Acute ethanol poisoning - what to do?

[BB-8]

I have a few questions regarding acute ethanol poisoning:

1. Let's say my friend is semiconscious and likely to vomit or already vomiting due to ethanol poisoning. Should i put him in recovery position or keep him in sitting position? I know aspiration due to vomiting is a risk but you might also want to keep the person awake as long as possible.

2. Which symptoms indicate for hospital treatment and when can you just settle for monitoring his condition at home? Let's assume there's a medical professional present (me) who can assess consciousness and ABCD. In our local guidelines a poor/no verbal response is an indication for hospital treatment, but I found that quite inadequate.

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[deleted480308]

Having this question at 4am means call 911 instead of posting on online forums that aren't for medical advice

This doesn't sound hypothetical

 

[BB-8]

Having this question at 4am means call 911 instead of posting on online forums that aren't for medical advice

This doesn't sound hypothetical

I live in Europe so it's morning now It is complitely hypothetical and I'm sorry if it's not allowed to ask for this kind of advice.

 

[laughingfrog]

ok first you really cant ask questions of this nature on SDN because its bordering on medical advice, so i will be locking this thread after i reply

second, the big thing youre worried about is respiratory distress. and with EtOH, you cant really give a guideline to answer your quetion because you might roll up to someone who just had a few more shots before you saw them, and they will rapidly detriorate even though they seem ok when you evaluate them.

locked

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Ethanol...poisoning?