The day after the party... Will the driver be sober?
Every long weekend is marked by the arrest of hundreds of drunk drivers. Many of them come into conflict with the law within a few hours after the end of the event. They get up, find that they are doing well, and get behind the wheel. Completely unaware that there is still a large amount of alcohol in their blood. How to avoid misfortune?
The presence of alcohol in the blood the day after ...
Many drivers rubbed their eyes in surprise when a police breathalyzer showed the presence of alcohol in the body several hours after drinking. This is especially true of the so-called next day. People in this state have the impression that they have sobered up. Feeling good doesn't necessarily mean your body is back in shape. A few hours of sleep is often not enough to fully recuperate. To avoid unpleasant consequences, it is important to know how alcohol is broken down in the human body.
How is alcohol broken down?
It takes much longer to metabolize alcohol than it does to consume it. It passes from the stomach to the small intestine, then enters the bloodstream and finally reaches the liver, where it is metabolized to acetaldehyde by the action of enzymes. It is mainly because of this relationship that alcohol consumption leads to headaches and nausea. The rate at which alcohol breaks down depends on many factors such as gender, weight, metabolism, and the type of food consumed. It's also worth remembering genetic conditions and how long and how early we've been drinking. Regardless of this, each organism reacts differently to alcohol, so the time of its presence in the blood is not the same. The process of its metabolism is lengthened, including through fatigue, stress and illness. Stimulants such as coffee and cigarettes can slow down the breakdown of the percentage in the blood. By far the most effective way to get rid of blood alcohol is through recovery time.
How to heal the day after...
When hours have passed since the last drink, you can try to deal with the unpleasant side effects of drinking alcohol - including dizziness, nausea, lack of appetite, increased thirst and general weakness of the body. To this end, you must ensure adequate hydration of the body by providing it with as much water as possible, preferably with lemon, which is a source of vitamin C, or a little honey. Water cleanses the body of toxins, reduces acidity in the stomach, and the fructose contained in honey supports the processing of alcohol. It is also worth eating a hearty breakfast rich in vitamins. We emphasize, however, that we are not able to speed up the process of sobering up by these methods!
When will the body be sober and ready to ride?
To determine this, you can use conversion factors that will allow you to approximately determine the time after which the alcohol can decompose. It is statistically assumed that the human body burns from 0,12 to 0,15 ppm of alcohol per hour. However, the use of such methods does not always allow an accurate assessment of the situation. So it's worth approaching them with a grain of salt, because they don't provide any certainty. It is perfectly safe to leave the car for 24 hours or have it checked with a breathalyzer.
How to avoid an accident while testing a breathalyzer?
We can conduct a sobriety test using a breathalyzer in two ways - by walking to the nearest police station and asking to check the alcohol content in the exhaled air or by checking it with our own breathalyzer. It is worth having good quality equipment that will guarantee an accurate measurement. How to avoid an accident when testing with a personal breathalyzer? We have reached out to Janusz Turzanski of Alkohit for a comment. – A breathalyzer with the Alco function, which signals that there are still alcohol vapors in the electrochemical sensor after the previous test, can protect us from incorrect measurements. When considering the purchase of equipment, you should ask if there is a solution on the mouthpieces that prevents the inhalation of air from the breathalyzer. A common mistake is also to misread the measurement. Before buying, you need to ask the seller in what values the result is presented - in ppm or in milligrams. It is also worth asking about the warranty - does it cover the device itself or also the sensor? Which breathalyzers are the most accurate? It is best to trust electrochemical breathalyzers. The quality of their sensor is especially important,” explains Janusz Turzanski.
Meeting with the traffic police!
Police also use electrochemical breathalyzers. We will not try to deceive the device. By pretending to blow out air, you will only receive a message that the test was not performed correctly. In such a situation, we must repeat the test. None of the other methods you read about on internet forums will help - not eating mint or rinsing your mouth. Eating garlic or onions won't help either. A glass of vinegar can only guarantee destruction of the liver. Lighting a cigarette can lead to false measurements - a deficiency. Drinking liquor lollipops can be a mistake because alcohol residue left in the mouth can show traces of alcohol. In this case, you should ask for another test with a breathalyzer, which is used after 15 minutes, after rinsing your mouth with water. After this time, the measurement should show 0,00, says Janusz Turzanski, manufacturer of Alkohit breathalyzers.
