You must tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if you're fainting regularly as it could affect your ability to drive. Show Find out how to tell the DVLA about fainting on GOV.UK A blackout is a temporary condition that affects your memory. It’s characterized by a sense of lost time. Blackouts occur when your body’s alcohol levels are high. Alcohol impairs your ability to form new memories while intoxicated. It doesn’t erase memories formed before intoxication. As you drink more alcohol and your blood alcohol level rises, the rate and length of memory loss will increase. The amount of memory loss varies from person to person. One study estimated that the odds of experiencing a blackout is about 50% when blood alcohol content reaches 0.22 percent. You may not have any memory of the time that’s passed when your blood alcohol content is above that threshold. During this time, you may experience:
There are several factors that can affect your blood alcohol level, including:
It’s important to note that there isn’t a set number of drinks that can trigger a blackout. It all comes down to the amount of alcohol in each drink you’ve consumed and the way the alcohol affects you. There are two types of blackouts: partial and complete. If you experience a partial blackout, visual or verbal cues may help you remember forgotten events. If you have a complete blackout, memory loss is permanent. Even with cues, you’re unlikely to remember what happened during this time. The nature of blackouts makes it difficult for researchers to examine the correlation between memory recall and blackout type. Blackouts are often associated with alcohol consumption. For many people, drinking too much alcohol too quickly, or on an empty stomach, can cause a blackout. A blackout can also be caused by:
A 2006 study found that temporary memory loss caused by a fall in blood pressure (syncope) is a more likely cause of nonalcoholic-induced blackouts. Alcohol impairs your ability to walk, speak, react, and remember events. It also lowers inhibition, hinders impulse control, and affects decision-making. The reward pathway in the brain regulates these activities. Although this part of the brain can build up long-term tolerance to alcohol, this isn’t true of the hippocampus. The hippocampus is found deep within the brain. It’s critical to forming memories. The hippocampus can’t develop long-term alcohol toleration. This means it can’t create memories when a blackout occurs. It’s important to remember that a blackout isn’t the same as passing out. Someone who passes out has either fallen asleep or become unconscious because they consumed too much alcohol. During a blackout, an intoxicated person can still function as normal. They may seem articulate because most parts of the brain are alcohol-tolerant. They can still eat, walk, hold conversations, have sex, drive, and get into fights. They just can’t record any of the memories. This seemingly aware state can make it difficult for other people to recognize if a person is in a blackout. Heavy drinking may have lasting effects on the brain. These effects range in severity from momentary “slips” in memory to permanent, debilitating conditions. It’s thought that chronic alcohol consumption can harm the frontal lobe. This is the part of the brain that controls cognitive function. The frontal lobe also plays a role in short-term and long-term memory formation and recall. Regular damage to the frontal lobe can impair your behavior and personality, how you perform tasks, and how you keep information. It’s thought that binge drinking can impair this part of your brain. Binge drinking can affect your ability to:
You may also experience:
Having even one blackout can be dangerous. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol delays signals in the brain that control the gag reflex and other autonomic responses. A person who has blacked out or overdosed on alcohol could throw up while sleeping due to the loss of reflex control. This could cause them to choke and suffocate on their vomit. A blackout also makes you more susceptible to injury, such as from a fall or car crash. Taking sedatives while also consuming alcohol can increase the likelihood that you’ll black out. That’s because benzodiazepines like alprazolam (Xanax), and opioids like oxycodone (OxyContin), activate the GABA neurotransmitter. This causes your body to slow down and become more relaxed. Like alcohol, sedatives can impair your ability to think and make memories. THC, the psychoactive compound found in marijuana, may also increase blackouts when combined with alcohol. Learn more: Alcohol and anxiety » Most reports suggest middle-age males with alcoholism are more likely to black out. Yet, anyone drinking large amounts of alcohol is at risk for blackouts. Young adults in college are also considered at risk. Researchers link that risk to the heavy drinking habits common among many college students. Studies have also found that women may be at greater risk of blackouts even though they generally drink less alcohol less frequently than men. This may be due to the physiological differences that affect alcohol distribution and metabolism. These include body weight, body fat percentage, and key enzyme levels. Alcohol-induced blackouts differ from person-to-person. The amount you drink, how long it took you to drink, and your physiology play a role in your blackout. These factors also affect how long the blackout will last. A blackout ends when your body finally absorbs the alcohol and your brain can make memories again. Sleep helps end blackouts because rest gives the body time to process the alcohol. Others, though, can digest liquor while still awake. That means a blackout could last minutes to even days. Although many people recover from blackouts, one episode can be fatal. In addition to abstaining from alcohol, moderation and pace are important to preventing blackouts. Avoid binge drinking, which is defined as consuming five or more drinks in about two hours for men, or four or more drinks for women. To prevent blackouts, you should:
Keep reading: Alcohol abuse and alcoholism, what are the differences? » A blackout is a loss of consciousness or complete or partial memory loss. Possible causes of blackouts include epilepsy and drinking a large volume of alcohol. If a person notices someone falling unconscious, they should put them in a seated position or help them lie down so that they do not hurt themselves. In this article, we will discuss what causes blackouts and when to see a doctor.
Some people define blackouts as a temporary loss of consciousness that typically lasts for a few minutes. However, a 2016 review observes that overconsuming alcohol may lead to alcohol-induced blackouts, which can, in some cases, be due to memory loss rather than a loss of consciousness. Other possible causes of blackouts include syncope, epilepsy, and stress. Two different kinds of blackouts can result from drinking alcohol: en bloc and fragmentary. When a person consumes a very large volume of alcohol, an en bloc blackout may occur. If this happens, they will not remember anything that they did while they were drinking. Fragmentary blackouts tend to affect only patches of memory, so a person may be able to piece together a memory on prompting. SymptomsIf someone has drunk too much alcohol, they may have the following symptoms of alcohol intoxication:
TreatmentIf a person is showing symptoms of severe alcohol intoxication, it is important to call the emergency services for treatment. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a very high blood-alcohol concentration may result in a person struggling to remain conscious. In the most severe cases of alcohol intoxication, they may even fall into a coma. Due to this, it is really important to get someone emergency help if their condition is deteriorating. In cases where someone who has drunk too much needs first aid, people should:
The American Heart Association (AHA) describe a syncope blackout as a short temporary loss of consciousness that happens when not enough blood reaches the brain. People may also refer to this type of blackout as fainting. Low blood pressure typically causes syncope blackouts because the heart cannot pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the brain. There are two main types of syncope blackouts: neurally mediated and cardiac. A neurally mediated syncope is usually benign and requires no further treatment. It could occur when a person’s blood pressure drops after they experience pain or dehydration or get up too quickly. This type of syncope tends to occur more in children and young adults. A cardiac syncope is more serious as it could signal an underlying problem with the heart. Tachycardia, bradycardia, or other types of hypotension could cause a cardiac syncope. If a person does not get treatment, they are at risk of complications or even sudden cardiac death. TreatmentA doctor may prescribe fludrocortisone to reduce blackouts in people who experience neurally mediated syncope. If anyone feels as though they are about to faint, they should sit or lie down so that they do not injure themselves if they fall unconscious. DiagnosisIf a person is experiencing syncope blackouts, a doctor may request an electrocardiogram (EKG) to see whether there are any underlying problems with the heart. They may also order a tilt test. During this test, a person lies down on a board that moves to change their position while healthcare professionals measure their blood pressure and heart rate. A disturbance of neuronal activity in the brain can cause an epileptic episode. During these episodes, people may experience a seizure. Their muscles may contract, and they could lose consciousness. However, just because a person has epilepsy, it does not necessarily mean that they will blackout when they have a seizure. The disorder is a spectrum, and it covers many other symptoms. SymptomsMany different symptoms could accompany epileptic blackouts, depending on the type of seizure that a person is experiencing. According to the University of California, San Francisco, one particular type of epileptic seizure that causes blackouts is a tonic-clonic seizure — also known as a grand-mal seizure. During this epileptic episode, people lose consciousness, and the body goes stiff (tonic phase). The muscles then contract, which may result in the jaw clamping shut (clonic phase). TreatmentThe National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimate that 70% of people with epilepsy can control their symptoms by taking medication or undergoing surgery. Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved them in 2019, doctors have been able to prescribe cenobamate tablets for adults who experience blackouts during seizures. If medication proves ineffective, doctors may recommend surgery. Some children may be unable to take medication due to the side effects. In these cases, they may benefit from special diets. DiagnosisIf a doctor suspects that a person has epilepsy, they may request an MRI or CT scan. These imaging techniques help the doctor examine brain activity and rule out other neurological conditions. Learn more about epilepsy here. If a person experiences blackouts as a result of stress, this is known as a psychogenic blackout. While these blackouts are similar to syncope and epileptic blackouts, the causes are different. Experts believe that when people are experiencing a threatening feeling, thought, or memory, it can overwhelm them so much that it induces a seizure. Some symptoms of psychogenic blackouts include:
TreatmentAccording to the Epilepsy Society, people who experience psychogenic blackouts may benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT helps people identify stressful triggers and put techniques in place to cope when they feel overwhelmed. DiagnosisIf a person believes that they are experiencing psychogenic blackouts, a doctor may refer them to a neurologist, who may be able to diagnose psychogenic blackouts by ruling out other causes. According to one 2015 study, vasodilatory medications and diuretics could result in syncope blackouts. Another 2015 study suggests that overconsuming sedatives could cause memory loss. In one case study, the excessive use of alprazolam (Xanax) led a 50-year-old woman to experience memory loss blackouts. However, more research is necessary to support these findings. A person should speak to a doctor if they believe that they are experiencing symptoms of syncope, epileptic blackouts, or blackouts that are the result of medication. In cases of severe alcohol intoxication, a person may need emergency assistance. With treatment, most people will be able to continue their daily activities. If a person’s blackouts are related to an underlying medical condition, they should stop once the person receives treatment to manage the condition. Excessive alcohol use, stress, medication, and epilepsy can all cause blackouts. While blackouts are a frightening experience, treatment can allow people to lead a normal life without the fear of falling unconscious or losing their memory. |
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