Is Your Friend Drunk or Called Emergency Services?

Comes to the end of the night. A friend of yours who used to be at the party passed out on the couch. But how drunk are they? Do they just need a shoulder to wobble, or is this the level of drunkenness that requires a hospital call?

Back to school is the best time for alcohol-related hospital visits, mainly because people not used to drinking take it as a hobby when they go to college. But too many dangerously drunken people don’t make it to the emergency room when they should: either their friends don’t know the warning signs that someone needs medical attention, or they’re afraid of getting into trouble because of government intervention.

Before we continue, here’s the most important thing to know: if you’re not sure, call 911 anyway.

For a more complete answer, we spoke with Dr. Ryan Stanton, an emergency medical practitioner and spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians . When people die from excessive drinking, he said, it is often because alcohol interferes with their ability to protect their airways. Here’s what you need to know when binge drinking becomes a health problem and when you should take someone to the hospital.

Why Too Much Alcohol Is Dangerous

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant , which means that it slows down or impairs some of the functions of your brain. After drinking a few glasses of beer, you will find that it is more difficult for you to walk straight or not write to your ex. After a few more seconds, your vision and speech may be affected. Drink enough and you won’t be able to regulate your breathing or activate vital reflexes.

Unconsciousness is at the deeper end of this continuum, which is why you may have heard the advice to keep a drunk friend from sleeping. Since alcohol makes us sleepy , it’s not uncommon to find someone face down in the middle of a party – no problem if they just dozed off because, you know, it’s late and they just shook all night and this rug looked so soft and comfortable. We can call anyone we have to step over “unconscious,” but if someone is really unconscious, they have problems. How to distinguish a sleepy person from the unconscious? Try to wake them up .

However, this is not the only thing worth paying attention to. As Dr. Stanton put it:

The line [between who is safe and who needs help] is not very well defined, especially when it comes to respiratory protection. You may have someone who has “passed out” due to alcohol, which can protect their airways very well. You may also have someone who just walked a few minutes ago and now sits with apnea from their own vomiting. So it’s very difficult, and basically we’re telling everyone that if you have any concerns that this person is not safe, bring them in.

Here is a typical picture of a person who cannot protect their airways, he says: you cannot wake him up and he vomits, but does not try to vomit out of his mouth or roll over to try to clear it. In extreme cases, alcohol can slow a person’s breathing to dangerous levels or lead to falling into a coma – so don’t assume an unconscious or unconscious person is okay just because they aren’t vomiting.

Another great danger to a drunk person is injury, especially head injury . Someone may fall because alcohol makes them awkward, and then get up again because alcohol dulls their reaction to pain. If you see blood, bruising, or swelling, especially on someone’s head, this could indicate serious injury.

Trauma can also occur due to incorrect decisions, such as when you have decided that now is an excellent time to start a fight, to jump from the balcony, or go boating (70 percent of the deaths associated with water recreation, associated with alcohol ). Or, you know, get behind the wheel of a car. Even slightly tipsy people can cause serious accidents ; do not risk.

What to do with a friend who is too drunk

If you are on a college campus, you probably have a handbook or brochure at one time that tells you what to do in an emergency; take a look at it now before you need it and write down the number if it is any other than 911 (some schools have a “rescue team” that can get to you faster than the local police).

If the person is conscious and responsive — in other words, not drunk “call emergency,” you should:

• Stay with them. Or, if you’re drunk too, find yourself a sober friend. Even if they quit drinking, they may not have absorbed all of the alcohol in their digestive tract, so it is possible that they will get worse before they get better. Check them frequently to make sure they remain responsive and be prepared to call for help when needed.
• Move them to a safe place , such as your home or a friend’s. Don’t force them . And don’t drive them anywhere if you’re drunk too.
• Place them in a recovery position like this one (shown below). The idea is to arrange them so that the vomit falls out of the mouth if they get worse. Remember, if you think they might choke, you should skip to the next section on calling for help.
• Don’t try to sober them up with coffee, cold showers, or any other helpful advice that is offered to you. Their livers just need time to do their job.

If the person does not respond or has any frightening symptoms (such as loss of consciousness, slow breathing, or seizures are all that bother you),

• Call for help (911 or rescue squad).
• Stay with them until help arrives. Place them in a recovery position and, if you can, find someone who knows how to do CPR – just in case.
• Tell emergency staff what happened – how many drinks they drank, what type, and their symptoms or injuries.

Even if you are afraid of getting into trouble, it is still better to call. Many states and colleges have amnesty laws or rules that protect you from criminal charges or serious disciplinary action if you do the right thing. However, emergency workers are more interested in saving lives than in surrendering people. Here is Dr. Stanton, practicing in Kentucky:

If you take someone to the emergency room, we won’t see the police go after them, issue tickets, or send people to jail. Now, if someone does something illegal at a party, like an adult having a bunch of minors, yes. But if you bring someone to the emergency room and ask them to help, we rarely see them in trouble with the law. Because many times I think the police feel the need to go to an ambulance, the need to go through that and the associated costs are probably enough punishment, and probably not as much punishment as when we call your parents and force them show up from three or four in the morning, and they sit by your bed when you wake up. So it’s more important to think of someone in terms of health and safety and not worry about the consequences on the inside.

So yes, there will most likely be a phone call from the parents. Sorry.

What’s going on in the hospital

By the time someone is admitted to the hospital, there is no point in pumping out the stomach; by that time they had already opened everything. Instead, says Dr. Stanton, hospital staff do three things:

1. Observe a Human is a hi-tech version of what you did when you were constantly testing him. They will make sure your friend is breathing normally, maintaining a safe body temperature, and so on.
2. Maintain their vital functions, such as giving fluids as needed and medications to control pain or nausea.
3. If necessary, protect their airways with a breathing tube .

Once the person is sober, they will undergo a more thorough examination to check if there are any injuries or other problems that may have arisen. If all is well, they usually go home in the morning.

This story was originally published on 8/20/15 and updated on 8/29/19 to provide more complete and up-to-date information.

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