By Cassady Jeremias
On-line Forty-Niner

The difference between a tired drunken friend in a stupor and someone in serious danger of alcohol poisoning and death may sometimes be difficult to tell apart.
 
Binge drinking could be defined as having five or more drinks in one sitting, Larry Harvey, clinical coordinator of the Student Health Center and registered nurse said. By binging, alcohol does not filter out into the blood stream fast enough to feel all the effects at the same time. Once it catches up, it can cause euphoria and lowered inhibitions, but also nausea, blackouts, coma, and even death.
 
“When the body starts shutting down and becomes unresponsive, people get distracted, they don’t really understand what is going on,” Harvey said. “Someone could be sitting at the bar and look fine, but ask them to stand up.”
 
With a blood alcohol level of .08 it is illegal to drive in California. According to Be Responsible About Drinking, a non profit group out of Michigan, at twice that level, or blood alcohol content .16, the person appears as a sloppy drunk, and may experience some nausea. At .20, disorientation and blackouts may occur. Anything higher puts one at risk for death because of alcohol poisoning, Be Responsible About Drinking said.
 
At .35, the alcohol in the bloodstream is equivalent to that of surgical anesthesia, coma is possible. At this level and higher, the person is probably not walking around, or even responsive. Death is possible due to respiratory arrest or asphyxiation of vomit, the group’s Web site said.
 
Asphyxiation is the biggest danger with alcohol poisoning, Harvey said. If a person was put to bed in this state, they may be unresponsive and not able to wake up even if shaken. If the person vomits while lying on their back, they can choke to death. They are also at risk for respiratory arrest, where they stop breathing.
 
Harvey said vomiting is the body’s own way of ridding itself of the poison, but vomiting alone will not lower blood alcohol content because of its rapid absorption rate through the stomach into the bloodstream. The body does try and protect itself, by shutting down the best it can.
 
“If you drink so much you fall asleep you can’t drink anymore. That is the beauty of us. It will just shut itself down and won’t allow us to kill ourselves. But if you wake up and start drinking again you could kill yourself,” Harvey said.
 
Harvey has some suggestions for drinking safely, simply do not take your next drink until you feel the effects of the first one.
 
If you end up in a situation with a friend who just cannot stay awake and is showing one or more of the symptoms of alcohol poisoning, Harvey advised to keep a close eye on them and keep on their side and make sure they don’t throw up.
 
The most common symptoms are someone who is not responding while being talked to, pinched, cannot stand up or will not wake up, slow or labored breathing, purplish or clammy skin, rapid heart rate, or an irregular heart rhythm.
 
Last year, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and alcohol prevention released a study showing alcohol was linked to at least 1,400 deaths and 500,000 unintentional student injuries annually.
 
At Cal State Long Beach, alcohol poisoning is not as big of a problem here than at other campuses. Capt. Stan Skipworth, of the University Police said. The success is due to efforts on campus such as education by Student Health Services, monitoring at large events of campus, and more aggressive enforcement in problem areas. The Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug prevention program started by CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed and President Maxson also plays a role in monitoring and looking for problems before they start.

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