Alcohol poisoning ranks first among other types of poisoning. According to the severity, alcohol poisoning is divided into:
Alcohol poisoning ranks first among other types of poisoning.
According to the severity, alcohol poisoning is divided into:
Mild alcohol poisoning
;
Moderate alcohol poisoning
;
Severe alcohol poisoning
.
Mild alcohol poisoning is characterized by impaired intellectual and motor functions. It is characterized by elevated mood, decreased attention, overestimation of one's abilities and motor activity. Changes in the internal organs are practically not observed.
Moderate alcohol poisoning is characterized by increased agitation, inadequate behavior, decreased criticism, poor coordination of movements. Vomiting, salivation, and constriction of the pupils are observed. No serious changes in the internal organs are observed.
Severe alcohol poisoning is characterized by loss of consciousness, respiratory failure, toxic encephalopathy, and cardiovascular problems in the form of a sharp drop in blood pressure and irregular heartbeat. Depending on what was drunk, depression of consciousness can range from coma-1 to coma-3 (terminal).
The following syndromes are characteristic of alcohol poisoning: toxic encephalopathy, respiratory failure, circulatory failure, toxic hepatopathy, toxic nephropathy, gastrointestinal disorders.
Toxic encephalopathy develops in all alcohol poisoned people and includes disturbances of consciousness, mental and cerebellar disorders. Depression of consciousness can range from lethargy to coma. One of the dangerous complications of alcohol poisoning is convulsive syndrome, which develops due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. Convulsive syndrome is often complicated by cerebral edema and death.
Breathing failure in alcohol poisoning occurs due to vomit entering the respiratory tract and the tongue sinking. When vomit (acidic stomach contents) gets into the respiratory tract, a "burn" of the lungs develops, then edema and death a few days later from aspiration pneumonia. Mortality from aspiration pneumonia (even in our time) is very high - this is due to the lightning-fast course of the disease. As we can see from the above, the death of a person poisoned by alcohol can occur from a banal retraction of the tongue.
Disorders of the cardiovascular system with alcohol poisoning. Frequent disorders of the cardiovascular system are toxic shock, hemodynamic pulmonary edema, and heart problems (arrhythmia, cardiac arrest). When large doses of alcohol enter the body, the vasomotor center is damaged, which is manifested by a sharp drop in blood pressure. Against the background of low pressure, the heart itself begins to suffer, it does not receive the necessary amount of oxygen for its work, which is why various lesions of the heart muscle develop. Against the background of low blood pressure and low cardiac output, other organs begin to suffer. Low pressure is especially destructive for the kidneys. At very low pressure, the blood supply to the kidneys stops, if the pressure remains low for two hours, then the renal tissue dies. If the kidneys are not working, a person can live only if an artificial kidney is connected to the device. The mortality rate from exotoxic shock is 70-90%. Exotoxic shock seriously affects the blood.
Toxic kidney damage due to alcohol poisoning. Alcohol is also a nephrotropic poison. Alcohol poisoning affects the glomeruli and convoluted tubules of the kidneys. The kidneys also suffer from insufficient oxygen supply, which occurs due to low blood pressure. With severe kidney damage, a person poisoned by alcohol does not have urine, and all the toxins (which the kidneys should remove) will be present in the blood. Because of this, intoxication increases even more and the internal organs suffer even more.
Toxic liver damage due to alcohol poisoning.
Toxic substances circulating in the blood lead to alcoholic hepatitis. Alcohol can have a detrimental effect on hepatocytes, in addition, hepatocytes begin to die from toxins that are not removed by the kidneys. A kind of a vicious circle, as soon as one organ fails, other organs immediately begin to suffer, which only worsens the process. And a person can be saved if only this vicious circle is broken. When liver function is impaired, metabolites, such as bilirubin, also begin to accumulate. Bilirubin begins to have a toxic effect on the brain, so-called hepatic encephalopathy develops (again a vicious circle). In addition, water-electrolyte and acid-base balance disorders are added.
Gastrointestinal disorders due to alcohol poisoning.
Gastritis is the earliest and most common manifestation of alcohol poisoning. After drinking alcohol, nausea appears, then abdominal pain, then vomiting. In addition, alcohol can provoke the development of a stomach ulcer, and later perforation of the ulcer and bleeding. The toxic effect of alcohol negatively affects the pancreas. In most alcoholics develop pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).