How to Take Care of a Drunk

Knowing how to properly care for a drunk person can sometimes save their life. When a person drinks too much alcohol, they can hurt themselves or others, risk death from alcohol poisoning or choking on vomit while sleeping. To take care of a drunk person, you need to recognize the signs of alcohol poisoning, ensure the person’s safety, and take the right steps to help them stay sober.

Table of Contents

Check if the person is ok

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Ask how much alcohol the person has had. You’ll know the best course of action if you know how much the person has been drinking. The amount of alcohol you drink more or less, how fast or slow you drink, how big or small your body is, whether your tolerance for alcohol is high or low, and whether you ate or didn’t eat before drinking are all factors that affect how drunk you are. person. They may just need to lie down to sleep, but you can’t decide without knowing how much alcohol they’ve had. ^{[1] X Research Source}

You can ask them, “How do you feel about yourself? Do you remember how much you drank? Did you eat anything?” That way you can guess how much they drank. If they have had more than 5 drinks on an empty stomach, they may be dangerously intoxicated and may require medical attention.
If the person is speaking incoherently and doesn’t understand what you’re saying, it could be a sign of alcohol poisoning. Take them to the hospital as soon as possible. If you’ve also been drinking, don’t drive. Call an ambulance or have someone sober you trust drive you and the intoxicated person to the hospital.

Warning: There is a chance that they have been drugged with alcohol by someone, causing them to appear as severe alcohol poisoning. If you know how much alcohol they drank, you can guess if they were drugged. For example, if a person drinks only 1 or 2 glasses of wine and has symptoms like severe alcohol poisoning, they may have ingested something in the alcohol. If you suspect someone has been drugged, get them to the hospital right away.

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Explain what you plan to do before approaching or touching a drunk person. Depending on the level of intoxication, the person may be confused, disoriented, and not fully understand what you are doing. Drunk people can lose their judgment, and if you force them to do something, they can go mad and harm themselves or others. You always have to explain to them what you intend to do. ^{[2] X Research Source}

If the person hugs the toilet and doesn’t seem okay, you can say, “Hey, I’m here so you can call if you need anything. Let me help you keep your hair out of the way.”
Don’t touch or move someone without asking first if it’s okay for you to do so.
If the person faints, try to wake them up by calling out loud to see if they’re awake. Try asking “Hey man! Are you okay?”
If they are unresponsive and appear to be unconscious, call 911 immediately.

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Check for signs of alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning can be deadly if not treated promptly and properly. If the person has symptoms such as pale skin, cold and wet skin, or slow and irregular breathing, call an ambulance or get them to the hospital right away. Other symptoms of alcohol poisoning include vomiting, panic attacks, and loss of consciousness. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

If the person has a seizure, their life is in danger. Don’t waste time: call an ambulance or get them to the hospital as soon as possible.

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Take the intoxicated person to a safe place to prevent them from hurting themselves or others. If it’s someone you know, you should take the person home so they can sober up and not harm anyone. If you don’t know people who are drunk and are in public, try to find their acquaintances to help keep them out of danger. If the person is so drunk that they can’t take care of themselves, you need to get them to a safe place. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Don’t drive if you’ve been drinking, and never let an intoxicated person drive. You should appoint a sane person to take the responsibility of driving or use a technology taxi app like Uber or Grabtaixi to get home safely.
Take the intoxicated person to a comfortable and safe place such as their home or your home, or the home of a trusted friend.

Ensure safety for drunk people when sleeping

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Never let a drunk person fall asleep unattended. A drunk person’s body continues to absorb alcohol even when he or she sleeps or passes out and can lead to alcohol poisoning. They can die from choking on vomit if they sleep in the wrong position. Don’t assume that once you fall asleep, the drunk will be fine. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Tip: Remember the 4 signs to watch for alcohol poisoning: Cold or pale wet skin, unconsciousness, uncontrollable vomiting, and slow or irregular breathing. If an intoxicated person shows any of these signs, you should immediately take them to the hospital.

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Let the drunk person lie on his side by blocking a pillow behind his back. If there is no risk of alcohol poisoning, it is possible that the drunk person just needs to sleep to give the body time to process the alcohol and remove it from the blood. However, they may vomit while sleeping and are at risk of aspiration. Make sure drunk people sleep on their side by blocking a pillow behind them so they don’t roll over onto their backs. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Intoxicated people should lie in a position so that vomit comes out of their mouths if they vomit while sleeping.
Fetal position is a safe position for drunk people to sleep.
Put an extra pillow in front so they don’t roll over and make it difficult to breathe.

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Wake the drunk every 5-10 minutes for the first hour. Even if they have stopped drinking, their bodies will continue to process the alcohol they have consumed. This means their blood alcohol levels can rise during sleep. Within the first hour after the drunk person falls asleep, wake them up every 5-10 minutes and check for signs of alcohol poisoning. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

After the first hour, you can check on the drunk about every hour if they seem fine.

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Make sure someone stays with the drunk all night long. If the person is extremely drunk, they need to be constantly monitored to make sure there is no risk of alcohol poisoning or choking on vomiting. Someone must be around the drunk all night to check their breathing. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

If you don’t know the person, ask who you can call to pick them up.
Never let a drunk person watch over a drunk person. If you’ve also been drinking, ask someone sober to help keep an eye on them.
If you are at a restaurant or bar and do not know a drunk person, tell the staff that a drunk person needs help there. Don’t leave them until you’re not sure someone takes care of them.

Help the drunk sober

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Prevent the person from drinking more alcohol. A person who is already intoxicated is at risk of alcohol poisoning if they drink more. If they continue to drink, their cognitive abilities will deteriorate further and may cause them to harm themselves or others. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Try to be direct and don’t give them any more drinks. Say something like, “Listen, you’ve had too much to drink. I’m a bit worried. I won’t let you drink any more.”
To avoid conflict with an aggressive drunk, try distracting them with a non-alcoholic drink or playing their favorite music or movie.
If the drunk won’t listen to you, ask someone close to them to advise them not to drink.
If you can’t convince the person and are worried they may be aggressive or hurt themselves or others, call the police.

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Let the drunk drink water. Water will dilute the blood alcohol concentration and help them sober up faster. Alcohol also dehydrates the body, so drinking water will help them feel less tired the next day. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Give the intoxicated person a full glass of water before going to bed.
Give them a sports drink like Gatorade to replace the sodium and electrolytes lost by drinking alcohol.

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Give the drunk something to eat. High-fat foods such as cheeseburgers and pizza can help reduce the effects of alcohol and slow the absorption of alcohol from the stomach into the bloodstream. While it won’t reduce blood alcohol levels, food can help people feel better and reduce alcohol absorption. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Remember not to overfeed or they will vomit. A sandwich and a few fries is fine, but don’t let them eat a whole pizza and three sandwiches at once; otherwise they will vomit.
If the drunk doesn’t want to eat much, you can try giving them some salty snacks like peanuts or salty crackers.

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Avoid giving coffee to intoxicated people unless necessary. People often drink a cup of coffee when they want to stay awake. However, despite helping drunk people stay awake, coffee did not reduce the amount of alcohol in the blood. What’s more, the caffeine in coffee can cause dehydration, slowing the body’s rate of alcohol processing and increasing the negative effects of next-day irritability. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Black coffee can irritate the stomach and cause vomiting if the person is not used to drinking it.

Tip: Giving a drunk person a cup of coffee can help if you’re afraid they’ll fall asleep, but remember they also need to drink at least a cup of water to offset the dehydrating effects of coffee.

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Don’t try to make people vomit. Stimulating vomiting also does not lower blood alcohol levels, so it only reduces the amount of fluid in the body and makes the drunk more dehydrated. When you’re dehydrated, it takes longer for your body to process and remove alcohol from your body. ^{[13] X Research Source}

If they want to vomit, stay close to them so they don’t fall and get hurt. Vomiting is a natural reflex of the body to get rid of alcohol that may be in the stomach.

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Wait a while for the drunk to sober up. Once alcohol has entered the body, the only way to get rid of it is to give the body enough time to process it. It takes 1 hour for the body to process 1 cup of alcohol. There are many factors that determine the time it takes for a person to clear the blood of alcohol, but it is the only way to eliminate the effects of alcohol. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Even a full night’s sleep was not enough to fully process the amount of alcohol they drank. They should not drive if they are still under the influence of alcohol.

Warning

Never let an intoxicated person drive or operate machinery. If they insist on driving, try stealing their car keys or calling the police to prevent them from hurting themselves or others.

Steps

Check if the person is ok

Ensure safety for drunk people when sleeping

Help the drunk sober

Warning

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