How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Our System?
The answer varies with each person. Basically, it depends on your metabolism, how fast you drink and the volume and strength of each drink. In general, it’s about one drink per hour. The more you drink, the longer it takes to process.
After you start drinking, alcohol takes about 60 to 90 minutes to reach peak levels in the blood before the body begins breaking it down. The amount of alcohol in each drink is the key factor, combined with how much of each type of drink you consume.
The half-life of alcohol is four to five hours. In the case of alcohol, it takes about 25 hours to clear your body. Alcohol can be detected from 12 to 24 hours in the breath or saliva and up to 14 days in the urine and up to 90 days in the hair [1].
Cleaning Your System From a Hangover
Hangover symptoms reach their peak when the blood alcohol concentration in the body returns to about zero. Some experts say the worst symptoms occur when levels do reach zero.
The symptoms can last 24 hours or longer. In general, the more alcohol a person drinks the worse the hangover will be. Taking “the hair of the dog that bit you” is an old remedy in which you actually drink a little bit the morning after. This is done on the premise that since the hangover is a form of withdrawal, having a drink will ease it. This just perpetuates the cycle and won’t help.
Some people drink electrolyte sports drinks to try to cure their hangovers. Some even try IV treatments. No research to date supports that these are of real benefit. In fact, for most people, electrolyte balance will be naturally restored once the effects of alcohol diminish.
No remedies have been scientifically proven to be effective. The only real cure for a hangover is time [2].
But some things may help alleviate the hangover, including:
- Drink fluids (non-alcoholic): Alcohol dehydrates the body so restoring some fluid helps.
- Eat carbohydrates: Drinking lowers blood-sugar levels so eating a little to fuel your brain may help.
- Take B vitamins and Zinc. Some studies have shown these can be replenishing .
What Affects How Long Alcohol Stays in Your System?
Metabolizing alcohol involves several steps in the journey. First stop is the stomach where some people have enzymes that break down alcohol. They help divert some alcohol from entering the bloodstream. It then enters the small intestine, then the bloodstream and the brain. This is when you feel its effects. It then passes through the liver which removes about 90% of the alcohol from your blood. The rest is expelled through the kidneys, lungs and skin.
Factors that affect the speed of alcohol metabolism include:
- Sex: Women take longer than men.
- Age: The speed of processing slows down with age.
- Body size: Smaller people may drink the same amount as larger people but will have a higher Blood Alcohol Count.
- Medications: Many have dangerous interactions with alcohol. Seek medical advice.
- Health: Kidney, liver and stomach conditions make it harder to process alcohol.
When Drinking Becomes a Problem
Knowing when too much drinking is too much and harmful to yourself or others can be hard.
Use this guideline to help judge.
| One drink equals: | 1 12-oz or 360 ml can or bottle of beer |
| 1 5-oz or 150 ml glass of wine | |
| 1 wine cooler | |
| 1 cocktail | |
| 1 1½-oz or 45 ml shot of liquor |
Here are some guidelines for drinking responsibly, as long as you don’t have a drinking problem:
| For healthy men: | Maximum 2 drinks per day | Maximum 14 per week |
| For healthy women: | Maximum 1 drink per day | Maximum 7 per week |
You may have a drinking problem if you have at least 2 of these characteristics:
- There are times when you drink more or longer than you planned to.
- You haven’t been able to cut down or stop drinking on your own, even though you have tried or you want to.
- You spend a lot of time drinking, being sick from drinking, or getting over the effects of drinking.
- Your urge to drink is so strong, you can’t think about anything else.
- As a result of drinking, you don’t do what you’re expected to at home, work or school. Or you keep getting sick because of drinking.
- You continue to drink, even though alcohol is causing problems with your family or friends.
- You spend less time on or no longer take part in activities that used to be important to you or that you enjoyed. Instead, you drink.
- Your drinking has led to situations that you or someone else could have been injured, such as driving while drunk or having unsafe sex.
- Your drinking makes you anxious, depressed, forgetful, or causes other health problems, but you keep drinking.
- You need to drink more than you did to get the same effect from alcohol. Or the number of drinks you are used to having have less effect than before.
- When the effects of alcohol wear off, you have symptoms of withdrawal. These include tremors, sweating, nausea or insomnia. You may have even had a seizure or hallucinations.
Treating Alcohol Addiction To Really Flush Alcohol Out
Alcohol Substance Use Disorder is best treated in a residential treatment center with medically supervised detox facilities. Going “cold turkey” to overcome alcohol addiction is not recommended because it’s dangerous and almost never works. Trying to simply stop drinking alone will not address the underlying emotional issues behind the alcohol abuse.
Overcoming addiction is a multifaceted process involving the following elements:
- Medically-Assisted Detox: Detoxification is best done under medical supervision in a licensed detox facility. Healthcare professionals can monitor your progress and administer medications to ease withdrawal symptoms.
- Behavioral Treatments: Various forms of therapy and counseling can best help guide you through withdrawal and into maintaining sobriety. These include individual psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), among others. This may be done privately but is often best done in a residential treatment center or Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)..
- Medications: Three medications are currently approved in the US to help people stop or reduce drinking. They are prescribed by a doctor or other approved healthcare practitioner.
- Support Groups: AA, SMART and other support groups offer peer support for people cutting back or quitting their drinking.This is often combined with therapy to gain the best range of support.
Proper Recovery in Los Angeles, California
At the Encino Recovery and Detox Center in Los Angeles we don’t just treat addiction. We nurture the spirit, heal the mind and help you to regain your life. If you or a loved one is seeking a way out of the darkness of substance abuse, private, confidential help is just a call away. Reach out to our Admissions team now.
Sources
[1] How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System? 2021. Clevelandclinic.org
[2] National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2021. Alcohol’s Effects on Health: Hangovers.
