Alcohol intoxication (also known as drunkenness or inebriation) refers to the physiological state induced by the consumption of alcohol, when it builds up in the bloodstream faster than it can be metabolized by the liver. Some effects of alcohol intoxication are central to alcohol's desirability as a beverage and its history as the world's most widespread recreational drug. Common effects are euphoria and lowered social inhibitions. Other effects are unpleasant or dangerous because alcohol affects many different areas of the body at once and may cause progressive, long-term harm when consumed in excess.
Common symptoms of alcohol intoxication include slurred speech, euphoria, impaired balance, loss of muscle coordination (ataxia), flushed face, dehydration, vomiting, reddened eyes, reduced inhibitions, and erratic behavior. Sufficiently high levels of blood-borne alcohol will cause coma and death from the depressive effects of alcohol upon the central nervous system. "Acute alcohol poisoning" is a related medical term used to indicate a dangerously high concentration of alcohol in the blood, high enough to induce coma or respiratory depression. It is considered a medical emergency. The term is mostly used by health care providers. Toxicologists use the term “alcohol intoxication” to discriminate between alcohol and other toxins.
Read more about Alcohol Intoxication: Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, Diagnosis, Epidemiology
Famous quotes containing the words alcohol and/or intoxication:
“Some parents feel that if they introduce their children to alcohol gradually in the home environment, the children will learn to use alcohol in moderation. I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. First of all, alcohol is not healthy for the growing child. Second, introducing alcohol to a child suggests that you condone drinking—even to the point where you want to teach your child how to drink.”
—Lawrence Balter (20th century)
“We are living now, not in the delicious intoxication induced by the early successes of science, but in a rather grisly morning-after, when it has become apparent that what triumphant science has done hitherto is to improve the means for achieving unimproved or actually deteriorated ends.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)