#  Intoxication 

 



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**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.