Physical Consequences
Repeated binge drinking can leave you with a lot more than a series of terrible hangovers:
Effects on the Liver
When the liver has to frequently detoxify large amounts of alcohol, its cells can be damaged or even destroyed. This can lead to serious medical conditions such as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis (both hepatitis and cirrhosis can cause death).
Effects on the Cardiovascular System
Binge drinking can cause hypertension, weaken heart muscles and increase a person's risk of hemorrhagic stroke and arrhythmia.
Effects on the Immune System
Binge drinking can compromise the immune system, increasing the risk for all kinds of infectious diseases.
Effects on the Reproductive System
Binge drinking can lower men's testosterone levels. In women, it can disrupt menstrual cycles.
Effects of Alcohol Poisoning
Alcohol poisoning is one of the most immediate threats to the health of binge drinkers. The more a person drinks, the greater the effect on the brain becomes — specifically the parts of the brain that control involuntary functions like breathing. That's why drinking until you throw up or pass out isn't funny; it's dangerous.
Warning Signs of Alcohol Poisoning
Difficulty remaining conscious
“Sleeping it off” isn't a solution, it's potentially life-threatening. If enough alcohol has been consumed, a person may throw up while unconscious and choke to death...or may just never wake up at all.
Vomiting
Throwing up is the body's way of defending itself against poisoning, removing some of the alcohol before it's absorbed. But just because someone throws up doesn't mean all the alcohol is gone. What's already been absorbed is still working its way through the bloodstream, so a person can remain in danger.
Slow or shallow breathing
Trouble breathing is a sign that the brain is being severely effected by alcohol — effected to the point that automatic functions are starting to become less automatic.
Bluish skin tone and/or cold, clammy skin
There's a reason skin gets blue and clammy from alcohol poisoning; too much alcohol can throw body temperature out of whack, leaving a person feeling cold.
What to Do In Case of Alcohol Poisoning
If you even suspect someone has alcohol poisoning:
Call 911 immediately
When a person is showing signs of alcohol poisoning — especially some of the more extreme signs — there's no time to waste.
Stay with the person
Try to keep the person awake and monitor symptoms to describe to emergency personnel when they arrive. Staying with the person also eliminates any possibility that he or she might wander away and pass out somewhere that they can't be found.
Turn the Person Over
Make sure the person is resting on one side. That way, if the person throws up, there's less risk of choking to death.
And if you think you might be over-reacting, think about how you would feel if you did nothing... and your friend or family member suffered as a result.
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