Alcohol Education

What Happens During an Alcohol Overdose

Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing and the gag reflex, which prevents choking.  Vomiting is another common symptom of excessive drinking as alcohol irritates the stomach. Someone who drinks a fatal dose of alcohol will eventually stop breathing. Choking caused by vomit also leads to an increased risk of death by asphyxiation in a person who is not conscious due to alcohol consumption.

Even if someone survives an alcohol overdose, he or she can suffer irreversible brain damage. Rapid binge drinking (which often happens on a bet or a dare) is especially dangerous because the victim can drink a fatal dose before losing consciousness.

You should know that a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can continue to rise even while he or she is passed out. Even after a person stops drinking, alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. A person who appears to be "sleeping it off" may be in real danger.

Signs of Alcohol Poisoning

Critical signs of alcohol poisoning include:

• Cannot be roused and are unresponsive to your voice, shaking, or pinching their skin
• Skin is cold, clammy, pale, bluish, and/or blotchy
• Breathing is slow – eight or fewer breaths per minute
• Experience lapses in breathing – more than 10 seconds between breaths
• Exhibit mental confusion, stupor, or coma
• Have seizures, convulsions, or rigid spasms
• Vomits while asleep or unconscious and does not awaken
• Hypothermia (low body temperature)

Take Action

Call 911. If you suspect someone has alcohol poisoning, don’t wait for all of the critical signs to be present. Be aware that a person who has passed out may die. If you suspect an alcohol overdose, call 911 immediately for help. Don’t try to guess the level of intoxication.

If the person is unconscious, semi-conscious, or unresponsive, check for these symptoms of alcohol or drug overdose:

• Cannot be roused and are unresponsive to your voice, shaking, or pinching their skin.
• Skin is cold, clammy, pale, bluish, and/or blotchy.
• Breathing is slow – eight or fewer breaths per minute.
• Experience lapses in breathing – more than 10 seconds between breaths.
• Exhibit mental confusion, stupor, or coma.
• Have seizures, convulsions, or rigid spasms.
• Vomits while asleep or unconscious and does not awaken.

If they are conscious and responsive:

• Stay with them. Check often to make sure they are still conscious and responsive.
• Make certain that they stay on their side, not their back. Review the Bacchus Maneuver.
• Before you touch them, tell them exactly what you are going to do. Be aware of any signs of aggression. Do not ridicule, judge, threaten, or try to counsel them.
• Remain calm and be firm. Avoid communicating feelings of anxiety or anger.
• Keep them quiet and comfortable. If they are in the sun, move them to the shade. If cold, move them to a warm place and offer a blanket.
• Do not give them food, drink, or medication of any kind.
• Remember that only time will sober up a drunk person. Walking, showering, or drinking coffee will not help and may actually cause harm.

If you choose to drink, you should be aware of your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). BAC is a measurement of alcohol in your body based on weight, the total number of drinks consumed, and the time in which they were consumed. Use the calculator on this page to help determine your BAC.

Plan Ahead

Estimate the length of time you will be drinking and figure out how many drinks you can safely have per hour. Some safer-drinking strategies include:

• Set a limit for the night. Keep your bottle caps or move coins from one pocket to the other to track the number of drinks you consume.
• Keep your stomach full.
• Make your own drinks and use less alcohol when mixing.
• Alternate between alcohol and water (or another alcohol-free drink).
• Keep it to one drink per hour. The liver can only break down alcohol at a rate of about one drink per hour. This is true for everyone. When you consume more than one drink per hour you risk damaging your liver.

Stay in the Blue

Make it a goal to keep your BAC in the blue zone (.06 and below). At this level, individuals report feeling more relaxed, talkative, and slightly euphoric, but are still largely in control of their reasoning and actions. 

Understand What Impacts BAC

Several factors influence your BAC level including your birth/biological sex, your body weight, the percentage of alcohol in your drink, your rate of drinking (how much alcohol you consume over time), and how much food is in your stomach before you start drinking. Mixing alcohol with other drugs will increase the effects of the substance and will lead to a more intoxicated state. 

• Learn more about why mixing alcohol with other drugs is harmful to your health

We know sometimes your plans might involve alcohol. If so, we encourage you to follow safer drinking strategies, understand the law, and learn how to actively step into situations to help keep others safe.  

1. Eat food or a meal before choosing to drink
2. Set a limit at the beginning of the night and stick to it
3. Keep count of your drinks, including any pre-game ones
4. Aim for one standard drink per hour
5. Stay hydrated and alternate between water and alcohol

At the heart of consent is the idea that every person has the right to determine whether or not they engage in sexual activity. Consent is all about respect for your partner and honoring their boundaries. Consent exists when there is clear, knowing, and voluntary agreement to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity.

Elements of Consent

• Consent must be mutual and informed. Partners involved should be aware of boundaries and agree on them (for example, using protection/contraception, how far you are going to go, etc.).
• Silence is not consent. Silence can mean a number of things such as fear of saying no or fear of how your partner will react if they say no. Silence could also be the result of a partner being asleep or passed out.
• The person giving consent is not incapacitated (sleep, drugs, alcohol). Incapacitation is beyond the point of intoxication in which the individual may have trouble standing, is throwing up, or is passed out. Alcohol impairs our judgment and causes us to be unable to make decisions freely. It is best to not engage in sexual activity if alcohol or drugs have been consumed, given everyone’s limits are different.
• Consent is an ongoing process throughout a sexual encounter. Consent should be obtained every step of the way, and someone can withdraw consent at any time if things cross their boundaries or if they are uncomfortable or no longer interested in sexual activity.
• Consent must be freely given. Partners should not feel forced, pressured, or like they owe sex to someone else, even a dating partner.  Partners should not be scared, pressured, or manipulated into having sex (for example, “I will break up with you/hurt myself/out you if we do not have sex”).
  • Use the acronym “FRIES” to help you remember the elements of consent:  
    • Freely given
    • Reversible
    • Informed
    • Enthusiastic
    • Specific

Alcohol is the most common “date rape” drug due to how easily accessible and normalized it is in society. Perpetrators often use alcohol to compromise an individual’s ability to consent to sexual activity. Alcohol inhibits a person’s ability to give consent, understand what is occurring, and can affect your memory.  

Survivors of sexual assault often blame themselves, but it is never their fault. It is always the fault of the perpetrator, who chooses to take advantage of another person. 

• An individual who is incapacitated due to alcohol or drug consumption or who is asleep or unconscious cannot give consent to engage in sexual activity.

• If you suspect someone has alcohol poisoning, don’t wait for all the critical signs to be present.
• Be aware that a person who has passed out may die.
• If you suspect an alcohol overdose, call 911 immediately for help. Don’t try to guess the level of intoxication.
• Remember, you are protected by Penn State’s Responsible Action Protocol.

• Passed out or difficult to wake
• Cold, clammy, pale, or bluish skin
• Slowed breathing
• Vomiting while asleep or awake

• Call 911. Don’t wait for all signs/symptoms of alcohol poisoning to be present.
• Turn a vomiting person on his or her side to prevent choking; clear vomit from the mouth.
• Keep the person awake.
• NEVER leave the person unattended.