Intoxication

Intoxication

DO’s and DONT’s for care of an Intoxicated Person (as published by UHS)

 

DONT’s

  • Don’t leave the person alone, for safety reasons.
  • Don’t give any drugs or medication (not even aspirin) to the person to try to sober him/her up.
  • Don’t give the person food in attempts to “absorb the alcohol.” This will increase risk of vomiting.
  • Don’t give the person coffee, tea, or other liquid stimulants. You’ll just have a wide-awake, agitated drunk person.
  • Don’t give the person a cold shower. He/she could fall, or the shock could make the person pass out.
  • Don’t try to exercise the person in hopes of “burning off the booze.” This will not help, and could cause injuries.

DO’s

  • Do keep the person comfortable - but not by giving him/her another drink.
  • Do position a drunk person on his/her side or stomach if he/she goes to bed, or passes out. Be sure the person is not lying on his/her back if someone vomits, he/she could choke and suffocate.
  • Do keep the person from driving, biking, or transporting themselves anywhere alone.
  • Do keep your distance if the person gets agitated. Some people who are usually very gentle-natured may become violent when intoxicated.
  • Do talk to the person about the behavior/alcohol effects later, in a private place. Don’t be surprised if you encounter denial or irritation.

Signs of life-threatening levels of intoxication:

Always try to assess whether the person is in a life-threatening situation (see below).

  • Person’s breathing is very slow, and perhaps irregular
  • Person’s pulse is weak, or is either very slow or very fast
  • Person has passed out, or is asleep, and cannot be aroused, or can only be slightly aroused for a few moments
  • Person’s hands or feet are colder than normal

If any of these are evident, or if you’re not sure, call the UHS Urgent Care Clinic at 617-495-5711 for advice and confidential help. If it is after 5:30 pm and/or on a weekend, and you think someone needs to be directly transported to UHS, call the Harvard University Police (HUPD) at 617-495-1212. HUPD does serve as an ambulance.