Need Help in Understanding the "Blood Alcohol Content" and Its Effects

by Had Enough 13 Replies latest jw friends

  • ButtLight
    ButtLight

    I didnt read everyones post, but I read an artical that 1 drink for a man, and half that for a woman a day, is ok, as far as your liver is concerned. (health wize) But it also has to do with how much you eat too, along with your body weight. And in my case, god forbid, how much your body is use to it too. I could drink 5 beers, in 5 hours, and be ok to "blow", but someone who isnt use to drinking would not pass. (i tested that theory on a breatholizer.)

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    I've only seen my hubby drunk twice in five years. As a lifetime teetotaler, I watched his decline with fascination. (I've loosened up a bit, I'll drink half a glass of wine these days when I am with friends. You think I talk lots NOW? Get a drink in me). This was how his math worked:

    One drink, two, three...three....three...three....three. I did the driving.

    I wouldn't argue math with your friend. Grab his keys when he's not looking.

  • ballistic
    ballistic

    I did do a bit of further research and discovered interestingly that your liver can indeed process alcohol at a sustained rate. So there is a theoretical possibility that one could work out the time interval that would have to be left between drinks in order to stay under the legal limit.

    However, this is a theoretical possibility only.

    To have all the factors in the equasion, you would first need to know what your particular liver's alcohol processing rate was which varies from as low as .01 g/dL/hr or as high as .04 g/dL/hr.

    You would have to take into consideration the affect that the by-products of alcohol metabolism would have on the brain and body, as the liver metabolises the ethanol into highly toxic acetaldehyde, then into acetate.

    (your liver has turned the alcohol into another toxic substance)

    You would have to take into consideration what the contents of your stomach was that day in order to know how quickly the alcohol would be passed into the small intestine where it is primarily absorbed into the blood stream.

    Then, even if the liver can process alcohol at a sustained rate, what is the effect of prolonged exposure to alcohol on the brain?

    There are some other questions but I think I made the point.

  • rebel8
    rebel8

    FYI.......Alcohol dependence is the clinical term for alcoholism....but there is another diagnosis--alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is more "mild" than alcohol dependence and is often a precursor to it. Here are the diagnostic criteria:

    http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Practitioner/CliniciansGuide2005/clinicians_guide14.htm

    A diagnosis of alcohol abuse requires that the patient meet one or more of the following criteria, occurring at any time in the same 12-month period, and not meet the criteria for alcohol dependence.

    All questions are prefaced by “In the past 12 months…”

    • Failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home because of recurrent drinking: Have you had a period when your drinking—or being sick from drinking—often interfered with taking care of your home or family? Caused job troubles? School problems?
    • Recurrent drinking in hazardous situations:
      • Have you more than once driven a car or other vehicle while you were drinking? Or after having had too much to drink?
      • Have you gotten into situations while drinking or after drinking that increased your chances of getting hurt—like swimming, using machinery, or walking in a dangerous area or around heavy traffic?
    • Recurrent legal problems related to alcohol:Have you gotten arrested, been held at a police station, or had any other legal problems because of your drinking?
    • Continued use despite recurrent interpersonal or social problems:
      • Have you continued to drink even though you knew it was causing you trouble with your family or friends?
      • Have you gotten into physical fights while drinking or right after drinking?

    *Adapted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Copyright 2000 American Psychiatric Association.

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