CTV's Dr. Rhonda Low takes a look at the serious impacts of binge drinking on young teens, a problem that is growing in British Columbia.
With New Year's Eve just around the corner, alcohol use and abuse should be uppermost in people's minds.
According to a recent report released by the Provincial Medical Officer, young people are especially vulnerable from binging.
What's more, B.C. research is highlighting this concern.
It found that alcohol-related admissions to the emergency room at B.C. Children's Hospital are on the rise, a move that is creating problems for medical staff who must deal with issues like alcoholic poisoning and unruly teens.
Last year, the hospital dealt with 172 cases of drunken youth. The average age of the admitted teens was 14 years, and 60 per cent were girls.
Dr. Sandy Whitehouse co-authored a study looking at youth and binge drinking.
She found that there are unique concerns when it comes to teens and alcohol use.
"We know that teenagers go to parties, take hard liquor with them, drink outside and get drunk," she said.
But they may not know that heavy drinking can have dangerous consequences such as lowering body temperature. So when drinking occurs outdoors, it increases the risk of hypothermia.
Research also found that three-quarters of the teens who were brought to hospital, arrived in an ambulance. Many of those admitted had been left on their own.
"It was either a bystander or a friend who had called that the adolescent was down but then they had left the scene," said Dr. Whitehouse
She said this is potentially risky because alcohol poisoning, if left untreated, can be deadly.
"If a group of kids are together and one of their friends has been drinking too much, that they need to take some responsibility in assisting that person," Dr. Whitehouse said.
The critical signs of alcohol poisoning include mental confusion, inability to be roused. There can be vomiting or seizures, slow or irregular breathing such as fewer than eight breaths a minute, or 10 seconds between breaths. Also beware of low body temperatures or paleness.
A person who has passed out from drinking too much can die. Rapid binge drinking is especially dangerous because a fatal dose of alcohol can be ingested before losing consciousness.
The only thing that reverses the effects of alcohol is time, which you may not have. So it there is any suspicion of an alcohol overdose call 911 and stay with your friend until help arrives.
