Partners in Prevention

• Keep calm, take a deep breath. Don’t let your anxiety transfer to the individual in trouble.
  

• If the person is awake, keep your distance. Before approaching or touching the person, explain what you intend to do.
  

• Speak in a clear, firm, reassuring manner and be assertive.
  

If the person is aggressive:

• Approach the person carefully and try to calm them through the use of reason.  
  

• Attempt to get the person to cooperate or to go home with you or friends
  If the person continues to be assaultive and is hurting others, you should call the police to avoid further damage and to protect the individual as well.  
   

Return to Top

Step Two: Initial Assessment

• Keep the person still
  

• If conscious, keep awake and encourage vomiting.
  

• If unconscious, monitor his or her breathing to make sure it’s normal.

• If the person is not breathing, get help immediately, and administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

• If person is breathing then check for signs of alcohol overdose

Return to Top

Step Three: Checking for Alcohol Overdose

Count respirations, or how many times the person breaths in one full minute. If the person is breathing less than twelve times per minute or stops breathing for periods of ten seconds or more, CALL 911.

Try to wake the person if they appear to be asleep. Pinch the persons shoulder firmly to see if they have a pain response. If there is no pain response or you can not wake the person, CALL 911.  

Check their pulse. If their pulse is 50 or below or their heart rate sees to be dropping, CALL 911.

Look at the person’s skin. If it is cold, pale, bluish in color, or sweaty, CALL 911.  

Return to Top

Step Four: Monitor the Person

Stay with the person who is vomiting! Try to keep the person sitting up, if they must lay down, keep them on their side with their head turned to the side. Watch for choking, if the person begins to choke, GET HELP IMMEDIATELY.  

If no one can stay with the person, contact a campus official

Do not attempt to give the person food if they can not get it themselves. Giving the semiconscious person food could cause vomiting, choking, or aspiration.

If you cannot keep the person awake, make sure he or she is on their side so they will not choke in case of vomiting.

Keep the person comfortable, have someone stay with them, and wake them up frequently. Just because the person is sleeping doesn't mean that the alcohol cannot get to the brain. Alcohol levels continue to rise, causing the person to become unconscious, rather than asleep. If at any time you can not wake the person up, call 911. 

Monitor the person's breathing and pulse. If breathing falls below 12 breaths per minute or pulse begins to slow or fall to 50 or below, call 911.

Return to Top


DON'TS

DON’T try to walk, run, or exercise the person; above all, don’t permit the person to drive.

DON’T administer anything orally—food, liquid, or drug—to sober the person up, time is the only thing that will.  

DON’T give the person a cold shower: The shock may cause him/her to pass out, with resulting injury.  

DON’T attempt to constrain the person.  

DON’T laugh, ridicule, provoke anger, argue, or threaten.  

DON’T try to talk to the person about his/her drinking problem until the next day.  
 

Return to Top