Alcohol poisoning

Drinking alcohol very quickly can lead to alcohol poisoning, which can be extremely dangerous.

There is no minimum amount of alcohol that could cause alcohol poisoning.

The amount that can cause alcohol poisoning depends on a person’s age, sex, size, weight, how fast they have been drinking, how much they have eaten, their general health and whether they have taken medication or drugs.

Alcohol poisoning can reduce your body temperature – risking hypothermia, cause vomiting (with a risk of choking), lead to a heart attack or a fit, or cause you to stop breathing.¹ Tragically, acute alcohol poisoning was the cause of 552 deaths in the UK during 2020.²

This guide explains the causes, signs and symptoms, what you can do to stay safe and how you can help others.                     

If you think someone might be experiencing alcohol poisoning - even if you have doubts - place them on their side in the recovery position and call 999 for an ambulance.

What causes alcohol poisoning?

Alcohol is a toxic substance.³ That means it can cause harm and every time you drink, your liver has to filter it out of your blood, to keep your body working properly.

It takes an average adult around an hour to process one unit of alcohol so that there's none left in their bloodstream, although this varies a lot from person to person.

Drinking a lot in a short space of time increases the concentration of alcohol in the blood. Alcohol poisoning happens if the concentration of alcohol reaches a dangerous level that stops the body from working properly.

What is binge drinking?

Both men and women can be affected, however women tend to have higher blood alcohol levels after drinking the same amount of alcohol as men, so may be at greater risk of alcohol poisoning.

What drinking a lot of alcohol in one session does to your body

Drinking a lot in a short space of can:⁴

• Slow down brain functions, and stop your sense of balance working properly
• Irritate your stomach, which can cause vomiting
• Dangerously affect the body’s systems that control your breathing and heartbeat
• Dehydrate your body, which risks brain damage in severe cases
• Lower your body temperature, which can lead to hypothermia
• Lower your blood sugar levels, risking fits or brain damage

Signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning

Recognising the signs and knowing what to do could help save someone’s life – remember, if they have alcohol poisoning, they won’t be able to help themselves.

Someone may have only had a few drinks, or they could have had several, but this alone isn’t a reliable indicator of likely alcohol poisoning. Signs and symptoms to look out for:

• Confusion
• Severely slurred speech
• Loss of co-ordination
• Vomiting
• Irregular or slow breathing
• Pale or blue-tinged skin cause by low body temperature
• Being conscious but unresponsive
• Passing out and being unconscious
• Loss of bladder or bowel control

Call 999 to request an ambulance as soon as you suspect that someone may have alcohol poisoning

How to help someone showing signs of alcohol poisoning⁵

1. Try to keep them awake and sitting up
2. Give them some water (and nothing else), if they can drink it
3. Lie them on their side in the recovery position if they’ve passed out, and check they’re breathing properly
4. Keep them warm
5. Stay with them and monitor their symptoms

Remember, if you think someone might have alcohol poisoning - even if you have doubts - call 999 to request an ambulance.

Alcohol poisoning: what NOT to do

• Never leave someone alone to sleep it off
  The amount of alcohol in someone’s blood continues to rise even when they’ve stopped drinking because the digestive system carries on absorbing alcohol into the bloodstream 
• Never give them a coffee
  Alcohol dehydrates the body. Coffee will make someone who is already dehydrated even more so – in severe cases this can even cause permanent brain damage
• Never make them sick
  Their gag reflex may not be working properly which means they could choke on their vomit 
• Never walk them around
  Alcohol is a depressant which slows down your brain’s functions and affects your sense of balance. Walking them around might cause accidents 
• Never put them under a cold shower
  Because moving a person with alcohol poisoning risks causing injury, it’s not a good idea to give them a shower. A cold shower is even worse - alcohol lowers your body temperature, which could lead to hypothermia. The best advice is to put them in the recovery position in the nearest safe place.
• Never let them drink more alcohol
  The amount of alcohol in their bloodstream could become dangerously high

Further advice and information

If you choose to drink, to keep short-term risks low (including alcohol poisoning, accidents or injury) the UK Chief Medical Officers advise it’s important to limit how much you drink on any single occasion – and never to binge drink.

The UK low risk drinking guidelines also advise you to limit how much you consume each week - it's safest for both men and women to drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days with several drink-free days. 

Worried about your own or someone else’s drinking?

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