How
Long Does Alcohol Stay in the Body?
How long does alcohol stay in your body or system is a question
often asked for many reasons. Some responsible drinkers may want
to know this so that they can gauge how much to drink at a social
function and still be able to drive home unimpaired.
Alcohol |
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Other responsible types may want to know this so that they can
monitor their teenage kids who have new found freedom and just
starting to go to parties where there could be alcohol on hand.
Still others are researching this for school or for other academic
reasons.
Now, too, there are some irresponsible reasons to research the
question of how long alcohol stayd in your system. Like high school
or college students studying to pass a test, some people want
to know how much they can drink and for how long in order to pass
the test so they won't get a DUI or DWI on the way home.
Other people such as pilots may be subjected to random drug and
alcohol tests. This could be responsible (I don't want to fly
drunk or get fired) or it could be irresponsible (I want to game
the system).
People who are alcoholics and considering rehab may have a different
take on the question of alcohol staying in their bodies. They
may be thinking of entering a detox
rehab center and want to know how long they will be suffering
before the alcohol symptoms wear off.
Alcohol in the Human Body
For those
not going into rehab, the rule of thumb is that height, weight,
age and gender make a difference in metabolizing alcohol. Up to
10-percent of alcohol is expelled through your breath, urine and
sweat.
A person's Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is expelled generally
at a rate of 0.10 to 0.20 BAC per hour with 0.15 BAC being the
average. So, in other words, for most people, alcohols stays in
the body approximately 10 to 13 hours before being either metabolized
by the liver and other organs or expelled by the breath, urine
and sweat.
Now, for alcoholics seeking rehab there is a longer journey involved.
Even though, alcohol stays in the body generally less than 24
hours, the effects of alcohol detox can last 3 to 6 weeks.
This is because long term alcohol abuse changes the physiology
and biology of a person in a significant way. Alcohol depresses
the central nervous system so that neurotransmitters and serotonin
are affected and need time to stabilize.
So, as you can see the answer to how long alcohol is in your
body is based upon the intent of the person asking the question.
It is important to know your own intent to see which category
you personally fit into.
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