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Is it possible to drown on alcohol?

Ninae

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
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4,522
A friend of mine almost just did, but I can't really see it. Wouldn't you just wake up before you got to that point? Or would they need to be completely blacked out with loss of consciousness for a considerate amount of time?

What a revolting way to die.
 
Do you mean like drowning as if you were sober, but when you're drunk? Yes.
Drown in alcohol? If you've got enough to cover mouth/nose, Yes.
Pass out from alcohol & die, aka alcohol lethal overdose? Yes.
Pass out in a puddle/whatever and drown, when drunk? Yes.

If you inhale a lot of liquid, you won't be able to clear it from your lungs through coughing. This can cause lung tissue to experience permanent damage, and you might absorb a lot of the material into blood stream - if this liquid is alcohol, you're gone basically.
Oral bioavailability of EtOH, <10%
 
I don't really see it happening unless you fall into the water hitting your head on something before hitting the water causing you to pass out. Even if you can barely walk you should still be able to swim I think it doesn't really require the same amount of balance (not that I ever tried). Also I would think falling into the water should get your attention.
 
What were the circumstances, when you say drowning, like vomiting and nearly choking?
 
I don't really see it happening unless you fall into the water hitting your head on something before hitting the water causing you to pass out. Even if you can barely walk you should still be able to swim I think it doesn't really require the same amount of balance (not that I ever tried). Also I would think falling into the water should get your attention.

I'm confused..

I thought we were talking about drowning on alcohol...not in water??

OP, I think we are all a little confused about the situation as you aren't real clear.

People can drown from any kind of liquid and it absolutely happens frequently in regards to alcohol. Haven't you heard of people vomiting while unconscious and then dying because they aspirated it? Aspiration is anytime liquid enters your lungs. Its not so much that it causes damage to your lungs (permanent or otherwise) its that it prevents you from getting adequate oxygen.

If your friend was unconscious (and again this happens frequently) and he vomited or someone poured alcohol into his mouth or whatever the case may have been the answer is yes, he very well could drown. When you start experiencing that lack of oxygen he would not necessarily wake up, have the ability to clear his airway and then be ok. Many people vomit or whatever and then do not wake up, drown and die.

Example..20 years ago a friend of mine flipped his truck and was knocked unconscious. He landed in a ditch that had only 2 inches of water in it, less than that in some places, but 2 inches at the most. He wasn't completely face down in the water but turned enough so that the water was entering his nose when he was taking breaths. Within a few mins when someone tried to revive him he had not woke up even though he was basically inhaling water and he did not have any other life threatening injuries either. He was of course taken to the hospital and he had been revived and lived but he is now permanently brain damaged and operates on the level of about a 3 year old all due to the fact that his brain was deprived of oxygen due to that tiny bit of water he was in, some was inhaled into his lungs and he didn't "wake up" while it was happening for the first few minutes.

so yes one can drown in alcohol and no it would not necessarily cause you to come to enough to prevent it from happening.
 
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If by drowning in alcohol, you mean like drowning in water, then yes you could drown in anything. If you mean drink too much, then yes you could drink too much alcohol at one time I suppose and your body would just quit
 
I'm confused..

I thought we were talking about drowning on alcohol...not in water??

OP, I think we are all a little confused about the situation as you aren't real clear.

Yea I read it as drowning while drunk (on alcohol), not drowning in alcohol.
 
Yea I read it as drowning while drunk (on alcohol), not drowning in alcohol.

Well...then I'm confused...still.

But if that, OP, is what you meant, then you could be drunk, fall into water, and be drunk enough that you not wake up when you hit water or start struggling to breathe and drown. You would not necessarily wake up.

I thought (think) the original poster means can you drown on alcohol itself not drown in water while being drunk. If that's the case then back to my other post.!
 
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I went swimming while wasted with a friend... we were at a hotel on new years eve... was pretty awesome. However, it was dumb. You can drown at anytime, but especially when drunk. You can drown in anything and even your own vomit. So always be careful and don't swim alone or drink too heavily alone.
 
No, I meant drown IN water whilst drunk. I understand it's possible, just seems to be a lot of variables. Like how drunk someoe is, depth of the water, and whether they float up to he surface on their back to get air.

Seems like it would be pretty unlucky unless the were so far away from the shore there was no point in struggling.
 
No, I meant drown IN water whilst drunk. I understand it's possible, just seems to be a lot of variables. Like how drunk someoe is, depth of the water, and whether they float up to he surface on their back to get air.

Seems like it would be pretty unlucky unless the were so far away from the shore there was no point in struggling.

Uh, I just said it would be easy... especially when drunk. I'm a very good swimmer while sober, but when I swim drunk... yeah no.
 
Okay then, I guess this would be more if it's a short amount of time and there are people to rescue close by.
 
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