If someone is drunk, lay them on their side and have someone stay with them; don't let them sleep alone; call 120 if they can't be woken, their breathing is slow or irregular, they have seizures, or their body feels cold

In a real emergency, call 911 first, then read this.

Cost

Free. Someone has to stay for several hours, often all night. The hard part is that you have been drinking too and want to go home to sleep, and everyone thinks "sleeping it off will fix it."

What you get

The UK National Health Service (NHS) lists these signs of alcohol poisoning: confusion, slurred speech, being unable to stand, vomiting, loss of bladder or bowel control, pale or bluish skin, slow or irregular breathing, seizures, and being unable to be woken. If you think someone has alcohol poisoning, or they have seizures, lose consciousness or stop breathing, call the emergency number. What to do is stay with them, "because they may choke on their own vomit or stop breathing." If they are awake, help them sit up. If they have passed out, put them in the recovery position on their side and watch whether their breathing is normal. If they are still alert, able to swallow and not vomiting, they can sip water. Keep them warm with a coat or blanket. There are five things not to do. Don't let them drink more alcohol. Don't give them food, since they may choke. Don't give coffee or caffeinated drinks, which worsen dehydration. Don't let them take a cold shower or soak in cold water, since they may get chilled, fall, or lose consciousness in the water. Don't try to make them vomit. An article by an emergency doctor on the website of the Shaanxi Provincial Health Commission (陕西省卫健委) says that drunk people have a weaker throat reflex, easily inhale vomit into the airway when they vomit, and in severe cases "die directly of suffocation." Emergency rooms often receive drunk people who have already died, with a large amount of vomit suctioned from the trachea. In the stupor stage, with a pale face, bluish lips, cold clammy skin, falling body temperature and shallow breathing, call 120. At that point lay them on their side, "do not induce vomiting or feed them," cover them with a blanket for warmth, and turn them at regular intervals. If the heart and breathing have stopped, start CPR at once. A hospital public-education piece reposted by the Beijing Municipal Health Commission says: "never let a drunk person sleep alone, or no one will be there to help if they suffocate." A pharmacist's article reposted by the Fujian Medical Products Administration (福建省药监局) says that a drunk person "must lie on their side," and that a body temperature that is too low can cause the heart to stop. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted an average of 2,221 deaths a year from alcohol poisoning among people aged 15 and over in the U.S. from 2010 to 2012, about 6 a day

Notes

Graded B because these are official public-education pieces and emergency-room experience, with no figures on how many deaths following them prevents. The benefit is rated "large" by judgment: choking to death and stopped breathing both happen when no one is watching, and with someone staying, it is noticed in time and 120 is called in time. Advice on inducing vomiting is not uniform. Some Chinese public-education pieces say that someone who can still walk and talk may be made to vomit by stimulating the throat. A person who can't be woken must never be made to vomit, and Chinese and foreign sources agree on this. The NHS advises against inducing vomiting at any time. This approach is first of all for family, but more often you meet it with friends and colleagues who are drinking together. People who drink together also have a legal duty of care. A court in Taixing, Jiangsu ruled on a case: two people knew that a man at the same table was already drunk, did not notify his family, and did not take him home; he fell into a river and drowned before dawn. The two bore 7% and 3% of the responsibility, and together paid about 104,000 (10.4万) yuan (exact value 103,887 yuan). Supreme People's Court Guiding Case No. 227 also states that fellow drinkers who fail in their duty to warn and look after the person share the compensation according to fault. So when the party ends, hand the person over to their family, or stay until they wake. For a stranger who has passed out drunk by the road, calling 120 is enough, and don't try to move them; the reason is in §13.2 (don't rush to pull the person up). Drunk people lose body heat easily; for keeping warm, see §13.28 (hypothermia). For people taking cephalosporins or metronidazole who also drank, see §34.11 (no alcohol while taking cephalosporins or metronidazole). Don't let a drunk person go soak in a bath or sauna; see §22.11 (no hot spring after drinking).

Evidence grade

B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.

Sources

1. NHS. Alcohol poisoning: "Do stay with them because there's a risk they could choke on their own sick or stop breathing" "put them in the recovery position if they've passed out" "do not give them coffee or drinks containing caffeine" "do not put them in a cold shower or bath" "do not try to make them sick". https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alcohol-poisoning/
2. Shaanxi Provincial Health Commission (2022). Which Conditions After Heavy Drinking Should Not Be Delayed [in Chinese] (Sun Peng and Peng Cao, Emergency Department, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology). https://sxwjw.shaanxi.gov.cn/ywgz/gbbj/202208/t20220825_2248211.html
3. Beijing Municipal Health Commission (2023). Food Poisoning, Alcohol Poisoning and Gas Poisoning [Home First Aid Methods for Acute and Critical Illnesses (Part 6)] [in Chinese] (source: Beijing Chuiyangliu Hospital). https://wjw.beijing.gov.cn/bmfw_20143/jkzs/jksh/202307/t20230706_3157010.html
4. Fujian Provincial Medical Products Administration (2022). Medication for Alcohol Poisoning [in Chinese] (republished from China Food and Drug Administration Net; author Wang Shuping). https://yjj.scjgj.fujian.gov.cn/ztzl/kpzl/spyjts/ypaqjs/202202/t20220228_5846003.htm
5. Kanny D et al. (2015). Vital signs: alcohol poisoning deaths — United States, 2010–2012. MMWR 63(53):1238-1242. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25577989/
6. Taixing People's Court (2023). Drowned After Repeated Drinking: Fellow Drinkers Should Bear Liability According to Their Degree of Fault [in Chinese] (National People's Tribunal Information Net). https://rmft.court.gov.cn/1150/jdal/3795.jhtml
7. Supreme People's Court (2024). Guiding Case No. 227: Dispute over the Right to Life Between Plaintiffs Surnamed Hu and Wang and a Restaurant (De X Restaurant), a Defendant Surnamed Jiang, and Others [in Chinese]. https://www.court.gov.cn/shenpan/xiangqing/433761.html

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 13, tip 46. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer