The number of toxic agents that can cross the blood-brain barrier and affect brain activity to varying degrees is quite large. The leader in the ranking is alcohol, along with carbon monoxide, lead, as well as waste metabolites that are formed in the body.
Alcohol affects everyone differently. For the development of alcohol intoxication, not only the amount of alcohol consumed is important, but also weight, age, fatigue, food intake, some medications – sleeping pills, sedatives, the short time with the intake of a large amount of alcohol and, last but not least, the activity of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase.
Up to 20% of ingested alcohol is absorbed in the stomach, and the remaining 80% in the small intestine. A small part of alcohol is excreted through the lungs and skin, and only 10% is excreted unchanged through the kidneys. The main process of its metabolism is in the liver.
Acute alcohol intoxication results in volume-pronounced but usually reversible brain involvement. Edema is expressed to varying degrees and microhemorrhages are present.
Symptoms include incoordination, slurred speech, increased reaction time, drowsiness, blurred vision, dizziness, and a change in mood from overexcited to depressed or aggressive. There may be changes in breathing – delayed or uneven respiratory excursions, nausea, and/or vomiting. Sweating is possible, usually with a cold and sticky sweat, as well as pallor.
Consequences of alcohol intoxication in the case of long-term progress and non-application of the necessary treatment most often end with affecting cognitive functions to varying degrees, it is also possible to unlock epilepsy and others.
It is not only acute alcohol intoxication that affects the brain. In chronic alcohol intoxication, to varying degrees, a personality change, reduced mental capacity (also memory and concentration problems), and an increased tendency to seizure symptoms are manifested.
Fluctuations in blood pressure are expressed both in an increase and in a decrease to very low values, but most often there is hypotension until the development of collapse, which is preceded by dizziness and impaired vision. There may also be palpitations, a feeling of shortness of breath.
Within 1 to 1.5 ppm, there are difficulties in making decisions, emotional instability, and reduced motor ability of fine motor skills – writing, and playing the piano. Up to 2.5 ppm, in addition to changes in gait, there is also visual impairment (blurred vision), and slurred speech. At 3 ppm, there are somnolence-rapture – reactions that may occur with a stronger irritant, for example, pinching, or slapping. At 4 ppm there is an inability to retain the pelvic reservoirs – an inability to control the bladder and rectum.
At 5 ppm or more, there is a real danger of death due to respiratory arrest, aspiration of vomitus, and suffocation, as well as collapse due to a sudden drop in blood pressure.
What is alcohol intolerance?
There are two types of alcohol intolerance. The first is congenital and due to genetic determination – the body is unable to process ethanol and its metabolites. The other type is acquired, which is a consequence of the use of certain medications or other diseases, after the cessation of which the alcohol intolerance disappears. In contrast, congenital intolerance cannot be influenced.
The appearance of symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headache, and diarrhea even after a small amount of alcohol points to alcohol intolerance. Redness of the face and sudden nasal congestion are symptoms that are due to the release of a large amount of histamine under the influence of alcohol.
