Buzz
Knowing how to take care of someone who is intoxicated can sometimes be life-saving. When someone drinks too much, they risk harming themselves or others, potentially facing alcohol poisoning or the danger of choking on vomit while sleeping. To care for an intoxicated person, you need to recognize the signs of alcohol poisoning, ensure their safety, and take the right steps to help them sober up.
Steps
Check if the person is alright
Ask how much alcohol they've consumed. Knowing how much the person has drunk helps determine the best course of action. The amount of alcohol consumed, the speed of drinking, their body size, their alcohol tolerance, and whether they've eaten before drinking are all factors that affect how drunk someone is. They might just need to sleep it off, but you cannot decide without knowing how much they've drunk.
- You could ask them, “How do you feel? Do you remember how much you've had? Have you eaten anything before drinking?” This way, you can gauge their level of intoxication. If they’ve had more than five drinks on an empty stomach, they may be dangerously drunk and could need medical care.
- If the person is slurring their speech and doesn’t understand what you’re saying, it may be a sign of alcohol poisoning. You should get them to the hospital as quickly as possible. If you've also been drinking, don’t drive. Call an ambulance or ask a sober, trustworthy person to take you and the intoxicated person to the hospital.
Warning: There's a possibility that someone may have spiked their drink, leading to symptoms resembling severe alcohol poisoning. If you know how much they have drunk, you can determine if they may have been drugged. For instance, if a person has only had 1 or 2 glasses of wine but shows signs of severe alcohol poisoning, it could mean something was mixed into their drink. If you suspect someone has been drugged, take them to the hospital immediately.
Explain what you intend to do before approaching or touching an intoxicated person. Depending on their level of intoxication, the person may be disoriented, confused, and unaware of your actions. They might lose their ability to reason, and if you force them to do something, they could lash out and harm themselves or others. Always explain to them what you're going to do.
- If the person is hugging the toilet and seems unwell, you could say: “Hey, I'm here if you need anything. Let me help you hold your hair back so it doesn't get in your way.”
- Never touch or move someone without asking first if it's okay.
- If the person passes out, try to wake them by calling out to see if they respond. Ask, “Hey, are you okay?”
- If they don't respond and seem unconscious, call for emergency help immediately.
Check for signs of alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning can be fatal if not treated promptly and properly. If the person exhibits symptoms like pale or cold skin, cold and sweaty skin, or slow and irregular breathing, call an ambulance or take them to the hospital immediately. Other signs of alcohol poisoning include vomiting, panic, and loss of consciousness.
- If the person is having seizures, their life is at risk. Don’t waste time—call an ambulance or get them to the hospital as quickly as possible.
Take the intoxicated person to a safe place to prevent them from harming themselves or others. If it's someone you know, you should take them home so they can sober up without causing harm to anyone. If you don't know the intoxicated person and are in a public place, try to find someone they know to help prevent them from getting into danger. If the person is so drunk they cannot care for themselves, you need to get them to a safe location.
- Don’t drive if you’ve been drinking, and never let an intoxicated person drive. Arrange for a sober person to take responsibility for driving or use a taxi service like Uber or Grabtaixi to get home safely.
- Take the intoxicated person to a comfortable and safe place like their home, your home, or a trusted friend’s house.
Ensure the safety of the intoxicated person while they sleep
Never leave a drunk person alone to fall asleep without supervision. A drunk person's body continues to absorb alcohol even when they are unconscious or sleeping, which can lead to alcohol poisoning. They are at risk of choking on vomit if they lie in the wrong position. Don't assume that once someone falls asleep, they are safe.
Tip: Remember the 4 signs to monitor for alcohol poisoning: cold, clammy skin or pale complexion, unconsciousness, uncontrollable vomiting, and slow or irregular breathing. If the intoxicated person shows any of these signs, immediately take them to the hospital.
Position the drunk person on their side by placing a pillow behind their back. If alcohol poisoning is not a concern, the person may just need rest for their body to process and eliminate alcohol from their system. However, they may vomit during sleep, risking suffocation. Ensure they remain in a side-lying position by propping a pillow behind them to prevent them from rolling onto their back.
- The person should sleep in a position that allows vomit to escape from their mouth in case they vomit during sleep.
- The fetal position is a safe sleeping position for an intoxicated person.
- Place an additional pillow in front of them to prevent them from rolling onto their stomach, which could impair their breathing.
Wake the intoxicated person every 5-10 minutes within the first hour. Even if they have stopped drinking, their body will continue processing the alcohol consumed. This means their blood alcohol level could rise while they sleep. For the first hour after the person falls asleep, wake them every 5-10 minutes and check for signs of alcohol poisoning.
- After the first hour, you may check on them about once an hour if they seem stable.
Make sure someone stays with the intoxicated person throughout the night. If the person is heavily intoxicated, they need constant supervision to prevent alcohol poisoning or choking on vomit. There must be someone with them overnight to monitor their breathing.
- If you don't know the person, ask if you can call someone to pick them up.
- Never leave a drunk person to watch over another intoxicated person. If you've been drinking too, ask someone sober to help monitor them.
- If you're at a restaurant or bar and don't know the drunk person, inform staff that someone in need of assistance is present. Don't leave them until you're sure someone responsible is caring for them.
Helping a Drunk Person Sober Up
Prevent them from drinking more alcohol. A person who is already intoxicated is at risk of alcohol poisoning if they continue drinking. The more they drink, the more their cognitive function diminishes, increasing the likelihood of harm to themselves or others.
- Try to speak directly and prevent them from drinking more. You could say something like, 'Hey, you’ve had enough already. I’m a little worried. I’m not letting you have another drink.'
- If the drunk person is becoming aggressive, try distracting them with a non-alcoholic beverage or play their favorite music or movie.
- If they refuse to listen, ask someone close to them to intervene and advise them to stop drinking.
- If you can't convince them and you're concerned they might become violent or harm themselves or others, call the police.
Make the drunk person drink water. Drinking water helps dilute the alcohol in their bloodstream and can speed up the sobering process. Alcohol causes dehydration, so offering water will also help alleviate their fatigue the next day.
- Give them a glass of water before they go to sleep.
- Offer them sports drinks like Gatorade to restore sodium and electrolytes that are depleted during alcohol consumption.
Give the drunk person some food. Fatty foods such as cheese sandwiches and pizza can reduce the effects of alcohol and slow the absorption of alcohol from the stomach into the bloodstream. While it won’t lower their blood alcohol level, eating can help them feel better and reduce the rate at which alcohol is absorbed.
- Be careful not to overfeed them, as it could lead to vomiting. A sandwich and a few chips are fine, but don’t let them eat a whole pizza or multiple sandwiches at once, or they might end up vomiting.
- If they’re not interested in eating much, you can try giving them salty snacks like peanuts or crackers.
Avoid giving coffee to the drunk person unless absolutely necessary. People often turn to coffee to stay awake, but while it may make the drunk person feel more alert, coffee does not reduce blood alcohol levels. Furthermore, the caffeine in coffee can dehydrate the body, slow down the alcohol metabolism, and worsen hangover symptoms the next day.
- Black coffee can irritate the stomach and may cause vomiting, especially if the person isn't used to it.
Advice: Giving a drunk person a cup of coffee can be helpful if you're worried they might fall asleep, but remember they should also drink at least one glass of water to compensate for the dehydration caused by coffee.
Don’t try to make the drunk person vomit. Induced vomiting won’t reduce their blood alcohol content, and it only dehydrates the body further, which can prolong the time it takes for alcohol to be processed and eliminated from the system.
- If they feel the urge to vomit, stay close to them to prevent any falls or injuries. Vomiting is the body’s natural way of expelling alcohol still in the stomach.
Give the drunk person time to sober up. Once alcohol has entered the body, the only way to eliminate it is by allowing the body sufficient time to process it. It takes about one hour for the body to process one standard drink. Many factors affect how long it will take for someone to sober up, but that’s the only way to rid the body of alcohol.
- Even a full night’s sleep isn’t enough to process all the alcohol consumed. They should not drive if they are still under the influence.
Warning
- Never let a drunk person drive or operate machinery. If they insist on driving, try to secretly take their car keys or call the police to prevent them from harming themselves or others.
