Author: Charles Frank

How Long Does Alcohol Say in Your System: BAC, Breath, Urine

Alcohol can be detected in urine for three to five days via ethyl glucuronide (EtG) metabolite or 10 to 12 hours via the traditional method. Knowing how long alcohol (ethanol) remains in your system is important for avoiding dangerous interactions with medications as well as impairments in your physical and mental performance. While alcohol is not considered a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), it is illegal to sell or serve to anyone under the age of 21 in the United States.

For example, senior citizens are particularly vulnerable to alcohol because of age-related changes to their bodies. Older people experience a decrease in body water, loss of muscle tissue and decreased metabolism — all of which affects alcohol absorption. If someone with alcohol problems also battles depression, their symptoms may worsen when drinking. Similarly, people with anxiety who drink heavily may experience stressful emotions that can cause a change in the stomach’s enzymes, which affects how a person breaks down alcohol. Factors that determine how long alcohol stays in your body include liver size, body mass and the amount of alcohol consumed.

How long does alcohol stay on your breath?

A urine test can usually pick up alcohol up to 24 hours after drinking, but a 2007 study showed that some tests can potentially detect alcohol for much longer. On the flip side, the same study showed that drinking a ton of water before a test can drastically dilute the amount of alcohol that shows up. After you stop drinking, booze stays in your bloodstream for up to 6 hours. But it can linger on your breath, in your saliva, or pee anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. Weirdly, it can be detected on your hair for up to 90 days (the more you know ��).

Consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time can result in alcohol poisoning, which is a medical emergency. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of six people per day die of acute alcohol poisoning. In general, a blood test can measure alcohol in your body for up to 6 hours after your last drink, while breathalyser tests work for between 12 and 24 hours. Urine tests, such as the ethyl glucuronide (EtG) test, are also effective for around 12 to 24 hours after use. This method tests for ethyl glucuronide, a breakdown product of ethanol – which is the alcohol you find in alcoholic beverages. Alcohol can also be detected in your hair follicles up to 90 days after consumption (source).

The substance is absorbed into the bloodstream through the stomach and the walls of the small intestines, affecting the kidneys, bladder, liver, lungs and skin. Drinking water cannot sober you up, but it can prevent you from drinking too much too fast. Since you metabolize alcohol over a set amount of time, drinking water between drinks allows your liver time to process the alcohol.

Factors that Affect BAC

The severity will depend on how long you’ve been using alcohol and how much you normally drink. In severe cases, you can experience a possibly life-threating type of alcohol withdrawal known as delirium tremens (or DTs), which can occur from two days to up to a week after your last drink. The following table shows the length of time it takes for your body to eliminate alcohol at varying BAC levels.

1. You would definitely have a problem trying to pass a test that is designed to detect the presence of any alcohol.
2. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website.
3. The quicker you seek help, the more likely you are to minimize potentially fatal complications.
4. It typically takes a person with a BAC of 0.20 anywhere from 12 to 14 hours to reach sobriety.

The Cleveland Clinic’s Health Essentials site explains that alcohol can even be detected at the roots of your hair for 90 days after someone has stopped drinking. Healthline.com also says that alcohol can be identified in sweat and blood. Determining exactly how long alcohol is detectable in the body depends on many variables, including which kind of drug test is being used.

This Is How Long Alcohol Really Stays in Your System

If you’re drinking on an empty stomach, then the effects of alcohol may be enhanced. Different medications can have dangerous side effects when paired with alcohol. Any present liver conditions can harm your ability to handle alcohol and process it. Binge drinking in a short period will also increase the effects of alcohol, all according to the clinic site and Healthline.com. The metabolism of alcohol has been studied in detail, but many factors determine how long alcohol shows up on a drug test and takes to be eliminated from your body. Depending on the type of test used as well as your age, body mass, genetics, sex, and overall health, alcohol is detectable from 10 hours to 90 days.

Urine vs. breath tests

If one drink has a higher ABV than the other, your liver will have to work harder. The amount of time that alcohol can be detected in your system can vary depending on how much you’ve consumed, the type of test used and individual biological factors. Those who smoke cannabis daily can have it detected for up to 30 days. The NIAAA estimates that one drink would be metabolized and out of your system after three hours, two drinks after slightly over four hours, three drinks by six hours and four drinks by seven.

Factors That Affect Detection Time

But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), having just one drink and taking the right precautions shouldn’t harm your baby. The same 2013 research review above showed that there’s not much you can do to speed up hangovers. So-called hangover cures might help you feel less crappy after drinking too much, but they won’t help your body clear out the alcohol faster. If you want to minimize your chances of getting drunk, eat something with your drink and alternate between alcohol and a glass of water.

Roughly 20% of the ethanol in liquor is absorbed into the blood from the stomach and the rest from the small intestine. The longer alcohol stays in the stomach, the longer it takes to be absorbed and the slower the rate of intoxication. Eating before drinking, and continuing to snack while you consume alcohol, will slow the absorption and reduce its impact, but prolong the detection period. The half-life of ethanol is about 4 to 5 hours, which means it takes that long to eliminate half of the alcohol ingested from the bloodstream.

A small amount of alcohol is removed from the body through sweat, urine and respiration. Alcohol can be detected in sweat, urine and the breath for at least as long as the liver is breaking down alcohol. One phase is the acute form of alcohol poisoning caused mainly by binge drinking. The second is a chronic phase in which you drink large amounts of alcohol, but you are conscious and moving naturally due to the high tolerance developed over time. Your experience of the condition’s toxic effect differs depending on whether you are in the acute or chronic phase.

It’s also tied to mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. When you consume alcohol, the metabolising process is done primarily by your liver. On average, a person will metabolise the equivalent of one alcoholic drink per hour, but this can vary based on your weight, height, gender and body composition. If someone’s blood alcohol content is 0.08, it would take about five hours and 20 minutes for the body to metabolize the alcohol. It typically takes a person with a BAC of 0.20 anywhere from 12 to 14 hours to reach sobriety. On average, your body is able to absorb one standard drink every 60 minutes – reducing your BAC levels by around 0.16.