How Long Does Alcohol Stay In Your System (And Why)?

How Long Does Alcohol Stay In Your System (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 6 Hours

Alcohol is a recreational drug widely used as a depressant, consumed worldwide by more than half of the population. It has a low dose of euphoria in it which reduces anxiety level and it also increases sociability. The higher doses of alcohol may cause drunkenness, stupor, unconsciousness, and in many cases death too.

An alcoholic drink contains ethanol. It is produced by the fermentation of grains, fruits, and many other sources which can be used as drugs. Many countries have several rules and regulations regarding the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic drinks. Every country has fixed the percentage of alcohol content in the drinks with proper use of warning labels on it.

Alcohol business plays an important role in the world economy. This is the most profitable business for many companies due to its worldwide consumption of alcoholic drinks. Many other fermented drinks are consumed on a large scale are beer, wine, cider, fermented tea, mead, pulque, rice wine, fruit wine, and many more.

Some countries have a strict age limit for the consumption of these drinks and breaking this law can be punishable too. These rules need to be followed strictly.

how long does alcohol stay in your system

How Long Does Alcohol Stay In Your System?

The impact of alcohol in your system depends upon the BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) in the bloodstream of the person. The amount of alcohol traces in your body depends upon the speed of alcohol metabolism which means how quickly your body cab process alcohol. The alcohol metabolism rate varies from person to person.

To detect the presence of alcohol in the body several tests can be performed. Depending on the person’s body they alcohol traces can last for hours, days, or even weeks too. The duration of the traces found in your system depends upon the test you are opting for like blood test, breast test, saliva test, urine test, hair test.

selective focus photography of Bacardi 151 bottle
Body SystemTime in System
Blood6 Hours
Breath12 Hours
Saliva12 Hours
Urine24 Hours
Hair80 Days

Why Does Alcohol Stay That Long In Your System?

When alcohol is consumed it has a short span in your body, it enters your bloodstream your body will start to metabolize it at the rate of 20 milligrams per deciliter per hour. The metabolization of alcohol starts at a constant rate but some people may feel the effect of alcohol for a longer time. BAC varies from a different person and different situations.

The blood alcohol concentration in a person varies due to numerous reasons. Some of them are their age, weight, drinking alcohol empty stomach, medications, liver disease, and binge drinking which means drinking too many drinks in a short time. Many more factors also affect concentration like how much alcohol is consumed by a person and the amount of alcohol in your beverages.

After consuming alcohol its digestion is started which means alcohol metabolization. During metabolization, the liver gets the most of the attention but not the main system alone. The first site is your stomach when alcohol enters the stomach enzymes break down the alcohol and divert it from going to the bloodstream. Two enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase don’t allow the alcohol to move directly to the small intestine that hits your brain and bloodstream.

Alcohol

The next site of alcohol metallization is the liver. It performs the most important function in processing alcohol. When alcohol passes through the liver and your bloodstream the next step is cleaning up alcohol. The liver removes about 90% of alcohol from the blood and the rest of the alcohol comes out through the skin, lungs, and kidneys.

Conclusion

The amount of alcohol in your system depends on several reasons as stated one should be very careful about all the factors because health is not a joke. Alcohol is used for medicinal purposes too but in proper concentration so it is not completely bad.

Its consumption is not bad but some points are to be kept in mind like avoid binge drinking, take only a few drinks in the week. Most importantly, riding any type of vehicle after alcohol is illegal and dangerous.

References

  1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673605178702
  2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470204506705770
  3. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb03135.x
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7 thoughts on “How Long Does Alcohol Stay In Your System (And Why)?”

  1. It’s surprising to see how some countries have strict regulations while others don’t. That’s very concerning.

  2. This article has very important information. I’ve learned a lot about the dangers of alcohol consumption.

  3. This was a very informative article about alcohol’s effect in our body and the risks of alcohol misuse.

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