Here's a warning: alcohol can kill, especially if you drink too much. In fact, more than 2,000 people die every year because of alcohol poisoning.
What is alcohol poisoning? As its name suggests, it's the toxic response of the body to alcohol. Keep in mind that the body isn't designed to take substances such as alcohol, so this drink somehow alters the way your body works.
For example, when you drink, you initially feel relaxed. However, the more you drink, the more you become dehydrated. This explains why you get some hangover once the effects of the alcohol have died down. A high level of dehydration, however, can change your heartbeat, body temperature, and brain activity. In the worst case, this can lead to poisoning that results in either coma or death.
A person who is believed to have been poisoned by too much alcohol drinking suffers from a very slow heartbeat, pale skin, irregular breathing, confusion, seizure, and unconsciousness.
But what causes alcohol poisoning? Or to be more specific, how much alcohol can put your life in grave danger? The answer is binge drinking-that is, drinking a lot in a short amount of time. For the women, it's 4 drinks and 5 drinks for men in a span of two hours. It's also considered binging if you drink on a consistent basis over a number of days or even years.
A recent research that analyzes information btween 2010 and 2012 for people over 15 reveals that not all who binge drink are alcohol dependent. In fact, only 30% of them died from alcohol poisoning. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, binge drinking is more common among adults who are 45 years old to 54 years old. In other words, it's far less common among teens.
Federal authorities are therefore urging all concerned agencies and communities to step up on their strategies particularly in discouraging people from drinking alcohol and binge drinking. These may include going after those that sell illegal alcohol and limiting places that can serve the beverage.
