How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?
How long does alcohol stay in your system, and how is alcohol processed out of your system? Find out here.
How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?
Alcohol metabolism rates differ based on how much you drink, the window of time when alcohol is consumed, and the type of alcohol.
Most alcohol elimination processes occur in your liver; however, the stomach helps break down alcohol and keep some of it from going into your bloodstream. Various alcohol drug tests will test positive for alcohol between 25 and 130 hours after your last drink.1
How Does the Body Metabolize Alcohol?
While the liver is often considered the organ primarily responsible for getting alcohol out of your system, it’s not alone in its work. When you drink, the first place alcohol goes is your stomach. Many people have specific enzymes in their stomach called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). These enzymes are responsible for breaking down alcohol, limiting how much goes directly into your bloodstream.2
Alcohol Responses in The Body
But not everyone has these enzymes, and women typically have lower levels than men. Without sufficient levels of ADH and ALDH in your stomach, alcohol effectively bypasses your stomach. It goes directly to your small intestine, where it’s released to your bloodstream and your brain. At this point, you will begin to "feel" the effects of alcohol.
After the stomach, alcohol travels to the liver, the organ primarily responsible for doing the work necessary to clean your system from alcohol. The liver typically removes about 90% of the alcohol from your blood. The remaining 10% is filtered through the kidneys, skin, and lungs which is why you can sometimes smell alcohol in your urine or sweat.
Factors that Determine Alcohol Half-Life
The amount of time alcohol stays in your system will vary. As previously noted, factors that affect detection time (alcohol processing time) vary based on the strength of the alcohol and how much you drink. Other factors, including gender and characteristics unique to the person (height, weight, etc.), also impact alcohol metabolism times. Despite certain individual factors, some elements don’t change in most cases.
Half-Life of Alcohol
When you first start to drink, it can take between one hour and 90 minutes for the alcohol in your system to reach peak levels. At this point, the body begins to process and break it down. The half-life of alcohol is approximately four to five hours, regardless of the type of alcohol consumed. Alcohol half-life is the term used to define how long it takes for your body to get rid of half of the alcohol in your system. But, alcohol half-life only applies (technically) to the first half of alcohol in your body. While the half-life of alcohol is up to five hours, it takes approximately five half-lives — or 25 hours — for your liver and other organs to clean your system from alcohol altogether.3
Alcohol Testing Methods
The three most common alcohol drug tests are urine, breath, and blood. Alcohol drug tests check for your BAC or blood alcohol content. In the United States, you’re considered intoxicated if your BAC is 0.08% or higher.4
Breath Tests
One of the most used methods of detecting alcohol in the body is breath tests. These tests are a quick and easy way to test levels of alcohol in your system. A breath test can detect the presence of alcohol in your system for 24 hours after your last drink.
Blood Tests
Another type of alcohol drug test is a blood test. Alcohol blood tests are often more accurate than breath or urine tests and can detect alcohol for up to 12 hours. Urine tests are often used when other methods aren’t available. Alcohol in urine remains present for up to five days. Because urine alcohol levels are detectable for so long, these tests are often used to detect alcohol in the body during addiction treatment aftercare programs.
Saliva and Hair Tests
Two other methods for detecting alcohol in the body are saliva alcohol tests and hair testing for alcohol.
Saliva tests can detect alcohol in the system up to 48 hours after your last drink. Hair tests are effective for up to 3 months or 90 days, making hair testing another excellent alcohol drug test method for continued abstinence testing.
Factors Affecting Alcohol Detection
As noted above, several factors may affect alcohol detection and the time needed for alcohol to leave your system. There is no single timeframe of alcohol effect duration as everyone processes alcohol differently. Several factors directly impact alcohol digestion time. These include:5
How Much Alcohol Will Kill You?
Alcohol poisoning or alcohol overdose is a dangerous and sometimes deadly consequence of drinking too much alcohol in a short time.6 Also referred to as binge drinking, this type of drinking can affect all vital body systems leading to severe medical emergencies.7
Knowing how to recognize alcohol overdose symptoms is crucial because this knowledge could help save someone's life. The most common symptoms of an alcohol overdose include vomiting, clammy skin, low body temperature, confusion, stupor, loss of consciousness, pale or blue skin, slowed heart rate, and irregular or abnormally slowed breathing.
How To Get Alcohol Out of Your System?
Alcohol stays in your system for several hours after your last drink. The amount of alcohol left in your system after a night of drinking will depend significantly on what and how much you drank.
If you have only had a few drinks (and aren’t intoxicated), you may wonder what the fastest way to get alcohol out of your system may be. In some cases, drinking lots of water, eating a meal, moving around, or getting a good night's rest may help your body process alcohol more efficiently.
When To Pursue Help and Sobriety
However, suppose your relationship with alcohol is unhealthy, and you find you regularly drink to intoxication. In that case, it may be time to consider seeking help for alcohol addiction at a treatment program. As part of alcohol addiction treatment, trained medical professionals can help you safely detox from alcohol. During detox, you may experience several withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, anxiety, headaches, irritability, tremors, sweating, hallucinations, and changes in your heart rate.
At an alcohol detox and addiction treatment program like Anew Treatment Center, we can help you manage withdrawal symptoms and overcome alcohol addiction in a safe and supported environment.
False Positives in Testing
Although alcohol tests are often accurate, certain factors may produce false positives. Depending on the circumstance, these false-positive results can lead to potential legal repercussions. People can easily be exposed to several chemicals and other items that may lead to a false positive alcohol test. If you plan to take an alcohol drug test, it's a good idea to avoid the following:7
Contact Anew Treatment Center to Begin Your Wellness Journey
Occasionally sharing a drink or two with friends isn’t necessarily a sign of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. However, if you’re concerned your (or a loved one's) drinking has evolved into a harmful behavior, it’s time to reach out for help. Contact a member of our admissions team today to learn how you can get treatment for alcohol addiction at Anew Treatment Center.
Resources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3484320/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6527027/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC543875/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4060735/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3166629/
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alcohol-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354386
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/ethyl-glucuronide
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