Breakdown of alcohol in the human body table. The complete breakdown time of alcohol in the blood. Degrees of alcohol intoxication

It is important for every motorist to know how long alcohol stays in the blood. After all, even one bottle of beer can lead to deprivation of your license. When calculating, a person’s build, gender, age, physique and many other factors are of particular importance.

Below are tables of blood alcohol concentration, which were compiled on the basis of general patterns and provide only approximate results. Special equipment is used to measure the exact amount of alcohol in the blood.

How to calculate blood alcohol content using a table?

It's actually quite simple. In order to find out how much alcohol is in your blood, you need to know your weight and the amount you drank.

As you can see, for a person of small build, the period of disintegration of alcohol in the blood can reach 16 hours. And this is far from the limit. A small dose dissolves in the body on average in 2-3 hours.

Attention! The rate of breakdown of alcohol in the female body is lower than in the male body. Therefore, you need to add one more hour to all indicators when calculating.

To better understand the interaction between a person’s weight and the amount of alcohol in the blood, consider several practical examples:

Let's imagine a person weighs 58 kilograms and he drank 150 milliliters of vodka. We select the desired weight and amount of alcohol consumed in the blood alcohol breakdown table. Then we find the intersection of the column and row. It's 10 o'clock. After this time, you will be able to get behind the wheel. The alcohol will completely leave your blood.
The mass of a person is 110 kilograms. He drank 2 liters of beer. How long before he can get behind the wheel? We do the same as in the previous example. We select the most suitable number in the weight column - this is 100 kg. From above we find the required amount of alcohol. The result is as follows: alcohol will dissolve in the blood after 7 hours.
Let's take a more complicated example. Your weight is 79 kilograms. You consumed 0.6 liters of beer. A natural question arises: which column to choose where 0.5 or 1 liter? The main rule of the blood alcohol level chart is to always round up. You will be able to drive the car only after 5 hours.
The young woman drank two small cans of beer. Its mass is 50 kilograms. One jar contains 0.33 liters. In two - 0.66 l. The girl will need 8 hours for her body to completely dissolve all the alcohol in her blood.

Comment! If a woman weighs up to 50 kilograms, it is best to add another hour to the final figure to be completely sure.

Correction factors

Naturally, there is not only vodka and beer in the world. In order to calculate the blood alcohol content from, say, the consumption of whiskey or absinthe, there are correction factors.

The first table of blood alcohol ratios shows strong alcoholic beverages. Vodka, which traditionally contains 40% ethyl alcohol, is taken as the standard. In rum, by comparison, this figure is at 60%. Divide 60 by 40 and get 1.5. This means that to use the first table, you need to multiply the amount of rum you drink by one and a half.

The further algorithm remains the same. You indicate your weight and find the right time. This way you can find the dissolution time of any alcohol in the blood. Now you will always know how much alcohol is in your blood.

Important! The second table shows the indicators of low-alcohol drinks in relation to beer with a strength of 5%.

How accurate are the readings in the tables?

The readings given above are the result of statistical research. For each person, the time of sobering up is individual, as is the level of resistance to alcohol. We can identify a whole group of factors that, to one degree or another, influence the rate of elimination of ethyl alcohol from the blood:

speed of metabolism;
additional medications taken;
snacks consumed with alcohol;
health status.

Of course, age and gender also play a role. But judging by the tables, the main role is played by the mass of a person. The more you weigh, the faster alcohol is eliminated from your body. There is also an interesting pattern: the faster a person gets drunk, the higher the rate of breakdown of alcohol in the blood.

How does alcohol in the blood affect driving skills?

There is an opinion among motorists that a low blood alcohol content does not interfere with driving. However, this is not entirely true; even half a glass of beer can negatively affect making the right decision in a critical situation.

If blood alcohol is in the range of 0.2-0.5 ppm, then the driver cannot accurately perceive moving light sources. Difficulties arise in estimating the volume of objects. In this state, the person behind the wheel is prone to risky maneuvers, which means the possibility of an accident increases several times. Other consequences include:

Inability to determine the exact distance to oncoming cars.
Increased risk of collision when overtaking.
The motorist cannot accurately maintain a safe distance.

It becomes difficult for a motorcyclist to stay in his lane.
Brake and stop signals are poorly perceived.
When moving from high beam to low beam, a momentary loss of spatial orientation is possible.

The blood alcohol level is from 0.8 to 1.2 ppm. The person begins to feel euphoria. This results in an overestimation of one’s strengths and capabilities. The angle of view and depth decreases. A so-called tunnel gaze occurs. On the road this can have the following consequences:

The driver notices pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles parked at the side of the road too late.
Driving style becomes risky. There is a deceptive relaxation.
With peripheral vision it becomes increasingly difficult to notice cars driving past.

Blood alcohol level is from 1.2 to 2.4 ppm. Attention deteriorates, it becomes impossible to concentrate on a particular action. There is intense euphoria. The reaction is slow, the balance is disturbed. Driving in this condition is almost impossible. While driving you observe:

Problems with orientation in space.
Errors while driving. A person can easily confuse the brake pedal with the gas pedal.
The driving style can be classified as extremely risky.

The dose of alcohol in the blood is from 4 to 5 ppm. With such a level of ethyl alcohol in the body, a person should think about going to the hospital as soon as possible. The dose is lethal.

Breathalyzer and alcohol neutralization rate

Many drivers buy such gadgets for themselves in order to know exactly when they can get behind the wheel. Even pocket devices give quite accurate results. Of course, a certain error is possible here too. But usually it does not reach 0.3 ppm. The question is, how do you determine when you can drive?

The liver is responsible for removing toxins from the body. The average rate of neutralization of alcohol in the blood is 0.10-0.15 ppm for men; for women this figure is 0.08-0.10.

For clarity, let's take a simple example. At a noisy party, the driver brought his blood alcohol content to 2.2 ppm. Minimum decay rate 0.10 ppm. Therefore, by 8 o’clock in the morning the breathalyzer will show 1.4 ppm. The body will be completely clean only in the evening at 22:00.

The result is simple - complete intoxication after drinking alcohol in particularly high doses requires at least 24 hours.

Important! Neither shower nor coffee speeds up this process. They only help cope with the consequences and stimulate the nervous system.

Acceptable ppm

In some European countries, a person can drive with a certain amount of alcohol in their blood. Russia was no exception. The history of the issue began in 2010. At that time, the odious “zero ppm” law was in force. Three years later it was canceled and new standards were introduced.

The thing is that a certain ppm of alcohol is contained in many products. It is found in bread, cabbage, bananas and even kefir. Because of the odious law, the driver could be subject to sanctions from law enforcement agencies for drinking a liter of kefir and eating a loaf of black bread. As a result, this legal norm was revised.

In 2015, the legal limit for blood alcohol is 0.35 ppm. In fact, this is the size of the average statistical measurement error. Therefore, you should not rely on this legal norm when consuming it on the road.

How to speed up the removal of alcohol from the blood?

There are emergencies in life when you need to get yourself in order as quickly as possible. When removing alcohol from the blood, a person sets the following goals:

improved response;
restoration of coordination of movements;
normalization of memory;
optimization of brain activity.

The most effective method of relieving alcohol intoxication is going to the hospital. Narcologists will supply a special dropper containing glucose, saline solution and other additives. This mixture will allow the body to quickly cope with alcohol and remove it from the blood. For complete recovery, 4-8 hours are enough.

If you can’t go to the hospital, there is a whole list of folk methods that help remove alcohol from the blood:

Drink more water.
Make yourself orange or grapefruit juice. These fruits contain a large amount of fructose, which stimulates cleansing of the body.
Eat foods high in vitamin C. This element is found in lemon, onion, kiwi, and so on. Or just buy ascorbic acid at the pharmacy.
Drink activated carbon. 6-8 tablets 2-3 times a day are enough.
It is believed that saunas and baths help remove toxins from the body. Increased sweating quickly cleanses the blood of harmful elements. Alternatively, drink hot tea with plenty of sugar and sweat under a blanket.
Even simple exercise improves blood circulation, which means alcohol leaves the blood faster.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to judge the effectiveness of these techniques. Of course, they give a certain result, but a trip to the hospital is guaranteed to get rid of alcohol in your blood.

conclusions

The tables above are designed to help you know the approximate time for complete cleansing of the body. The best option is to buy a breathalyzer. Most importantly, before getting behind the wheel, remember that even a small amount of alcohol in your blood can seriously affect your behavior on the road. It’s better to wait an hour or two and only then start the engine.

Many of us are interested in the decay time of alcohol in the human body, or rather in the blood. After all, many are drivers and have responsible work positions. Therefore, it is better to calculate in advance how much alcoholic beverages you can drink and the time it takes for alcohol to disintegrate in order to avoid unpleasant consequences.

What determines the decay time of alcoholic beverages in the blood?

The duration of the breakdown of alcohol in the blood depends on many factors: the person’s weight, the number of servings, the activity of the metabolic process, sweating, and the time of drinking alcohol. Also from the foods that a person ate, what foods he consumed the day before before drinking, how the feast went, or rather, whether there were any physical activities, outdoor games, or dancing.

Let's consider the estimated time of decay of alcohol in a person's blood

It should be noted that the data below is only an approximate value. You should know that these are average values, since the removal of alcohol from the body is a very individual process; in addition to a person’s body weight and gender, this process also depends on the person’s general health, so for sick or elderly people it is recommended to increase the numbers by an order of magnitude. And yet, in people with large body weight, the breakdown of alcohol in the blood occurs an order of magnitude faster if there are no diseases.

For men, approximate data on the breakdown of alcohol are as follows. Beer (500 ml) - 2 hours, beer (1000 ml) - 5 hours, beer (1500 ml) - 7 hours, beer (2000 ml) - 9 hours, beer 2500 ml - 12 hours.

Unfortified wine (200 ml glass) is excreted from the body within 3 hours, wine (400 ml) - 6 hours, wine (600 ml) - 8 hours, wine (800 ml) - 11 hours, wine (1000 ml) - 14 hours .

Champagne (150 ml glass) is cleared from the blood after 2 hours, champagne (300 ml) - 3 hours, champagne (450 ml) - 5 hours, champagne (600 ml) - 7 hours, bottle (0.7 l) - 8 hours .

Cognac (50 ml) - disintegration time in the blood is 2 hours, cognac (100 ml) - 4 hours, cognac (150 ml) - 6 hours, cognac (200 ml) - 8 hours, cognac (250 ml) - 10 hours.

Vodka (100 ml) - disintegration in the blood 4 hours, vodka (200 ml) - 7 hours, vodka (300 ml) - 11 hours, vodka (400 ml) - 15 hours, bottle (0.5 l) - 19 hours.

The breakdown of alcohol in the female body occurs much more slowly. For example, beer (500 ml) - disintegration in the blood 6 hours, wine (200 ml) - 7 hours, champagne (150 ml) - 4 hours, cognac (50 ml) - 5 hours, vodka (100 ml) - 10 hours.

How to quickly remove alcohol from the body, as well as its breakdown products

You can cope with a hangover at home, however, unfortunately, it will not be possible to completely remove alcohol with home remedies. Ethyl alcohol, entering the bloodstream, enters the liver, where it is broken down into acetaldehyde, which causes unpleasant consequences. Since all this happens at the level of blood circulation, the struggle must also be appropriate. To remove alcohol from the blood, doctors administer drugs such as rheopolyglucin, hemodez, and glucose intravenously, along with B vitamins and drugs that ease the work of the heart. But this procedure is recommended to be carried out under medical supervision. After it, the blood is cleansed much faster and the person can quickly return to everyday activities. If you want to remove alcohol from your blood at home, you should call a doctor to do this cleaning. This is considered the most effective way to fight.

It is important to drink as much fluid as possible. This includes juices high in vitamin C (citrus fruits are best). Traditional cucumber or tomato pickle will also work. Mineral water and green tea will have a wonderful effect.

To get rid of unpleasant odor faster, you should eat fatty foods. Meat broths are best. They will envelop the walls of the stomach and esophagus, preventing the release of odor. You can also drink vegetable oil for this purpose.

You should know that there are no tablets (tinctures, ointments, drops) that can relieve a person of a hangover or prevent its occurrence. The only option to avoid trouble is to control yourself during the feast.

A concentration of more than 5% is a lethal dose of alcohol; it leads to a coma and death. Therefore, you should know in advance what amount of alcohol will cause you a certain degree of intoxication; you should not drink a predetermined dose.

The time it takes for alcohol to disintegrate in the blood varies from person to person, but there are still approximate indicators of when alcohol will be eliminated from the body. Such data will be of interest to those people who drive public transport or their own car.

It's no secret that alcohol negatively affects a person's consciousness, the central nervous system, and even in small quantities can provoke a number of disorders that will lead to unpleasant consequences for the general well-being of the drinker and negatively affect his actions. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for both men and women, so you should always control the amount of alcohol you drink at dinner events and try not to drink more than 3-4 times a year.

Indicators of alcohol removal from the body

A table that shows the breakdown of alcohol in the blood will help a person determine the amount of alcohol in order to completely remove it from the body within a specific time. Alcohol dosage in the table is 100 g.

Human body weight/alcoholic beverages	50-60 kg	65-70 kg	80 kg	85-95 kg	More than 100 kg
Beer	From 35 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the strength of the drink)	30-45 minutes	From 25 minutes to 40	From 20 minutes to 34	From 20 minutes to 30
Low alcohol drinks 7-9% vol.	From 1 hour 20 minutes.	1,05	55 minutes.	50 minutes.	45 minutes
Sparkling champagne	1.30	1.20	1.10	1.05	55 minutes
Liquor	4.20	3.40	3.15	2.55	2.35
Vodka 40% vol.	5.45	4.55	4.20	3.50	3.30
Good cognac over 40% vol.	6 hours	5.15	4.30	4.05	3.35
Pharmacy tincture with alcohol (more than 20% vol.)	3.25	2.55	2.35	2.15	2.05

These indicators are more accurate for healthy people with normal functioning of internal organs. If you have gastrointestinal diseases or chronic diseases, then the breakdown time of alcohol can vary greatly.

In the female body, alcoholic drinks are retained 15-20% longer than in the male body, so all the data in the table above needs to be increased slightly to find out the time frame for complete elimination of alcohol.

The influence of various factors on the decay process

The time it takes to remove alcohol from the body depends not only on the degrees of the drink itself. The breakdown of alcohol in the blood can be affected by a number of factors, such as:

a person’s body weight (the larger and larger the person, the faster he will eliminate alcohol);
amount of alcohol consumed;
metabolism;
functionality of sweat glands;
food and the products themselves that a person consumed before and during alcohol consumption;
physical activity of a person before and during the feast;
human health, his well-being at the time of drinking alcohol, bad habits;
age indicators (in mature people, the process of alcohol breakdown is half as slow as in young people).

Alcohol affects people very differently and can sometimes lead to serious health problems. The dose consumed by patients with diabetes mellitus should be controlled, since alcohol can lead to hypoglycemic coma. The amount of alcohol consumed at one time should not exceed 50 g. Pregnant women and nursing mothers should abstain from alcohol altogether.

Acceleration of alcohol removal from the body

Alcohol is completely eliminated from the body when it oxidizes. This unfavorable product is synthesized by the main filter of the human body - the liver, and less than 10% is excreted by the kidneys, sweat glands and lungs.

Using certain techniques you can speed up the elimination of alcohol. For example, at home you can use:

strong coffee;
tea;
cool shower;
citrus fruit juice;
products high in vitamin C (onions, kiwi, rose hips, etc.);
visiting a bathhouse or sauna to increase sweating (not recommended for heart or vascular diseases);
playing sports (basic exercises will help increase sweating and speed up the process of removing alcohol from the blood);
activated carbon (it’s good to drink 1 tablet per 10 kg of weight before the feast);
a walk in the fresh air.

To prevent the influence of alcohol from being felt very strongly, you need to eat properly and well during dinner gatherings. In particular, you need to eat more citrus fruits and meat dishes.

Traditional medicine offers its own methods to speed up the breakdown of alcohol in the body. Using them at home is strictly prohibited, since such procedures require special skills and knowledge. Such drugs are administered intravenously, using the drip method. In particular, alcohol is eliminated through:

Hemodesa;
Reopoliglyukina;
glucose;
B vitamins;
drugs aimed at improving cardiac function.

This video talks about the rate at which alcohol is eliminated from the body:

If you urgently need to remove alcohol from your body, you need to contact a specialist who will help you do this at home or in a hospital.

You take a glass of vodka or whiskey with a strength of 40 degrees and a volume of 25 milliliters. Regardless of whether you diluted this drink with soda water, as is customary in many countries, or not, 10 grams of pure alcohol entered the body. What is the fate of these 10 grams of ethyl (wine) alcohol in your body?

First of all, alcohol causes a distinct burning sensation in the mouth. This sensation is usually caused by any drink with a strength above 20 degrees. After a large swallow, the burning sensation is not limited to the oral cavity, but spreads to the esophagus and stomach.

In a few seconds alcohol taken ends up in the stomach. A small part of it will be absorbed by the gastric mucosa, and the rest will quickly be diluted by gastric juice released in response to the intake of this burning substance. Dilution will stop when the alcohol concentration reaches approximately 5 percent. If the liquid is taken on an empty stomach, it will flow further into the small intestine very quickly, within one fifteenth of a minute.

If the stomach is full or full (food comes in), the alcohol mixes with the food and stays in the stomach longer, which increases irritation of the stomach lining. Some alcoholic drinks (particularly beer and, to a lesser extent, grape wine) contain nutrients that slow down the passage of alcohol through an empty stomach. Foods rich in fat slow down this process even more. If you drink a little vegetable oil or a glass of milk before drinking alcohol, absorption slows down. This, of course, does not mean that less alcohol will penetrate the body or that the consequences of taking it will be weakened - simply the absorption will be extended over time.

Carbon dioxide, on the contrary, accelerates the passage of alcohol from the stomach to the intestines and, thus, speeds up its absorption. It is known that champagne goes to the head faster. The less an alcoholic drink lingers in the stomach, the less irritation it will cause.

So, 10 grams of alcohol (minus the very small amounts that had already passed into the blood through the stomach mucosa) ended up first in the small and then in the large intestine. Through the intestinal walls, alcohol quickly penetrates into the blood vessels. It has not yet undergone any changes: this small molecule easily passes through tissues without undergoing transformations.

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol spreads not only into the blood, but into all parts of the body that contain water. So, for a person weighing 70 kilograms, the “diffusion space” of alcohol is approximately 50 liters. It covers organs, cells and intercellular spaces, but does not enter bones (almost free of water) and adipose tissue (alcohol does not dissolve in fat). By the way, an obese person has proportionally less space for alcohol diffusion than a thin person. In women, the space over which alcohol can be dispersed is smaller than in men, since they have relatively more subcutaneous fatty tissue. Therefore, in other tissues the concentration of alcohol is higher.

Blood alcohol content after its administration is slightly higher than in other tissues (by about 20 percent). This is explained by the fact that blood is the most water-rich tissue in our body (note that the brain is in second place). Alcohol has an affinity for water and attracts it. Typically, two-thirds of the water in the body is inside cells, and one-third is in intercellular fluids. If a person has taken a lot of alcohol, the latter draws some of the water from the cells, circulating through the intercellular spaces. Water is still in the body, but it is not in place, not in the cells, which causes a feeling of thirst that does not go away for a long time, even if you drink a lot of water.

As alcohol circulates throughout the body, it gradually breaks down. The liver carries out a dehydrogenation reaction - it removes a hydrogen atom from the alcohol molecule, as a result of which the alcohol turns into acetaldehyde. The speed of this reaction is limited by the available reserve in the liver of the enzyme necessary for it and the rate of production of new quantities of this enzyme. On average, the liver can destroy 0.1 grams of alcohol per kilogram of a person's weight in an hour. However, there are substances that accelerate the breakdown of alcohol in the liver. These are fructose and some amino acids.

Several years ago, Parisian professor Jean Lerebullet conducted experiments with these substances. He showed that fructose, taken in an amount of 100 grams immediately before drinking alcohol, causes an accelerated decrease in the amount of alcohol in the blood (however, at the same time it causes digestive upset). The amino acid asparagine, taken after alcohol in an amount of 15 grams, acts in approximately the same way. According to Professor Lerebulle, frequent use of such substances can damage the liver and kidneys, since their metabolism is disrupted.

Note that acetaldehyde, obtained after a dehydrogenation reaction in the liver, is also a poison. The next substance resulting from the further breakdown of alcohol is acetic acid. If you have drunk a lot, the decay process can occur not only in the liver, but also in other tissues. But, since these tissues are not adapted to neutralize poisons, their cells immediately die during this process. The “usual” liver cells also have a bad time.

Because liver breakdown process It goes slowly, alcohol has time to circulate through the circulatory system many times before it is completely decomposed. Only a small part of it (about 2.5 percent) in an undecomposed form during this time will be excreted through the lungs and almost the same amount through the kidneys. Very little alcohol passes through the skin through sweat. It is mainly the breakdown products that are removed from the body, not the alcohol itself.

So, the alcohol has turned into acetic acid. It is then slowly broken down in all cells of the body, ultimately forming water and carbon dioxide. This process lasts several days, sometimes up to two weeks. Some of the acetic acid is converted into cholesterol and fatty acids, also compounds that are important to the body.

This oxidation of alcohol in the body releases energy. One gram of ethyl alcohol, when burned, produces seven kilocalories. The point, however, is that this energy cannot replace the energy that comes from food. Alcohol is not food. After all, it does not contain proteins, vitamins, or minerals usually found in food products, which, due to the influence of alcohol, the drinker often refuses. Hence the paradox: systematic alcohol consumption often causes exhaustion, but at the same time leads to obesity, since unused fats accumulate in the body - their calories are replaced in the body’s energy balance by constantly incoming calories from alcohol.

Described path of destruction and elimination of alcohol is typical, but individual people may have more or less significant deviations from it. Alcohol, like some medications, caffeine, and nicotine, can affect different people differently. There are people who are simply unable to drink even a small amount of alcohol. Alcoholic drinks cause stomach cramps and vomiting. The brain can also react differently to alcohol. Some people show obvious signs of intoxication even at 0.5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood, while others appear sober even at 4 grams per liter. This does not mean that alcohol harms the latter’s body less. The accumulation of hidden irreversible changes proceeds in the same way.

There is another significant difference in attitudes towards alcohol. Some people may develop a morbid habit of this poison. A person who drinks (sometimes even moderately drinks) develops a need for new doses, which becomes irresistible and is the first step towards chronic alcoholism. There are practically no cases when an alcoholic could drink in moderation. As Roger Williams, director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the University of Texas (USA), wrote, “an alcoholic either remains an alcoholic or stops drinking completely; There’s something about him that doesn’t allow for the middle option—moderation.” Drinking people are susceptible to liver cirrhosis, alcoholic psychosis and other diseases promoted by excessive alcohol consumption - tuberculosis, cancer of the upper respiratory tract.

Alcohol-induced changes in the brain, have not yet been studied enough. It has been shown that it affects substances responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses - adrenaline, norepinephrine, serotonin, acetylcholine. In addition, the effect of alcohol on the blood affects the brain. Several years ago, a group of researchers reported that alcohol increases the clumping of red blood cells, causing them to clog the smallest capillaries and impair blood supply to tissues. The brain is especially sensitive to lack of blood supply.

Dr. Ernest Noble from the University of California (USA) reported another aspect of the effects of alcohol on the brain. It turns out that this compound inhibits the synthesis of proteins and RNA in the brain, and it is RNA that is believed to be used to remember information. According to Noble, two or three glasses of wine, drunk daily on an empty stomach, are enough to cause irreversible destruction of brain cells, which a person is convinced of only 20-30 years later.

While the long-term effect of alcohol on the brain has not yet been fully studied, its effect on human behavior has been known for a long time. As already indicated, there are large individual differences here, and yet the main dependencies can be traced quite clearly. When the alcohol content in the blood reaches 0.04-0.05%, the higher parts of the brain, which are responsible for self-control, restraint and common sense, begin to weaken. A drunk person frees himself from internal inhibitions and more easily allows himself to satisfy impulsive desires, without particularly caring about what others think of him. The ability for self-criticism weakens, the person becomes talkative.

These symptoms intensify as the concentration of alcohol in the blood increases. When it reaches 0.1%, deeper layers of the brain are suppressed, in particular those associated with motor functions. This state of intoxication is expressed in the fact that the drunk person sways slightly, it is difficult for him to insert the key into the keyhole, eloquence weakens, since it is already difficult for him to speak - his tongue becomes slurred. For some, this state is accompanied by euphoria (especially good mood, liveliness), for others, on the contrary, depression. In 15% of drinkers, neither one nor the other effect appears to be externally manifested, but special psychomotor tests make it possible to detect them.

As blood alcohol levels rise the clarity of visual and auditory sensations is dulled, the sense of touch weakens, and the speed of motor reactions decreases. Nevertheless, it seems to the person that he is in excellent shape and his reactions have accelerated and his senses have become more acute.

When the concentration of alcohol in the blood reaches 0.2%, the activity of even deeper parts of the brain - the so-called midbrain - is suppressed. The midbrain is believed to largely control emotional responses. This is already intoxication in the full sense of the word. In addition to disturbances in perception, the activity of motor centers and balance organs, there is an out-of-control primitive instincts. Hence - sharp outbursts of anger and aggressiveness, foul language, antisocial acts, and often crimes. It is interesting, however, that even when the alcohol concentration reaches 0.2-0.3%, approximately 5% of people may not outwardly show signs of intoxication. It is these people who are said to tolerate alcohol well. This does not mean that the consequences of drinking do not affect them.

When the blood alcohol concentration reaches approximately 0.3%, it affects even deeper areas of the brain. Feelings and reason turn out to be so dull that a person, even while conscious, understands almost nothing of what he sees and hears. The so-called alcoholic stupor occurs.

At 0.4-0.5%, all perception is turned off, and the person falls into a state of shock. Being, as they say, fatally drunk, he falls unconscious, falls asleep, and his breathing becomes short and uneven. Reflexes are inactive, the circular muscles that close the main openings of the body involuntarily relax. Other muscles of the body also weaken. In this state, a person can die either from a cerebral hemorrhage or from suffocation during regurgitation or vomiting. Sensitivity is so reduced that you can perform a surgical operation on someone who is asleep, and he will not wake up.

If a person managed to take an even higher dose of alcohol before losing consciousness, 0.6-0.7 or even more percent of alcohol may accumulate in the blood. In this case, the brain stem, which contains the centers that control breathing and heartbeat, is switched off. The consequences of this are clear.

Interesting statistics obtained in the USA when analyzing the behavior and reactions of car drivers who have taken different doses of alcohol, on dangerous and difficult sections of roads. The alcohol content in the blood is determined after an accident or violation by analyzing the exhaled air with a special device (if the drunk driver is still breathing after the incident).

When the alcohol concentration reaches 0.06%, the risk doubles compared to a completely sober driver, and at 0.1% it increases 6-7 times. At 0.15% it increases more than 25 times, and at 0.2% almost 50 times (however, there were so few drivers with such a high concentration of alcohol in the blood that this figure may be inaccurate). The area of greatest risk is between 0.08 and 0.24% alcohol content. This concentration is achieved if a person weighing 70 kilograms drinks 0.75-2.5 liters of ten-proof wine or, accordingly, 4 times less vodka. A person who has consumed more alcohol than these limits is most often, due to his condition, no longer able to even get behind the wheel or, in any case, understands that this should not be done.

An interesting experiment was carried out by English researchers. They selected three groups of city bus drivers. All of them were experienced, highly qualified specialists who had never been in an accident. The drivers of the first group did not drink alcohol before the experiment, the second group drank 45 grams of whiskey, and the third group drank 140 grams. Each driver, sitting behind the wheel of his usual bus, had to drive between two high cones, which moved and moved apart at the request of the drivers. It turned out that drinking alcohol completely impaired the eye of experienced drivers. Some of them thought they could travel along a corridor narrower than the width of the bus. Thus, one of the drivers was convinced that he could drive his 2.5-meter-wide bus along a 2.2-meter-wide corridor, another - even along a 1.95-meter-wide corridor. The error in estimating the width of the gap between the cones was greater among those who drank more whiskey.

So, from burning the lips to changes in the deep parts of the brain - this is the hidden route of a sip of alcohol in the human body.

A. Dorozinsky. Abridged translation from French by M. Khilkova.

Alcohol in large doses is a powerful poison for the human body. Alcohol abuse affects the liver, kidneys, heart and nervous system, and all metabolic processes are disrupted.. This article examines the breakdown of alcohol in the body, the enzymes responsible for these processes, and ways to speed up the metabolism of alcohol and its elimination.

How alcohol is broken down

Once in the body, alcohol is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream from the gastric mucosa. Absorption time depends on many factors, for example, on the condition of the gastric walls, food intake or any medications.

Alcohol immediately passes from the blood to the liver, which produces enzymes that break down alcohol. The main one is alcohol dehydrogenase. It is with its help that alcohol is absorbed. Alcohol dehydrogenase is also produced in small quantities in the gastric cavity. In men, this enzyme is synthesized in greater quantities. This explains the tendency of women to get drunk faster.

Interesting fact: alcohol dehydrogenase is produced not only in the human body, but also in animals. Scientists believe that this enzyme evolutionarily began to be synthesized in our ancient ancestors for the purpose of digesting fermented fruits and vegetables.

Under the influence of these enzymes, alcohol is converted into acetic acid. When drinking alcoholic beverages in large quantities, a state of blood oxidation – acidosis – can develop. In this case, the pH decreases and all metabolic processes are disrupted.

Before acetic acid is formed, alcohol is first converted into a toxic substance, acetaldehyde.. It has a toxic effect on the entire body and in large quantities provokes the development of acute alcohol poisoning. The produced acetic acid in metabolic processes breaks down into ordinary water and carbon dioxide and is eliminated from the body through the kidneys and lungs.

Acetic acid itself is harmless to humans; it is dangerous only when produced in large quantities. But when an alcohol molecule is converted into acetaldehyde, hydrogen atoms are split off from it. They cause the greatest harm to the human body and can lead to the following consequences:

High production of lactic acid. This substance has a negative effect on the functioning of the central nervous system and can lead to anxiety attacks and panic attacks. This explains the frequent mental disorders in people who abuse alcoholic beverages.
Development of gout. Hydrogen atoms can enhance the production of uric acid.
To increase the level of lipids and cholesterol in the blood, which leads to fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis.

We have all heard that alcohol prevents the deposition of fatty plaques in blood vessels and the development of atherosclerosis. In fact, only moderate and rare consumption of alcohol can have a beneficial effect on the condition of blood vessels. And alcohol abuse stimulates vascular damage and the development of atherosclerotic plaques.

How long does it take for alcohol to leave the body?

The time it takes for alcohol to be broken down and eliminated from the body depends on many factors and is individual for each person. It depends on:

amount drunk. The more alcohol a person has taken, the longer it will take the body to neutralize and break it down;
liver conditions. If enzyme activity is impaired, the time for neutralization of alcohol increases significantly;
alcoholic "experience". The liver of people who abuse alcohol is usually in poor condition;
concurrent use of certain medications. For example, narcotic analgesics, antidepressants, nootropics increase alcohol intoxication;
consumption of protein foods of animal origin. Scientists have proven that the process of neutralizing the elimination of alcoholic beverages in people who, in parallel with drinking alcohol, ate meat, fish, eggs or cheese, is accelerated by several hours.

Below is an indicative table of the breakdown of alcohol and its removal from the body.

But these figures are very approximate. In practice, everyone has an individual rate of alcohol elimination. Some people are genetically programmed to have low production of enzymes responsible for the metabolism of alcohol. They get drunk from a small dose of alcohol and then suffer from a hangover for a long time.

How can you speed up the elimination and metabolism of alcohol?

A hangover, dehydration and poor health are what a person faces after drinking alcoholic beverages in large quantities. You can speed up metabolism and eliminate alcohol from the body yourself, at home. Below we have put together recommendations for you to help you do this:

Drink more fluids. Water is a catalyst for most biochemical reactions. It also helps eliminate alcohol through the kidneys. Alcohol leads to dehydration and acidosis. With the help of plain or mineral alkaline water, you can help the body cope with alcohol intoxication.
Drink sorbents. These drugs do an excellent job of treating intoxication and will help remove toxins from the intestines that are formed as a result of exposure to alcohol. Any drugs from this group are suitable for this purpose, for example, activated carbon, enterosgel, atoxil.
A contrast shower will help speed up your metabolism and relieve vascular spasms. Take it for 5 minutes and you will feel an improvement.
Drink a glass of pickle juice. This drink will help normalize water and electrolyte balance and speed up recovery after drinking..
Have a hearty breakfast. It is best to choose protein foods of animal origin. Fermented milk products, milk, eggs, meat, cheese and fish will speed up the metabolism of alcohol. Beware of fatty and spicy foods, they can cause indigestion.

If you want to get alcohol out of your body faster, you should never have a hangover. This method can only help relieve nausea and headaches, but it will not have a positive effect on the processes of alcohol elimination.

After abusing alcohol, you should not abuse coffee, cola and energy drinks. They can lead to increased blood pressure and increased headaches. You should also avoid taking hot baths. This procedure will cause nausea and dizziness.

The breakdown and metabolism of alcohol in the body is a complex and lengthy biochemical process. Its speed is influenced by many factors. You can speed up the body’s cleansing of alcohol by drinking plenty of fluids, protein foods, and sorbents. Do not abuse alcohol, this drink poisons the body and disrupts all metabolic processes in it, leading to cardiovascular diseases and liver pathologies.