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Treatment for Acute Alcohol Poisoning Michele Hull Blackhawk Technical Institute

2 Treatment for Acute Alcohol Poisoning The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of ways in which Nursing Assistants can be prepared to give care to patients who have acute alcohol poisoning. By far the most common cause of alcohol poisoning is binge drinking, and that is what I will focus on for the purposes of this paper. Acute alcohol poisoning occurs when someone drinks a dangerous amount of alcohol too quickly for their liver to metabolize, which can lead to a blood alcohol level that is so high it is considered toxic. Alcohol poisoning is considered a medical emergency; it can cause loss of consciousness, respiratory depression (fewer than 8 breaths per minute), choking from aspiration of the stomach contents, severe dehydration from vomiting, which can cause brain damage, seizures from lowered blood sugar levels, hypothermia from your body temperature dropping so low that it can lead to cardiac arrest, brain damage, and death. So if you have been at a party or are in a place where a lot of drinking is going on, here are some things to look for if you think one of your friends may have had too much to drink: confusion (stupor) the person is conscious but unresponsive, low body temperature, clammy, pale or bluish skin (indicates a lack of oxygen), loss of consciousness, very slow breathing or breathing with an unusual rhythm, vomiting. What should you do if you think someone is in the danger zone? First call 9-1-1, then begin without delay to monitor the patient, keep them awake if you can, give them water if they are able to drink. Stay with a drunk person who is vomiting. They could fall and injure their head, or choke on their vomit. What should you not do for a person you think is suffering from alcohol poisoning? Do not give them coffee (it makes dehydration worse), do not put them in a cold shower (it could lead to hypothermia or shock), do not lie them on their back if they are unconscious; instead use the Bacchus Maneuver to prevent choking (see attached diagram to see

3 how to do this), do not make them walk (it wont help sober them up), and do not give them any more alcohol to drink, and do not leave them alone to sleep it off. BAC can continue to rise after one stops drinking. Once the patient is in the hospital, the Nursing Assistant may be called upon to provide patient care. Its important to carefully monitor the ABCs while waiting for the alcohol to metabolize Airway, Breathing, and Circulation. A patient who is exhibiting respiratory depression may be intubated to assist with breathing. Alternately, they may be given oxygen therapy via a nasal cannula or oxygen mask if vomiting, to prevent aspiration of their stomach contents. They could be given IV fluids such as a dextrose solution to treat hypoglycemia, thiamine to prevent a seizure (known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome), and have frequent checks of urea and electrolytes in urine. It s possible that an alcohol poisoning patient would have gastric lavage (stomach pumping) performed to remove the contents of the stomach and prevent aspiration from occurring. If the patient becomes incontinent they will likely be catheterized to drain urine from the bladder. An NA would probably be called upon to empty the Urinary Drainage Bag and report the results, and possibly also to obtain a sample of the urine to be sent to the lab and tested for alcohol content. In extreme cases, patients could also be given dialysis to remove the toxins from their blood stream. After an episode of poisoning, it seems likely that a patient of alcohol poisoning would be referred to counseling to address the behavior that ended up so disastrously for them. Left untreated, alcohol poisoning can lead to brain damage and death. Its important to take it seriously and to make sure that any young adults you know are aware of what they should do if they are ever in a position to deal with this particular type of emergency. Its better to be safe than sorry, and if young adults are educated about how to respond to a situation where they need

4 to help a friend who is unable to help themselves, then they could potentially save someone s life.

The Bacchus Maneuver

5 References

Alcohol Poisoning (2013). Retrieved 11/12/2013 from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol-poisoning/DS00861 Alcohol Poisoning (2010). Retrieved 11/10/2013 from http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/alcohol-poisoning/DS00861.html What Is Alcohol Poisoning? How Dangerous Is Alcohol Poisoning? (2011). Retrieved 11/15/2013 from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/215627.php