Ethanol

JESSICA KNOX, LUKE HATTIE

Social and Physiological Effects of Ethanol Use & Ethanol Abuse

Social Effects

Family issues

Alcohol causes decreased mental capacity, lowering inhibitions.

Lowering of inhibitions causes people to do things they normally wouldn't, act differently .

Alcohol is involved in nearly 70 percent of murders, spousal battery, and child abuse.

Alcohol abuse can cause family breakdowns when the family can not handle the actions of the alcoholic

Work Issues

Alcohol dependence can cause sloppiness at work,

Criminal Activity

Alcoholics are more likely to commit a crime, especially if they are going through withdrawal or other issues.

Liklihood of domestic abuse increases with intoxication.

Physiological Effects

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and the central nervous system is the bodily system that is most severely affected by alcohol.

In low concentrations, alcohol reduces inhibitions. As blood alcohol concentration increases, speech becomes slurred, and he or she becomes unsteady and has trouble walking. With very high concentrations - greater than 0.35 grams/100 milliliters of blood (equivalent to 0.35 grams/210 liters of breath ) - a person can become comatose and die.

Physiological Effects

BAC = 0.01 – 0.05, Behaviour is nearly normal

BAC = 0.03 – 0.12, Mild euphoria, sociability, talkativenessIncreased self-confidence; decreased inhibitionsDiminution of attention, judgment and controlBeginning of sensory-motor impairmentLoss of efficiency in finer performance tests

BAC = 0.09 – 0.25, Emotional instability; loss of critical judgmentImpairment of perception, memory and comprehensionDecreased sensitory response; increased reaction timeReduced vision, sensory-motor incoordination; impaired balanceDrowsiness

Physiological Effects

BAC = 0.18 – 0.30, Disorientation, mental confusion; dizzinessExaggerated emotional statesDisturbances of vision and of perception of color, form, motion and dimensionsIncreased pain thresholdIncreased muscular incoordination; staggering; slurred speechApathy, lethargy

BAC = 0.25 – 0.40, Approaching loss of motor functionsMarked muscular incoordination; inability to stand or walkVomiting; incontinenceImpaired consciousness; sleep or stupor

Physiological Effects

BAC = 0.35 – 0.50, Complete unconsciousnessDepressed or abolished reflexesAbnormal body temperatureIncontinenceImpairment of circulation and respirationPossible death

Bac = 0.45 - +, Death from respiratory arrest

Ethanol Detection Devices

Breath, Urine, and Blood

Breathalysing

Alcohol that a person drinks shows up in the breath because it gets absorbed from the mouth, throat, stomach and intestines into the bloodstream.

As the blood goes through the lungs, some of the alcohol moves across the membrane of the lungs air sacs (alveoli). The concentration of the alcohol in the alveolar air is related to the concentration of the alcohol in the blood. The ratio of breath alcohol to blood alcohol is 2,100:1. This means that 2,100 milliliters of alveolar air will contain the same amount of alcohol as 1 ml of blood.

Breathalysing

Breathalysing is the most efficient blood alcohol testing method because the result can be seen instantly. Urine and blood testing must be sent away for analysis which can take a few days.

Breathalysers use a chemical reaction involving alcohol that produces a color change.

They are made of two glass vials containing the chemical mixture and a system of photocells connected to a meter to measure the color change associated with the chemical reaction.

Breathalysing

To measure blood alcohol levels, the person breathes into the device. The breath sample is bubbled in one vial through a mixture of sulfuric acid, potassium dichromate, silver nitrate and water.

The sulfuric acid removes the alcohol from the air into a liquid solution. The alcohol reacts with potassium dichromate to produce chromium sulfate, potassium sulfate, acetic acid, and water.

The silver nitrate is a catalyst, a substance that makes a reaction go faster without participating in it. The sulfuric acid removes the alcohol from the air.

Breathalysing

During this reaction, the reddish-orange dichromate ion changes color to the green chromium ion when it reacts with the alcohol; the degree of the color change shows the level of alcohol in the air. To determine the amount of alcohol in that air, the reacted mixture is compared to a vial of unreacted mixture in the photocell system. This produces an electric current that causes the needle in the meter to move from its resting place. The operator of the machine then rotates a knob to bring the needle back to the resting place and reads the level of alcohol while they are doing this. The more the operator must turn the knob to return it to rest, the greater the level of alcohol.

Urine Testing

Urine testing for ethanol use is usually used to test people who are on probation and have been told not to use alcohol, or at workplaces where employees have been told not to use alcohol as well. Some agreements even state that urine testing can be done at random.

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a direct metabolite of ethanol alcohol. The presence of EtG in the urine can be used to detect recent alcohol consumption, even after the alcohol is no longer measurable.

Therefore, urine testing is a definitive test to determine whether alcohol has been used recently or not. Depending on the amount of alcohol that has been consumed, this method usually reveals alcohol ingestion within the past few hours.

Urine Testing

However, it can also detect alcohol that was ingested within the past three or four days, or roughly 80 hours before the testing.

Urine testing is a great tool for zero alcohol tolerance circumstances, and it is also commonly used for monitoring in alcohol treatment programs.

Blood Testing

Blood testing for ethanol levels is taken as any normal blood test is. These are also used in workplaces and recovery programs for monitoring purposes. Blood tests to determine alcohol use are also often given at random to people who have agreed to this for their career or programs.

Some medications can affect the results of a blood alcohol test.

Blood alcohol tests only show the amount of alcohol in your blood at the time that the test is taken. They do not show how long you were drinking, or if you were drinking four days ago.

This is why they are not used in drinking and driving incidents. The results would take far too long to be obtained. While blood tests are very accurate, breathalysers have instantaneous results.

Synergistic Effects of Ethanol and Other Drugs

Synergistic is a term used for medicines and drugs to mean; two drugs having a combined effect greater than the individual effects of the drugs. 2 + 2 = 5

Combining the effects of ethanol with another drug will also increase the risks associated with each,

Ethanol + Marijuana / Cocaine

Ethanol and marijuana: When ethanol and marijuana are both consumed, a higher level of impairment is caused than either drug would normally cause alone. Also increases the sedative effect of the drugs.

Cocaethylene: This is a compound formed in the liver when someone consumes both cocaine and ethanol, this compound causes the same enjoyable effects as cocaine, but it lasts much longer in the body and causes a much higher blood rate and blood pressure in the individual consuming it, maxing it a cardiotoxin - it increases the rest of heart attack or other complications.

Ethanol + Opioids / Sedatives

Ethanol and opioids: Alcohol consumption is often associated with heroin overdoses, as the alcohol will increase the effects of the herion, causing a stronger reaction by the body if the user is not used to consuming the two together.

Ethanol and sedatives:Increases the drowsiness caused by the sedative, also can cause fatally low heart rate and blood pressure.

Ethanol and Antidepressants

Ethanol and antidepressants: Can cause increased drowsiness. When alcohol is consummed with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, a spike in blood pressure can arise, potentially great enough to cause a stroke.

References

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showwiki.php?title=Cocaethylene

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=intoxicating-studies

http://www.intox.com/t-physiology.aspx

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/blood-alcohol?page=4

http://alcohol-test-info.com/Urine_Alcohol_Test_EtG.html

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/automotive/breathalyzer2.htm