A: Unfortunately we suspect that you're not alone in your confusion. ACEMS, or Amherst College Emergency Medical Service, is a student group of first responders and emergency medical technicians who are on call for medical emergencies that happen on campus. Although alcohol-related problems are probably the most common reason you might think about ACEMS, they're trained to deal with all sorts of other wonderful injuries you'd hope never to experience-sprains, breaks, cuts, head trauma, seizures, allergic reactions, etc. Don't you feel safer already?
In terms of alcohol, though, here's what to look out for. Alcohol poisoning happens when you have too much alcohol in your bloodstream, because you consumed a large amount of alcohol in a short time (you should perhaps get better friends who will tell you not to do something so stupid). On average, a 160 lb. man who drinks more than seven standard drinks in one hour (1 drink = 1.5 oz. of 80 proof liquor, 5 oz. wine, 12 oz. beer) or a 140 lb. woman who drinks more than six will have moved right past blood alcohol levels that cause euphoria, past those that seriously impair coordination and judgment, right along to those that cause physical danger. However, people react differently to alcohol based on how much they've had to eat, how often they drink alcohol, their weight, their sex, their ethnicity and even their hormone levels. (Speaking of hormones, a warning to ladies: "That time of the month" makes you more sensitive to the effects of alcohol.) So without a Breathalyzer handy, it would be difficult to tell exactly how intoxicated someone is unless you've been counting their drinks, know their body weight, and have a blood alcohol level chart hangin' out in your back pocket.
However, there are several easily observable indicators that someone needs not only a friend like you to tuck them into bed, garbage can at the ready, but an evaluation by ACEMS. For example, while vomiting a few times might help settle a person's stomach, prolonged vomiting, especially if there's blood or the person can't stop even when they're dry heaving, is a serious problem. If someone is so drunk that they become unconscious-not quietly asleep, but passed out and unresponsive-or has trouble breathing, it's obviously time to call ACEMS. (Actually, someone who isn't drunk and has trouble breathing or staying conscious could use some medical attention, too.) Less obviously, a person who can't stand up on their own, talk to you or make eye contact may also be in danger, particularly since alcohol will still be entering their bloodstream and making them worse until over an hour after they've stopped imbibing.
That's the basic list, but as any member of ACEMS will tell you, it's best to trust your gut-people who seem to be in bad shape probably are. This handy rule goes for drugs, illness and injury as well as alcohol-in fact, the only time it doesn't apply is for the occasional cold or flu. If your fatigue, upset stomach or mild fever wouldn't even have been a good excuse to miss a day of high school, you'd best take it to walk-in hours at Health Services rather than ACEMS.
But in the event that chicken soup isn't likely to help, a quick call to (413) 542-2111 gets a house call from a friendly ACEMS member, and anything they do for you is free. ACEMS' treatment of you is also confidential, like any other part of your medical records. However, to ensure the safety of the patient, ACEMS responders and any bystanders, at least one officer from Campus Police always arrives with or before ACEMS personnel, and their police reports do go to the Dean of Students' office. This conundrum-that calling to help someone who's ill because of alcohol or drugs might get them "in trouble"-is sometimes cited as a reason to avoid calling ACEMS. On the other hand, said "trouble" is usually a conversation with a class dean and possibly with Gretchen Krull at Health Education about how to prevent future alcohol-related problems. Since the alternative is perhaps life-threatening, calling is by far the safer bet.
E-mail she@amherst.edu with your questions (we won't ever use your name in the column), and check back in two weeks to see which one we've chosen to tackle. Go forth, and be healthy!