How Long Does Alcohol Stay In Your System?
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Alcohol is highly prevalent in current society. It is a part of many social rituals and often is not problematic. However, when abused, alcohol can cause severe issues in your life due to its impact on your mind and body. Understanding how your body processes alcohol is helpful in having a clear picture of what is occurring in the body. Alcohol will stay in your system until it is processed and can impact you both in the short term and long term. By getting treatment for alcohol abuse at PCP – The Perry Clayman Project, you can learn more about how alcohol has impacted your body and life and how you can recover.
How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?
When you drink a significant amount of alcohol, especially in a singular event, it is normal to wonder how long it will stay in your system and how it will impact you. The answer is that it depends on a number of factors, including the type of test that you are using to determine alcohol consumption.
There are three primary tests done for alcohol: hair, blood, and urine. Each has different results in terms of how long ago it will test for alcohol. Hair tests detect alcohol consumption for up to 90 days. Blood tests are accurate for up to 12 hours after drinking. In contrast, urine tests show alcohol consumption for either three to five days or 10-12 days, depending on the type of urine test completed.
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
The percentage of alcohol in your bloodstream is called the blood alcohol concentration (BAC). It is a measure that is commonly used to test if you are under legal limits for driving and to have a concrete definition of how much alcohol you have consumed. BAC is a percentage that shows the amount of ethanol in the blood. Therefore, it is a ratio of ethanol, the chemical unit in alcohol, in your entire volume of blood.
For the majority of people, a BAC of 015% blood-alcohol concentration is a result of one oz of alcohol or one drink. After 10 hours have passed after a single drink, your BAC will drop to zero. However, there are many factors that contribute to your BAC, such as age, gender, and weight.
The Process of Alcohol in Your System
Ethanol is a very small molecule found in alcohol. It is water soluble and absorbed in multiple parts of your digestive system. Initially, ethanol is slowly absorbed in your stomach. Then, it is more rapidly absorbed in your small intestine. After absorption, ethanol is freely distributed around your body.
However, after freely moving around your body, ethanol is eventually eliminated as a waste product. Other parts of alcohol are digested and used for energy to be used either in the moment or stored as fat. More than 90% of alcohol is processed and eliminated by the liver, and of that, about two to five percent of alcohol leaves your body without any change to its structure.
Individual Responses to Alcohol in Your System
There are many individual characteristics that play a role in how you feel as a result of alcohol, including age, gender, and weight.
Age
While alcohol metabolism is fairly constant, age changes the speed at which alcohol moves through the body. In older individuals, alcohol generally stays in the liver for a longer period of time. As a result, older individuals who drink heavily of ofter are at a higher risk for liver issues due to alcohol. Additionally, older people tend to have less water in their bodies. This impacts their BAC, making them more susceptible to behaviour changes due to alcohol.
Gender
Men and women both process alcohol the same way. However, common differences in their bodies play a role in how alcohol impacts them. For example, women generally carry more body fat than men and, as a result, will have a higher BAC from the same amount of alcohol. Additionally, women are generally smaller than men, which also increases the BAC.
Common Myths
There are many common myths surrounding alcohol and how long it stays in your system. For example, it is thought that coffee or a cold shower can help your body process alcohol quicker. However, this is false. Your body processes alcohol at a set rate, with some variation depending on age, size, and body fat.
Additionally, it is common to admire a person who is able to “hold their liquor.” High tolerance simply means that they have built methods of managing large amounts of alcohol in their body. However, tolerance for alcohol is a result of long-term alcohol use. This means that an individual who has a high tolerance can drink more with less impact, but this does not mean that they are not impacted.
If someone shows signs of high tolerance, it is a signal that they drink large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis. Getting treatment for alcohol addiction can help them to rebalance their body and heal from dependency on alcohol. PCP – The Perry Clayman Project offers treatment for alcohol dependency that can help.
No matter your size, gender, or history with alcohol, alcohol has an impact on your body. If you are interested in learning more about how alcohol is impacting your life and your body, call PCP – The Perry Clayman Project today at 08000 380 480 and speak with a staff member about how to tell if you are in need of treatment for alcohol-related issues.