An alcohol blackout is:
Common (especially on college campuses because of binge drinking).
Misunderstood (people in an alcohol blackout do not forget what happened, they never remember because alcohol stops their ability to even form a memory).
Dangerous (people in a blackout appear to function normally, while friends think nothing is wrong).
Blackouts can occur without drinking a lot of alcohol, even to first-time drinkers, according to Donal F. Sweeney, MD, Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and author of The Alcohol Blackout: Walking, Talking, Unconscious & Lethal .
The question is how to help friends, bartenders, medical personnel, police, and others recognize when someone is in an alcohol blackout and then what to do about it. Dr. Sweeney suggests a simple memory test: Ask the person to remember three words (pick anything, colors, trees, sports), have the person repeat the words. Then distract the person with other talk. Five minutes later, ask the person to repeat the words.
"Failure to repeat any word, or even just one, is a sure sign [the person] has lost his short-term memory and is in a blackout," said Dr. Sweeney, who suggests that this simple test be refined for use in law enforcement.
Do not allow someone in this state to be alone, to drive, or function in any way that might endanger himself, herself, or others. |
