What Affects BAC Level?
Factors That Affect BAC Level
Several factors effect how impaired you become when drinking alcohol and what affects your BAC level. The legal BAC limit for most states, including Nebraska, is .08. When you drink too much and exceed the legal limit, you are at serious risk to experience the dangerous or negative effects that accompany drinking too much alcohol—including: decreases in coordination and judgment, drunk driving, getting in trouble with the authorities, alcohol poisoning, blackouts, brain damage and even death. Remember that we all have unique body chemistries and histories and that alcohol can effect us each very differently.
Number of drinks per hour. As you increase the number of drinks per hour, your blood alcohol level steadily increases.
Strength of alcohol (proof or percentage)—some drinks (especially liquors) can contain higher levels of alcohol than standard drinks.
Your weight. The more you weigh, the more water is present in your body, which dilutes the alcohol and lowers the blood alcohol level.
Your gender. Women's bodies typically have less water and more fat than men's bodies. Alcohol does not go into fat cells as well as other cells, so women tend to retain more alcohol in their blood than men do. Also, a woman's hormones may affect the breakdown of alcohol. (Women and Alcohol)
Your age. One drink raises the blood alcohol level of an older adult 20% more than it does for a young adult.
Food in your stomach. Food in the stomach absorbs some of the alcohol. Your blood alcohol level will be higher if you do not eat before or during drinking.
The kind of mixer used. When carbonated mixers (such as tonic water or club soda) are used, the body absorbs alcohol more quickly.
Tolerance. Needing to drink more and more alcohol to feel the same kind of effects indicates that a person’s tolerance has increased. An increase in tolerance is one of the early signs of problem drinking and the development of alcoholism
Medications. Over 150 medications react negatively with alcohol and can cause serious health risks. Doctors advise NOT to drink alcohol while on certain medications, including cold or allergy pills, painkillers, over the counter medications, and prescription drugs (i.e. prozac, ritilan, etc). For example, if you are taking antihistamines for a cold or allergy and drink alcohol, the alcohol will increase the drowsiness that the medication alone can cause, making driving even more hazardous. Or if you are taking large doses of the painkiller acetaminophen and drinking alcohol, you are risking serious liver damage. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before drinking any amount of alcohol if you are taking any over-the-counter or prescription medications.
Other medical conditions. For people who are on medications or have certain health conditions or diseases, drinking even a small amount of alcohol can be TOO MUCH and an immediate danger to their health.
Diabetes. People with diabetes should be cautious about drinking alcohol, as it can effect their bodies’ glucose levels and cause hypoglycemi. Diabetics should never drink on an empty stomach and should consult their doctor about their alcohol use.
Alcohol Intolerance. Some people experience immediate effects when they drink alcohol including flushing of the skin, increased heart rate, and symptoms of reduced blood pressure due to a genetic impairment in the metabolism of alcohol. This adverse reaction to alcohol is sometimes referred to as oriental flushing syndrome because it is most common in people of oriental descent.
- Approximately 50% of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are deficient in ALDH, which has been reported to be proactive in the breakdown of alcohol and protective against the development of alcoholism.
- People taking certain antibiotic and antifungal medications are also susceptible to developing similar symptoms to the oriental flushing syndrome because such medications inhibit the effect of ALDH and the breakdown of alcohol.