Teen Binge Drinking - What it is and How it Kills

Binge drinking can be dangerous no matter what your age, but for teens, the risks increase. Since the teenage brain is still growing and developing, it is more easily damaged by large amounts of alcohol; binge drinking can be the perfect way to destroy developing brain cells.

Almost two-thirds of teens admit to binge drinking. That's two out of every three adolescents who is downing 5 or more drinks in a row (the definition of binge drinking in the US ). Many people assume that binge drinking means drinking over a long period of time, but it also refers to tossing back several drinks in a short amount of time.

Teens who binge drink tend to have a lot of problems due to the amount of alcohol in their system. Here are some of the more common issues binge drinkers face:

• Lack of concentration in school: This often leads to bad grades or even dropping out, something that will affect the quality of jobs a person can get and their perception of the world.
  
  
• Loss of friends: Alcohol binges can drastically change someone's personality and their friends will drift away. We all need support and a real friend is far more useful than a bottle of tequila.
  
  
• Memory loss and blackouts: This is quite common during drinking episodes, but it can happen afterwards too, when the person is sober.
  
  
• Lack of judgment: Unfortunately, many teens that are binge drinking make other bad decisions, like getting behind the wheel of a car or sleeping with someone without protection. In best case scenarios, they have an embarrassing story to live down, worst case, they end up dead. Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer for ages 15-20 and the number of fatal crashes caused by drunk driving is double for this age group than for those over 21.
  
  
• Trouble with the law: Underage drinking can not only cause personal problems, it can also get teens in trouble with the police. Drinking and driving can get your license suspended or worse.
  
  
• Suicide: Drinking boosts the suicide rate nearly 3 times by interacting with existing conditions like depression and making them worse . . . so much so that the teen feels the only way out is to kill himself.
  
  
• Alcohol poisoning: Not everyone who binge drinks gets alcohol poisoning, but it affects teens more than anyone else. Alcohol is rapidly absorbed through the stomach lining and drinking too much too fast can be fatal as many have found out.
  
  

While binge drinking isn't a good idea any time, there are certain circumstances where it is far more lethal. It's easy to get caught up in chugging beer at a party or taking a dare from a friend to down an entire bottle of schnapps, but these are exactly what kill teen binge drinkers every year.

Most teens who die from an alcohol overdose are labeled as an accidental death or a choking victim (usually on their own vomit), but the truth is far worse. They drank so much alcohol that it actually stopped their organs from working and they passed out and died. Many of them received absolutely no help because their friends assumed it was normal to pass out, when in reality, they were slowly dying.

It's important to get help if you suspect someone is binge drinking. It could save their life.

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