Alcohol
Drinking alcohol is well-renowned activity amongst many college students. Some have been drinking since their young teenage years, some have their first drink their freshman year, and then there is everyone else around and in between. To be as safe as possible, here are some facts you need to know.
Alcoholic beverages are made by fermenting the sugars from certain foods. Beer is made from fermented sugars in barley, vodka is made from sugar in potatoes, beets, or other plants, and wine is made from sugar in grapes.
When you ingest alcohol, the ethanol (ethyl alcohol) in alcohol is processed by the liver and absorbed in the body. It goes directly into the bloodstream affecting the brain, kidneys, lungs, and liver in that order. The effects immediately depress the central nervous system.
When drinking, you might feel:
- Relaxed or drowsy
- Euphoric (intense happiness)
- Impulsive
- Lowered inhibitions (less self-preservation)
- Dehydration (Leads to nausea, headache, and dizziness)
Other short term effects include:
- Difficulty focusing
- Difficulty with making decisions
- Mood changes
- Loss of coordination
- Slowed and/or slurred speech
- Vomiting
- Blackout or memory “gaps”
- Changes in your hearing, vision, or perception
Being educated is great first step, and hey! You're doing that already by reading this webpage. These next few tips from Foundry will help you make smarter choices.
Before drinking:
- Know how alcohol affects you - try drinking with a trusted peer group before going into a totally new situation
- Set a drink limit before you start drinking
- Eat and drink water
- Find a safe ride home
While you’re drinking:
- Keep your drink close at all times - if you leave your drink unattended, get a new one to avoid spiked drinks.
- Avoid topping off drinks - finish the one you have before you start another so you can keep track
- Don't try to keep up with other drinkers
- Don't let peer pressure make you go over your limit - pushing your boundaries is disrespectful
- Avoid drinking games or play them with non-alcoholic drinks - this will prevent binge-drinking
If you are not drinking and want to avoid peer pressure, you could:
- Be the designated driver
- Tell them you are taking medication
- Choose non-alcoholic drinks
- Tell someone you trust so they can back you up
The short answer is "no", it does not. Genetics and lifestyle play a huge part in how alcohol affects the body.
Each kind of alcoholic beverage has a different number of units (or a different level of pure alcohol) per drink. On average, it takes ONE HOUR for the liver to break down ONE UNIT of alcohol.
Use the Unit and Calorie Calculator from DrinkAware to determine the how strong each alcoholic beverage really is!
The Affects of Alcohol Depend on...
The content of alcohol in the bloodstream after each drink is higher in women than it is in men.
Men typically have a higher resistance to the effects of alcohol because they have a higher muscle-fat ratio and percentage of water in the body than women do. This means that for most women the effects of alcohol come quicker and last longer.
Being shorter or weighing less means you have less tissue to absorb the alcohol in the bloodstream. Thus, shorter, smaller people feel the effects of alcohol more quickly than taller, heavier people.
College students who drink are more likely to be careless and put themselves in harm's way. This is most likely attributed to the lack of education around drinking. Some risky behaviors college students might engage in are binge-drinking, unprotected sex, succumbing to peer pressure, and drunk driving. For those who drink often (or get drunk once a month), students may commit a crime or fall behind in their academics.
What you eat before you drink, what you drink, and how quickly your body processes what you consume changes how alcohol affects the body. Food on your stomach will help keep your blood sugar level high and can make it easier to process alcohol. If you choose not to eat, you will succumb to the effects more easily and much quicker. This puts you at risk of a hangover (see below).
Dark alcoholic beverages are likely to affect the body more than clear alcoholic beverages. Ethanol is present in both dark and clear drinks, but dark drinks have other compounds made during the fermentation process, such as methanol. These compounds are called congeners.
If you are taking medicine, mixing alcohol with pills or drinking while you are the medication can have adverse health effects. GoodRx gives an extensive list of medications that should NEVER be mixed with alcohol:
- Painkillers
- Anti-anxiety and sleeping pills
- Antidepressants and mood stabilizers
- ADHD medications
- Antibiotics
- Nitrates and other blood pressure drugs
- Diabetes medications
- Coumadin (blood thinner)
- OTC (over the counter) cold and flu treatments
- Erectile dysfunction medications
For information about each type, CLICK HERE.
When the body cannot break down alcohol efficiently, this is known as alcohol intolerance. it is usually genetic and often found in those of Asian descent. Individuals who with asthma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, hay fever, or are allergic to grains are also at risk. Symptoms include:
- Facial redness (flushing)
- Red, itchy skin bumps (hives)
- Worsening of preexisting asthma
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Low blood pressure
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
SAMHSA College Student Drinking
THE HANGOVER
Hangovers are the main consequence of over-drinking and binge-drinking.
Drinking too much overloads the blood-alcohol content level – the measure of alcohol in the blood. The effects include dehydration, disrupted sleep, and stomach irritation and can last up to 72 hours. Most hangovers dissipate within 24 hours.
Although it varies for everyone, people usually experience:
- Severe headache
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Muscle aches or general body weakness
- Sweating
- Vomiting
- Thirst
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
- Tremors or "jitters"
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Mini-withdrawal (anxiety, restlessness, or irritability)
For more information about the symptoms, CLICK HERE.
There is no medicine or cure for a hangover. The sickness slowly goes away as the blood-alcohol level returns to zero. The best way to take care of it is to:
- WAIT IT OUT – take plenty of time to rest, meaning no mental or physical activity. Give your body time to heal itself.
- DRINK WATER (for sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea) – this treats the dehydration and helps replenish the bloodstream from the alcohol. This may be difficult if you are experiencing nausea, so take sips carefully.
- TAKE MEDICATION – ibuprofen and aspirin will help relieve pain and inflammation.
- DO NOT TAKE TYLENOL. This will irritate the stomach even more because acetaminophen is toxic to the liver while drinking. Taking it will impact liver function making alcohol use dangerous.
These tips are NOT encouragement to excessively drink. Chronic hangovers will lead to serious health issues and put you at risk for substance abuse. But if you plan to drink again, the following tips will help AVOID a hangover or aid in recovery from one.
- Take vitamins
- If you consume more Zinc and Vitamin B, studies have shown that hangovers will be less severe.
- Eat (carbohydrates) before you drink
- Having food in your system helps keep the blood-alcohol level low while you are drinking.
- Bread, crackers, and juices are good sources.
- Choose “Light” over “Dark”
- Dark liquors can cause hangovers more frequently than clear liquors because they have a higher amount of congeners (compounds other than ethanol) that can worsen hangover symptoms.
- Avoid “Hair of the Dog”
- Drinking may ease the symptoms of a hangover by dealing with the mini-withdrawal, but it WILL NOT help you recover from one.
For more information, visit:
Alcohol.org - What is Alcohol?
NiDirect Government Services - What Happens When You Drink Alcohol
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - Hangovers
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