Harmful effects of Blackout Drinking

Blackout is the name of binge drinking that involves a condition of memory loss due to repeated abuse of alcohol in the user. Blackout happens typically when the user’s blood alcohol content (BAC) reaches 0.15.

Signs and Symptoms of a Blackout

People who are experiencing blackouts may appear normal initially because they are likely to conduct themselves normally. However, there are some indications that are tell- tale signs of a black out.

• The user continually forgets where he/she is and what they are doing.
• They repeat same conversations
• They cease to hold a thread of conversation.
• They get easily distracted
• They are not concerned whether the other people around them are participating in the conversation or not.
• They choose to participate in violent behaviours and are unable to perform when they are sober or tipsy.
• They have consumed a lot of alcohol in a short period of time without eating and drinking.

Blacking out doesn’t essentially mean the person is unconscious. The people who have blacked out interact with others and engage in violent behaviours while continuing to drink. People who black out are always in the notion that they are normal hence, choose to drive back home, participate in risky sexual encounters, spend money lavishly despite of their financial status, destroy self-property in rage and choose other risky behaviours too.

People who have blacked out generally do not remember their risky behaviours because their brain fails to store these in its memory. Once the person sobers up, the brain begins to function normally. It is quite possible for the users to pass out when experiencing a black out. This is very dangerous as they may injure themselves or fall to death sometimes. This is because of the large quantity of the alcohol in the body that could have led to choking in the vomit or because of alcohol poisoning. Some people may also experience a condition called browning out where the memory loss is only partial. They may be able to recall the events on prompting or other triggers.

When a person blackouts it essentially means that he/she had consumed more alcohol than their body could process. In turn drinkers who often complain about blacking out may be having drinking disorders.

Experiencing a blackout after drinking does not mean that a person has a substance abuse problem, but it does mean that they drank more than their body could process over the course of a day or evening. People who often complain about memory loss or blacking out after drinking are more likely to have alcohol use disorder, indicated by the fact that they consume alcohol on a regular basis, not that they experience blackouts.

Routine consumption of alcohol has been associated with damage to the brain as well as other parts of the body. However, there is no evidence to say that brain damage is responsible for the blackouts. But there is evidence to say that regular blackouts may result in severe brain damage. People who black out regularly have higher tolerance for alcohol i.e., their BAC will be greater than 0.15 that will make them prone to alcohol poisoning.

Are women more prone to blackouts?

Women are at a higher risk of experiencing blackouts than men for the same amount of alcohol. The higher body fat ratio is to be blamed which hinders the absorption process of alcohol in them. Also women who smoke are already dehydrated and are severely prone to blackouts. But it could also be a problem of addiction behaviours.

Side-effects of Blackouts

Side effects of blackouts are categorised under short term and long term. While short-term effects include injuries from falls, violent encounters and depression, long term-effects include legal issues from illegal activities, damaged brain, damaged liver, poor decision-making skills, permanent memory loss and sexually transmitted diseases.