When alcohol ends up in the blood, and it eventually ends up in the brain. Does it matter if it goes through the stomach first? And can injecting alcohol be that bad if people used to use it as a medical intervention? Yes it can. In , one of the earliest heart surgeries in the world saved a man who had been stabbed in a street fight. The knife had torn the man's pericardium, the sac around his heart, and he was dying. Doctor H. Dalton took out part of the guy's rib and sutured the pericardium up.
Things looked bad, for a while, but they injected the man with a little whiskey, and that seemed to help him. Seemed to. The life-saving whiskey injection probably has a few modern doctors clutching their stethoscopes in horror.
Doctors don't inject whiskey anymore, but people do. While reviewing his history of injecting illicit drugs heroin and amphetamine , the patient mentioned that he had been injecting alcohol over the previous 9 years.
He injected mainly vodka, sherry or whisky with approximately a twice-monthly frequency. His last injection had been 2 weeks before admission. He gave the main reasons for this use as the rapid effect and the enjoyment of the injection itself. The only side-effect he described was a burning pain at the site of injection. Case 2 was a year-old, unemployed man, married with one child living in rented accommodation. He was admitted to hospital for alcohol detoxification.
He fulfilled ICD criteria for alcohol, opioid and benzodiazepine dependence. Heroin was the main drug injected. When questioned about intravenous injection of alcohol, he said that he had been using this method for 10 years until 1 year before admission.
He injected mainly vodka with a frequency of four times per week. His main reasons for injecting were the rapid effect and enjoyment of the needle, particularly when heroin was not available.
He described the only side-effect as redness and a burning pain at the site of injection. Case 3 was a year-old single, unemployed man who lived in a hostel for the homeless and who was admitted to hospital for alcohol and methadone detoxification. He fulfilled ICD criteria for alcohol and opioid dependence.
He had injected various illicit drugs including heroin and amphetamine. When questioned about intravenous injection of alcohol, he admitted having used this method over a period of 3 years. He said that he had injected various alcoholic beverages, including beer, approximately once a week. His main reasons for injecting were the rapid effect and avoiding the smell of alcohol on his breath because his hostel prohibited alcohol use.
Informal discussions with colleagues across the UK, in both the alcohol and drug fields, indicate that only a minority of long-experienced clinicians remember what they consider rare, individual cases of claimed alcohol injection.
Combined with the absence of previous published reports, this suggests that the injection of alcohol is a rare occurrence. The spontaneous description of intravenous injection of alcohol by case 1 led the authors to question a small opportunistic sample of injecting polydrug and alcohol users. The other two cases were identified within 4 weeks. The three cases were all male polydrug and alcohol users with histories of injecting drug use and current alcohol dependence.
All were unemployed, two were currently homeless and all had required admission to hospital as part of treatment. Alcohol injection was not the main route of alcohol ingestion for any of the three users, but all had injected alcohol over a relatively long period 3—11 years.
Read more about drinking and alcohol , including tips on cutting down on your drinking. Page last reviewed: 01 April Next review due: 01 April Alcohol poisoning. Signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning The signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning include: confusion severely slurred speech loss of co-ordination vomiting irregular or slow breathing pale or blue-tinged skin caused by low body temperature hypothermia being conscious but unresponsive stupor passing out and being unconscious In the most severe cases, alcohol poisoning can lead to coma , brain damage and death.
When to seek medical help If you suspect alcohol poisoning, dial immediately to request an ambulance. While you're waiting: try to keep them sitting up and awake give them water if they can drink it if they have passed out, lie them on their side in the recovery position and check they're breathing properly keep them warm stay with them Never leave a person alone to "sleep it off".
This can cause their symptoms to suddenly become much more severe. These methods will not help and may even be dangerous. How alcohol poisoning is treated in hospital In hospital, the person will be carefully monitored until the alcohol has left their system. If treatment is required, this may include: inserting a tube into their mouth and windpipe intubation to open the airway, remove any blockages and help with breathing fitting an intravenous drip, which goes directly into a vein, to top up their water, blood sugar and vitamin levels fitting a catheter to their bladder to drain urine straight into a bag so they do not wet themselves Dangers of alcohol poisoning If a person is poisoned by alcohol, they could: stop breathing have a heart attack die by choking on their own vomit become severely dehydrated , which can cause permanent brain damage in extreme cases develop more severe hypothermia have fits seizures as a result of lowered blood sugar levels Repeated vomiting and retching can lead to vomiting blood, caused by a torn blood vessel at the junction of the stomach and gullet.
Other related risks Drinking too much alcohol can affect a person's judgement and put them in situations where their health and safety are at risk.
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