Recently, a video entitled “Beautiful Bridesmaids Died of Drinking” went viral among friends.
Such sensational headlines are always easy to attract people’s attention. I don’t know the authenticity of the video, but as an emergency doctor, in my years of work experience, I have seen countless cases of danger and even death after drunkenness.
It is said that “a small drink delights one’s feelings and a large drink hurts one’s body”. Don’t be greedy for what is in the cup. Prevention is the best choice.
However, if we are really drunk accidentally, we should also know how to assess the severity of the drunk and choose the appropriate care methods to avoid the recurrence of tragedies.
Three Stages of Acute Alcoholism
Excitation period
Drunken people will feel headache, euphoria, excitement, talkative, rap, emotional instability, conceit, irritability, rude behavior or aggressive actions, but may also become silent and withdrawn.
How to deal with the excitement period?
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Stop drinking, accompany drunken people to drink more water, eat some fruit and wash your face in cold water.
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Don’t irritate drunken people when chatting with them, and leave unsafe drinking places as soon as possible, such as food stalls (there are many cases of drunkenness and loud noise that irritate adjacent tables and cut each other …).
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Never drive, never drive, never drive. Say important things three times.
Ataxia phase
Drunken people have uncoordinated muscle movements, clumsy actions, vague speech, blurred vision, unstable gait, nausea, vomiting and drowsiness.
How to deal with ataxia?
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Stop drinking, accompany drunken people to drink more water, eat some fruit and take close care of them.
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Support the drunken during the operation, especially pay attention to safety when entering and leaving the toilet, going up and down stairs and crossing the road.
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If there is vomiting, pay attention to clean up in time to prevent suffocation.
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If you have vomited many times and your drunkenness symptoms have improved, you can lie on your side in bed.
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If there is no vomiting during ataxia, you will soon enter a lethargy state and seek medical treatment as much as possible.
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If you don’t send a doctor, you should lie on your side and ensure that someone is accompanying you at the bedside. You should turn over regularly and pay close attention to the respiratory circulation of the drunk.
Coma stage
When the concentration of blood ethanol exceeds 2500 mg/L, drunk people may enter deep coma, pupil dilation, body temperature reduction, blood pressure reduction, slow breathing and snoring sound, respiratory and circulatory failure may occur, leading to life danger!
How to deal with coma?
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You must send a doctor or call 120 as soon as possible.
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Place in a stable lateral position and observe the respiratory pulse, pay attention to clean up oral vomitus.
3. After entering the emergency department, cooperate with the medical staff to register quickly and provide the patient’s medical history and drunkenness process in detail.
Emergency doctors will assess whether the patient’s airway is unobstructed, blood pressure is stable, hypoglycemia, etc., and will also check whether there are other fatal complications, such as aspiration pneumonia, acute pancreatitis, cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, rhabdomyolysis, hypothermia, injury to important parts after falling, etc.
There are many ways to die from serious drunkenness, and any negligence can be fatal. What caregivers need to do is to cooperate with the doctor’s advice, to cooperate with the doctor’s advice, and to cooperate with the doctor’s advice.
After emergency treatment, the medical staff shall ensure that someone is always with the patient, observe his complexion, skin temperature, breathing, mental condition, etc., and maintain communication with the competent medical staff.
Additional advice for drunken chaperones
1. When drunken people are too excited, it is not recommended to see a doctor.
Drunken violence in emergency rooms often occurs, and almost all medical staff have suffered violent injuries such as words and actions from drunken people. Drunken people who are in the excitement period are more likely to have conflicts with others. This kind of situation generally does not require medical treatment, and they can go home to drink water and rest.
2. As an escort, if you are also out of control of drunkenness, call your family or friends to help with the care.
3. When the drunk is in a coma and the degree of drunkenness is heavy, the drunk’s family should be called to accompany him in time.
My own experience, don’t let the tragedy repeat itself.
Having said so many matters needing attention, I would like to share with you a few cases of my personal experience. I hope you will cherish your life and pay attention to it.
Case 1: A middle-aged man, who was on a business trip to Guangzhou, got drunk at night and went to the emergency department. After routine treatment, he was placed in the corridor for infusion. On the way back and forth, I suddenly found that he was blue-faced and had difficulty breathing. He went to the emergency room to open his mouth and take out all kinds of food. He was intubated and woke up the next day.
Case 2: Middle-aged male, Drunken once fell, lethargy after the emergency, head mass, suggested head CT examination, escort refused. Symptomatic treatment process, the patient fidgety, again suggested head CT examination, prompting cerebral hemorrhage. After CT, the patient’s limbs cannot move. Bilateral pupils before the operating table are not equal in size, and cerebral hernia has been formed. Fortunately, a life was saved after the operation.
Case 3: A middle-aged man, who was too tall and fat to take home after getting drunk, slept in the van for one night. The next day, his arm was swollen and painful. He was diagnosed in the emergency department with extrusion syndrome, rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure. He escaped after 10 days of hemodialysis in hospital.
Case 4: Middle-aged woman vomited after drunkenness and suffered from aspiration, resulting in aspiration pneumonia. After entering emergency department, she died unfortunately due to multiple organ failure.
I hope everyone can drink less and drink less. Health is the most important thing!