Blood and Alcohol Concentration - Mix of Death

Blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol content (both abbreviated as BAC) is a measure of alcohol present in a person’s blood. The measure is in terms of either mass per volume or mass per mass, but the former measurement is more common. The most frequent use of BAC testing is to determine whether a person is driving “under the influence of alcohol”. However, blood alcohol testing can also be used by doctors to determine a person’s medical state – if, for example, a person is found unconscious and the reason for it is unknown. If the test results determine that there are high levels of alcohol in a person’s system, it may be an indication of a medical emergency, and the patient may need immediate medical treatment.

Blood alcohol concentration depends primarily upon the amount of alcohol consumed and in how short a duration of time it was consumed. However, other factors such as age, gender, weight, and percentage of body fat also play a role. The gap between alcohol consumption and testing also affects the results, as alcohol is metabolized and excreted from the body at a steady rate. In spite of these variations however, it is generally agreed that one standard drink of approximately 18 ml (the standard varies considerably across countries) raises the BAC by approximately 0.03 per cent. This might seem like a small and harmless increase, but the fact is that the cumulative effect can add up to quite a lot, and alcohol toxicity is extremely high.

By the time a person goes over a BAC of 0.20, he or she will be severely intoxicated, and will be in danger of passing out. As the BAC goes up to 0.30, bladder function, breathing, and heart rate are also quite severely affected. By the time the BAC is over 0.40, there is a high chance of fatality. Toxic substances are measured to establish what is known as a median lethal dose – that is, a dose that is lethal in half of all adults. This is known as LD50, and for alcohol, the LD50 is 0.40. Of course, this means that there are several people who are likely to survive such a dose, but there will certainly be a considerable amount of damage to the person’s body. Many will survive only if hospitalized and treated promptly. In any case, tracking one’s BAC is not a simple matter, and not something an intoxicated person is likely to do. It is therefore essential to make a habit of drinking responsibly.