When an individual ingests alcohol, there are definite, visible changes in
his or her performance and behavior. An increase in a person’s blood alcohol
content (BAC) can be tracked in five stages:
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- 1. Euphoria (BAC = .10)
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- The person becomes more confident and daring.
- They have trouble paying attention.
- They have more color in their face.
- They lack good judgement, acting on impulse.
- They find tasks requiring fine motor control difficult.
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- 2. Excitement (BAC .20)
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- The person may become sleepy.
- Their short term memory is impaired.
- Their reaction time is greatly reduced.
- Their gross motor skills are uncoordinated.
- They have trouble maintaining their balance.
- Vision becomes blurry.
- Their senses become dull (hearing, tasting, touch, etc.)
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- 3. Confusion (BAC .30)
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- The person might not know where they are or what they are doing.
- Walking may be difficult.
- Emotions run high – aggressive, withdrawn, overy affectionate.
- Vision is very blurry.
- They are very sleepy.
- The sensation of pain is dulled.
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- 4. Stupor (BAC .40)
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- The person can barely move.
- They do not respond to external stimuli.
- Walking or standing is impossible.
- They may vomit repeatedly.
- They may become unconscious.
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- 5. Coma (BAC .50)
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- The person is unconscious.
- Pupils are unresponsive to light.
- Body temperature is lower than normal.
- Breathing is shallow.
- Pulse rate is slow.
- Death may occure.
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- 6. Death (BAC more than .50)
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- Breathing is halted and the person dies.
Source: howthingswork.com