Helping a Drunk Friend




Your friend has had too much to drink? To avoid further problems, here's ways you can help them:

- Don't offer or give them any more alcohol.

- Give them water and try to convince them to drink it (NEVER force them to drink water or eat, their gag reflexes are DULLED and they may CHOKE on it! I say give them water because alcohol is very dehydrating and that can be dangerous)

- Keep your friend warm using blankets or a hoodie. (EVEN if they FEEL warm, their high alcohol-blood levels lower their body temperature!)

- Sit them down, and if they pass out, lay them ON THEIR SIDE. You lay them on their side because if they are laying on their back or stomach, they can still vomit when they're passed out, and they can drown in their own vomit. (Nasty.)



SOURCES:

Go Ask Alice!

Alcoholism: How to take care of a drunk friend

Today I'll be showing everyone an article on how to take care of a friend or roommate when they're wasted. Sometimes something as simple as WATCHING and KNOWING what to do can save someone's life, or save them from doing something they'd regret.





Steps

1. Recognize someone who has had one too many. It's quite simple to notice, thanks to the slurred speech, questionable walking technique, unusual or embarrassing behavior and so on.


2. Step in to discourage further drinking. Try distracting them, taking them out for a breath of fresh air, suggest it is time to call it a night. At least take responsibility for making their drinks - and make them very weak.


3. You can get away with giving someone who is very drunk soft drinks, hand them a coke, claim it contains vodka. Chances are they won't even notice.


4. Do your best to avoid them causing themselves physical injury especially through falling. Help them to a safe seat or the floor. If the person begins to heave try to help them to an appropriate place to vomit.


5. Encourage them to sip water with salt in it. If they drink it, they will throw up alcohol. Make sure they are not laying down while throwing up, for risk of choking.

6. If a person is laying down when they begin to heave/vomit place them in the recovery position (on their side with the higher knee bent) to prevent choking.


7. This is the important part - do not leave someone who is very drunk to fall asleep alone. Stay in the room with them - watch a film, TV, read a book or clean up after the party but keep them in the room with you. If you take them home ensure a responsible person will do the same.


8. Check regularly to ensure they respond to being stirred. Say their name loudly, ask them firmly to open their eyes, prod them and look for a response. Watch the chest/abdomen for breathing movements. 12- 20 breaths per minute is normal.


9. If breathing becomes slow (8 breaths per minute or less) and they are unresponsive to being prodded and pinched firmly this suggests alcohol poisoning. Blue lips, rapid pulse and cold clammy hands/ feet are also possible signs.


10. If you spot these signs don't panic call 999/911/112/110, or your area's emergency number immediately. Explain the situation clearly.


11. Stay with the person keep them warm and continue to monitor breathing. If a qualified first aider is available call on them for help whilst waiting for the ambulance.


12. If someone else is present send them to direct the ambulance paramedics to your position.





Tips

* Do not jeopardize your own health when looking after the person. Do not try to physically lift a drunken person or stop someone much larger than you falling down--you may injure your back. Instead concentrate on protecting their head.


* If someone gets into a drunken state having taken in seemingly little alcohol they may be lightweight but be wary of drinks being spiked. If you suspect this get the person home and report it.


* Telling the person the danger they put themselves in may stop them from over-indulging again.


* If the person you suspect to be suffering from alcohol poisoning is underage do not put off calling the emergency services for fear of getting them in trouble. The younger a person is, the more suseptable to alcohol they are and the longer you leave them, the worse they could get.





Warnings

* Remain calm if the person's symptoms begin to concern you. Don't panic but do call the ambulance. It is far better to be safe than sorry, let people who are trained make the decisions.


* If they are asleep, make sure they are on their side, with their face facing the same way as their body is , NOT on the stomach or back, for either way they could drown in their vomit. If they vomit, they can aspirate it, and die (John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Bon Scott of AC/DC, Eric “Stumpy Joe” Childs of Spinal Tap, and others).


* Don't be the person who needs this kind of help. Don't assume people around you will know what to do to help you.


* Don't induce vomiting in a person who is drunk.


* Never allow someone who is drunk behind the wheel of a car, ever.



This extremely informative how-to guide was written by the users of WikiHow: How to Take Care of a Drunk Person.


Stay safe everyone!

Alcoholism and Parents



Image courtesy of Photobucket.


Parents are God in the eyes of a child. Their parents, after all, gave them life, and continue to care for them as they grow up. It's not easy, though. There's a delicate balance to that, and if the balance gets messed up with things that shouldn't be there, it can result in psychological damages to your children and negatively alter how they view and interact with the world.

Alcohol, as you guessed, is one of those things that can disrupt a child if not done responsibly.

Example: It's ok if Sally's parents are at a wedding and would like a glass of wine to celebrate.

ANOTHER Example: BUT, it's not okay for Sally's parents to get completely trashed while Sally is watching cartoons on tv, or doing her homework at the table, or even if she's sleeping in her bed.


These things seem obvious to most of you. But to a lot of people, drinking excessively with a child around is the norm.

Let's look at the statistics.

- Approximately 43% of American adults have had a child, parent, sibling or spouse who is or was an alcoholic.

- In general, unmarried workers (divorced, separated or never married) have about twice the rate of alcoholism or alcohol abuse as married workers.

- Non-alcoholic members of alcoholic's families use 10 times as much sick leave as families where alcohol is not a problem. 80% of these family members report their ability to perform work is impaired as a result of living with an alcohol abuser.

- Research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk than other children of becoming alcoholics.


This is horrible. Kids shouldn't be exposed to ANY types of drunken behaviors. For many reasons...


1.) What if your kid were in trouble, or got severely hurt? How are you supposed to help them properly if you're drunk and unable to remain steady?

2.) Alcoholics tend to mimic Bipolar Disorder with irrational mood swings and anger. These outbursts can scare your kid, make them more distant from you, and result in their own form of rebellion later on.

3.) Kids can be demanding, kids can be bratty. That's how kids are. Even golden children have thrown at least ONE temper tantrum. If you're an excessive drinker, you're not going to be able to be calm about this. Alcohol tends to make people more aggressive..leading to violence...leading to physically HURTING your child and having them taken AWAY from you!




Parents who abuse alcohol...it's a serious problem. You're not just effecting YOU anymore when you have children. You're effecting them too.

My own father was an alcoholic. He would lie, manipulate, and say very cruel things. He became selfish when he was drinking. He became mean and hateful. That wasn't even CLOSE to the man he was before.

I'd be damned if I'd ever tell anyone it's okay to be an alcoholic with a child. I've heard so many things where people hate their parents, drink THEMSELVES, because of their parents habit.




Copying with Alcoholic Parents

Children of Alcoholics

How Can You Help Your Alcoholic Parent?

Hi guys! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've made a post. Volunteer work and college related things were calling! But I now bring you a new entry...


Drinking & Pregnancy


Is it ever okay to drink at ANY time of your pregnancy? What if you didn't know you were pregnant? What would be the effects? And if you KNEW you were pregnant but drank anyway?

According to recent 2006 studies, even LIGHT drinking on the FIRST TRIMESTER resulted in a form of damage to the child in question.

"During the first trimester," said Willford, "45 percent of the women drank, on average, less than one drink per day." Despite these relatively low levels of alcohol consumption, researchers found an association with subtle difficulties with learning and memory in the offspring at 14 years of age, specifically in the auditory/verbal domain. "This indicates that drinking during the first trimester of pregnancy … has long-term effects on development. Many women do not realize they are pregnant and/or seek prenatal care during this critical time," said Willford.


Teen doing homework. Photo courtesy of Photobucket


Bear in mind, Mommies. There IS no safe drinking while pregnant.

Now that we've tackled if there's any point in a pregnancy where you can drink, what that does, etc.

What happens if you drink anyway? This leads us to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), is what happens mentally and physically to your child due to the consumption of alcohol while pregnant.

The mental effects of FAS are as follows:


+ Mental retardation; slow development.

+ Huge functioning issues with things such as talking, moving, and thinking.


Brain comparison. Image courtesy of HopeByTheSea.

This can obviously be devastating to any parent, any grandparent, any relation to the baby. And it makes life so hard on the child..harder to get through school, harder for social acceptance and making friends. Basically it sucks.

Now for the physical characteristics...

+ Very slow growth in and out of the womb.

+ Deformity.

+ Abnormal heart.



Photo courtesy of Medline Plus



And if it's not those problems...alcohol consumption during pregnancy can result in miscarriage, still birth, and premature birth.


Pregnant woman. Photo courtesy of PhotoBucket.


+ 51% of women of child-bearing age between 18-25 and 53% between 26-34, report the use of alcohol within the past month.

+ An estimate of 1 child is born everyday with FAS in Canada.

+ FASD affects 1 in 100 infants each year, more than autism, and downs syndrome, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida and sudden infant death syndrome combined.

+ It's NOT genetic. If you have FAS, you will have perfectly healthy babies as long as you don't drink alcohol while pregnant.



Alcohol is a poison to your body. Why do you think you throw up if you drink too much? It's a toxic that you're body is trying to protect you from. Anything you consume while pregnant, your baby gets it too. Once you are pregnant, it's not just about your wants anymore, it's about what you should do for you and your child's health.

If you are struggling with alcohol, please seek a rehabilitation center in your area.

Don't know if you're pregnant? FIND OUT. Don't wait once you start noticing the signs.

If you have already drank some alcohol before discovering you were pregnant, STOP NOW. Stopping right away helps decrease the chance of your child getting FAS.



Credits

- Statistics were from National Organization of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

- Quotes on drinking during early pregnancy from About.Com: Alcoholism.

Alcohol and Sex.

"You slept with who?" "Yeah, man. I was wasted. She looks better that way."


Photo from WeHeartIt.



We all the basic thing about alcohol. Some don't taste all that good because it's strong, some taste alright because it's mixed, it impairs your judgment, clouds your thinking, and as I posted before, drinking too much of it can result in alcohol poisoning and kill you.

But honestly, one of the BIGGEST things I hear about alcohol is what it does to you sexually.

- In 1997, 40% of convicted rape and sexual assault offenders said that they were drinking at the time of their crime.

I've heard so much about people who have been raped or assaulted in some way because either 1.) They were passed out from being under the influence of alcohol, or 2.) their attacker was under the influence of alcohol.

Examples of these stories:

"Three more people have been arrested in connection with the gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl outside her high school homecoming dance in an attack that has generated widespread outrage."
(This story can be found here.)


"She says her last memory is of passing out on the bathroom floor and waking up in intense pain at 10 am, her clothes in a heap around her ankles."
(This story, also an alcohol/gang rape, is here.)


"I got really drunk and blacked out and this guy had sex with me while I was passed out and he's 24."
(This experience is here.)


So as you can see, rape is sadly one of the many common dysfunctions that come with being under the influence or intoxicated by alcohol.

Similar things that tend to go wrong have to do with pictures. The internet is a window to absolutely EVERYONE'S room. If you post something, it's there forever. If you put a photo out, it stays, and it can and most likely will circulate somehow. Sometimes it can damage your reputation. It can humiliate you, all sorts of things.

There's a lot of cases in which women are passed out, undressed, and have photos taken of them and posted online.

"a 30-year-old Sarasota man was arrested Monday after he stripped a sleeping woman of her clothes, took photographs of her nude body and then forgot to take the camera with him."
(this full story can be found here.)






Next to all that, there's the obvious.

IT'S KIND OF HARD TO PUT ON A CONDOM PROPERLY OR AT ALL WHEN YOU'RE DRUNK.

That means...PREGNANCY OR STDS. How fun.

Let's look at Knocked Up for an example of that.





Yup, funny movie. But not a funny situation if it happened to YOU.

Considering 1.) you might be in college and not ready for a child, 2.) might just not in general be ready for a child, 3.) you'll have a baby, 4.) you might be having that baby with someone you hardly know. Do you really want that person in you and your kids life if they turned out to be...well...yeah?

Of course there's abortion. But that's expensive, people frown upon it, and can you really live with knowing you killed your kid?

There's also adoption. But...really? A kid of yours is out in the world being raised by someone other than you because of YOUR choices?

So it's better to just...NOT have drunken unprotected sex.

For STD reasons also. STD's are on the rise, as we all know.

Decide to engage in anal sex while you're drunk? You have a chance of getting AIDs.

Here's some STD links:

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexually_transmitted_disease
http://www.urologychannel.com/std/index.shtml

WARNING: THE PHOTO YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS GRAPHIC.

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(A male with a case of HPV (gential warts) photo from here.)



(A female with a case of HPV. Photo found here.)



(A female with HERPES. Photo from here.)


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Honestly, I puked a little in my mouth from those photos. So please...


DON'T GET DRUNK AND DO SOMETHING YOU'LL REGRET.

Alcohol and Depression

"Hey, alcohol's not that bad. It gives you a good time, helps you be more social."

Yeah, Alcohol is also a depressant. Hard to have a good time when you're suffering from something that could result in your suicide.


Let's start with depression.



Photo courtesy of Meli F.



Depression is, obviously when you go through periods of being extremely sad. It's not the normal kind of sadness, in the sense where, if you're sad, you can get over it and it doesn't effect your day-to-day life. Whereas, depression STAYS, and effects your way of living. For example:


People with depression...

- Have a hard time getting up, or falling asleep. Or even both.

- Eat way too much, or lose a bunch of weight from eating too little.

- Have body aches and sores. Including constant headaches.

- Feel intense hopelessness, sadness, or guilt. All the time.



How exactly does alcohol make you depressed?


"The depression caused by alcohol actually starts with your physical body. First, alcohol lowers the serotonin and norepinephrine levels in your brain. These chemicals are the chemicals that give you your good feelings - a feeling of well being, and they help you to feel normal. The anti-depressant drugs were designed build these chemicals back up. After a long drinking career, since alcohol can take these brain chemicals down to ground zero, it can take a long time for the anti-depressants to bring these brain chemical levels back to where they need to be."

Alcohol also is shown to a lot of times mimic symptoms from Bipolar Disorder. Mood swings, irritability, depression, and then mania (where you feel invincible) are known to happen.



Bipolar image courtesy of Photobucket.


People usually get addicted to alcohol because they like the feeling of being drunk. But is it really worth all the things that follow? You are giving yourself more problems by getting drunk. If you thought you were depressed before, drinking it away isn't actually drinking it away. You'll get more depression, and as I said, more problems. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, AND FIND OTHER WAYS TO RID YOURSELF OF DEPRESSION.

You could...

- seek talking therapy (psychologist, counselor).

- do aromatherapy (Where you bring out certain emotions by smelling certain things. Go here to AromaWeb for more information and recipes and etc.)

- talk to a friend or someone who is close to you. (Sometimes, just SAYING what's wrong can help ease it some)

- Call a depression hotline (like The Suicide PREVENTION Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK )



Depression sucks, and is obviously no fun to have. Please seek help if you think you need it, or if you think a loved one might need it.

What if I take an anti-depressant? Can I still drink alcohol then if my chemicals are being 'fixed' in my brain?

Don't do this. On the label of your medication bottle, there's a label that will tell you not to drink alcohol while on your medicine.


" * You may feel more depressed. Alcohol can worsen depression symptoms, so by drinking it, you could counteract effects of your medication and lessen its benefit.
* You may become more intoxicated than usual. Some antidepressants may cause you to feel more intoxicated than normal when combined with alcohol, which can impair your judgment and ability to drive or do other tasks that require focus and attention.
* The side effects from your medication may worsen. Some antidepressants cause drowsiness, and so does alcohol. Mixing the two could make you sleepy, which is dangerous in situations where you need to be alert.
* Deadly reactions can occur with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Examples of MAOIs include isocarboxazid (Marplan) phenelzine (Nardil) and tranylcypromine (Parnate). When combined with certain types of beverages and foods, these antidepressants can cause a dangerous spike in blood pressure, leading to a stroke. If you take an MAOI, be sure you know what's safe to eat and drink, and which alcoholic beverages can cause a reaction.




Image courtesy of Photobucket.




- Thanks to EzineArticles on how alcohol depresses you.

- Thanks to MayoClinic for things that can happen if you mix anti-depressants and alcohol.

Alcohol: Binge Drinking

I'll have a drink. And another. And another. And another.


Alcohol: Binge Drinking




Photo courtesy of Peer Health


Binge drinking is defined as consuming lots of alcohol within a short amount of time. For men this usually means 5 or more, for women, 4 or more.


Although people who attend high school binge drink at times, the most common binge drinkers are college students. Sadly, that's not much of a shock considering the amount of stress that's put upon the shoulders of people who attend a college or University. BUT, there's lots of risks to "letting off steam" through binge drinking to be the "life of the party."

Binge drinking often leads to...

- Alcohol Poisoning: This one is EXTREMELY dangerous to your health, and often times fatal. Alcohol poisoning is when there is simply too much alcohol in your bloodstream at once. Your breathing is GREATLY effected, your gag reflex gets impaired, and at this point, if you don't die from it, you COULD end up in a coma.

How do I spot Alcohol Poisoning?

You need to call 911 if the following is happening to someone:

- Confusion
- Vomiting uncontrollably
- Seizures
- Passing out
- very slow breathing
- low body temperature

What exactly is HAPPENING to the body when you binge drink?


"Alcohol depresses the nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing, heartbeat and your gag reflex, which keeps you from choking. Excessive alcohol intake can slow and, in some cases, shut down these functions. Your body temperature can also drop (hypothermia), leading to cardiac arrest. And your blood sugar level can fall low enough to cause seizures."

MORE THINGS BINGE DRINKING DOES...

- Liver disease



Photo courtesy of Alcohol Tax Increase.



In the image above, the bottom liver is being effected by the worst kind of alcohol induced liver disease.

"It refers to the replacement of normal liver tissue with scar tissue. Between 10 and 20 percent of heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis, usually after 10 or more years of drinking. The damage from cirrhosis is irreversible, and it is a life-threatening disease."

Binge drinking also causes...

- Stroke

- Brain damage



Result of binge drinking. Photo courtesy of Bild.


There are OTHER WAYS to de-stress than to BINGE DRINK!

You could...

- Go for a walk
- talk to someone who makes you laugh
- lay down
- take a hot bubble bath
- do yoga
- exercise
- treat yourself to ice cream or something you enjoy
- writing in a journal
- don't drink a lot of caffeine
- cook something simple

For more ways to de-stress, visit 100 Ways to Reduce Stress. :)


* Thanks to MayoClinic for the Alcohol Poisoning information.

* Thanks to Alcohol Tax Increase for the information on Liver Disease.