THE SILENT WITNESS
the lining of the stomach or spasm of the junction between the stomach and the duodenum and this delays absorption . Carbonated drinks such as sodas , when mixed with alcohol , increases the rate of absorption . This is contrary to the belief that mixing a soda with alcohol delays the onset of drunkenness .
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach means that it rapidly moves to the duodenum and to the jejunum to such an extent that most of it will have entered the blood stream within 30 to 90 minutes .
Once alcohol gets into the blood , the first organ it reaches is the liver . Here it meets enzymes whose function is to break it down . Among the enzymes is the alcohol dehydrogenase . It breaks down most of the alcohol with only 2-10 % of alcohol being excreted unchanged ( excretion is removal from the body ), the reason why chronic consumption of excess alcohol leads to damage to the liver . Ever gone to the toilet the morning after having used it to either pass stool or urine and forgot to flash it the previous night ? Ever worn the clothes that you had on while drinking alcohol without cleaning them ? The smell that hits you is that of excreted alcohol .
Excretion of alcohol is through the kidney by way of urine , through stool or through sweat . Some amounts are excreted through the breath , forming the basis of the use of breathalysers by police . I have seen some people arguing that when you eat mint or other compounds after drinking alcohol the breathalyser will be unable to detect the alcohol in your breath . This is not true for the alcohol detected by breathalyser is the one excreted through breath .
Various alcoholic drinks differ in the percentage of alcohol therein , with beers ranging from an average of 3-5 %; ciders 5 %; unfortified table wines 9-12 %; fortified wines 18-12 %; spirits 37-42 % and liqueurs 15-55 %.
There have been many discussions about how harmful intake of alcohol is . Are there any benefits that alcohol brings to the body ? Alcohol , when taken in moderation is not harmful . In estimating the approximate intake of alcohol , the term units of alcohol has traditionally been used , with one unit being either half pint of beer or one glass of wine or a tot of spirit ( even though there is a variation in the amount of alcohol in one unit ). It is for this reason that it is recommended that males should not exceed 21units and females 14units per week to avoid the risk of liver damage . What is your weekly consumption of alcohol in units ?
Studies have shown that daily intake of upto two units of alcohol for males and upto one unit of alcohol for females contributes to decreased
“ Do you know that there is an enzyme in the liver known as alcohol dehydrogenase which seems to be having no other function apart from breaking down alcohol once this compound gets into the body ? Is it because the creator anticipated the widespread consumption of alcohol and thus prepared the body for it ?”
risk of coronary heart disease ( this is accumulation of bad cholesterol in coronary arteries in the heart , leading to their obstruction , eventually heart disease from a heart starved off supply of blood or sudden death from heart attack ), thus the phrase “ a glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away ”, a phrase coined after a Harvard University study found that persons who consume alcohol in moderation are less likely to be admitted to hospital in comparison to teetotalers . So , alcohol when taken in moderation is not bad after all !
Intake of alcohol has a varied physiological effect on a person taking it . Make an observation in a pub . You will note this gentleman who enters a bar alone and sits in a corner or at the counter . Initially this gentleman is very quiet , not speaking to anyone , only minding his own business . As the night progress and after several drinks , he is suddenly friendly and can now chat strangers , more so the damsels who are nearby . Later on he laughs loudly shouting in his conversations . With more drinks he ’ s now very aggressive , either grabbing the damsels by force or even threatening to beat other patrons or attendants . His gait is unstable as he makes his frequent visits to the toilet . He ’ s even very careless and now trust strangers to an extent that he can leave his drink under their watch as he heads to the loo .
As the night progresses , he slumps on his seat and lapses into deep sleep . If he ’ s lucky , he will wake up and drive home , clearly drunk and aggressive . In some cases , he will end up in the home of a woman that he was meeting for the first time that night . If unlucky , he will get into an accident on his way home . He may even have his drink laced with drugs by people who will later rob him . In extreme scenarios , the whole night of fun may turn into admission to hospital from acute alcohol intoxication or to a fatality ( the Kenya Health Policy 2014- 2030 has listed alcohol use as the sixth leading risk factor in contributing to mortality and morbidity in the country ).
The outlined scenario above is a hypothetical physiological effect of alcohol in the body though there are interpersonal variations . Alcohol concentration in blood above 30mg / 100ml leads to impairment of complex skills such as driving . Between 30-50 there will be definite deterioration in driving skills . Between 50-100 there will be progressive loss of inhibition and some sensory disturbance ( the reason why this quiet gentleman suddenly gained the courage to make friends ). Between 100-150 the speech will be slurred and the person becomes unsteady . Between 150-200 there will be obvious drunkenness , nausea and staggering gait . From 200-300 there will be stupor , vomiting and possibly coma . At 300- 350 there will be danger of stupor , coma and aspiration of vomit . At the level of over 350 , the victim now is in danger of progressive death from respiratory centre paralysis .
There are however some legends who survive very high blood alcohol level without so much effect . One recorded incidence is a woman who survived levels of 1510mg / 100ml in an article which appeared in Lancet Journal .
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