heart rate.

Severity of alcohol intoxication

The symptom of alcohol poisoning may be mild or severe. What does it depend on? We will give the answer to this question right now.

• The amount drunk. When large amounts of ethanol enter the human body, especially at one time, the liver does not have time to process it. Thus, the products of incomplete alcohol decomposition accumulate in the blood, after which damage such vital organs as the brain, liver, kidneys, heart and others.
• Age. To the action of alcohol, the most sensitive are the children and the elderly. This is due to the fact that adolescents have not yet formed all the necessary mechanisms for neutralization, and for the elderly they no longer fulfill their function in the right capacity.
• Individual intolerance. Personal intolerance to ethanol and, as a consequence, the rapid development of intoxication is especially frequent in the Mongoloid race. This is due to the fact that they have reduced the activity of a special enzyme, which is necessary for complete cleavage of alcohol.
• Pregnancy, malnutrition, overwork, pancreas, liver and diabetes. Such conditions reduce the work and the detoxifying function of the main cleansing organ (liver).
• The combination of alcohol and medication. The toxic effect of alcohol is several times higher with simultaneous reception with such drugs as tranquilizers, hypnotics, antidepressants, NSAIDs and others.
• Additives and impurities. The toxic effect of alcohol increases due to such additives and impurities as methyl alcohol, aldehydes, higher alcohols, ethylene glycol, furfural and others.
• Ethanol consumption on an empty stomach. When you take alcohol on an empty stomach, it is absorbed into the blood in a half dose, which can lead to severe poisoning.

What to do with intoxication?

Now you know why alcohol poisoning occurs. Symptoms and treatment of this condition are presented in this article.

If you notice that after drinking alcohol your friend has become ill, then immediately call an ambulance. This is due to the following points:

• A severe pathological condition, caused by alcohol intoxication, quite often leads to a fatal outcome.
• Only an experienced doctor can assess the condition of the victim and prescribe a treatment.
• Poisoning therapy requires the use of a number of medications.
• In most cases, severe alcohol intoxication is administered in the intensive care unit or intensive care unit.

First aid at home

How should alcoholic poisoning be treated (symptoms and treatment of this condition are described in this article)? First, you need to call a specialist. While the doctor is on the way, the first aid is required to be provided to the victim. What is it?

• Providing airway patency. To do this, it is required to remove the patient's tongue (with its westernization), and then clean the oral cavity. If possible, a rubber bulb should be used. With excessive salivation, the patient should be administered intravenously 1.0-0.1% atropine. These measures are necessary for adequate intake of oxygen and prevention of blocking of the upper respiratory tract.
• Give the victim the correct position (on his side) and fix his tongue (for example, press with a finger or a spoon).
• Perform artificial respiration and indirect cardiac massage (with respiratory and cardiac arrest). Such procedures must be performed before the appearance of palpitation and breathing.
• Bring the victim to consciousness if he has lost him. To do this, to the nose of the patient it is necessary to bring cotton wool with ammonia.
• Induce vomiting (only if the person is conscious). To do this, it must be given a saline solution or a special remedy that causes vomiting. This procedure is effective only in the first hours after drinking ethanol.

If the listed methods do not help, then resort to the following:

• Gastric lavage. The victim is given the maximum amount of water, and then presses on the root of the tongue.
• Warming the patient. The person is placed in a warm bed and covered with a blanket.
• Admission of adsorbent. The victim is given sorbents capable of absorbing various types of toxins. They accelerate the clearance and removal of alcohol from the body.

Medicines for the treatment of alcohol poisoning

In the hospital, the victim can be assigned the following funds:

• The drug "Metadoxil" intramuscularly. It is a medicine that was created specifically to treat alcohol poisoning. It increases the activity of enzymes, which is responsible for the utilization of ethanol. Thus, the agent under consideration accelerates the processing and elimination of alcohol. In addition, it restores liver cells and improves the mental state of the victim.
• Vitamins and glucose, mixed in one syringe. Such a cocktail improves the metabolic processes, and also speeds up the neutralization and excretion of ethanol. In addition, it reduces the risk of psychosis of alcoholic origin.
• Droppers for water-mineral balance. They improve the circulation of blood along the vessels, and also contribute to the restoration of the necessary water and mineral balance.

It should also be noted that the symptoms of alcoholic poisoning of the pancreas and liver require the use of hepatoprotectors. Such medicines improve the work of these organs, restore damaged cells and accelerate the decontamination of ethanol.

Often with alcohol intoxication, doctors use the drugs "Pyrozole" and "Fomepizol". These are the newest antidotes, used for poisoning with ethylene glycol and methyl alcohol. They reduce the activity of the hepatic enzyme and interrupt the formation of toxic elements.