Expert: james52144@earthlink.net - 11/11/2006

Question
Was it a same hour that she drank and it killed her or was it for a long time as months, that she drank which killed her? Is it suddenly to be killed if she drank for few hours? I see many people were drinking lot and that didn't kill them. How?
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
My mom died from the alcohol poisoning few days ago... I tried to understand how it killed her.. how did it cause her to die.. heart and lung stopped working? The Coroner smelled the ALCOHOL on her body and cut her up , so smell alcoholic from inside... ALCOHOL poisoning that killed her... She was not  having the drinking problems like others do... she always drank the wines, not much beer  or liquors.... i don't understand how she died from the poisoning?
-----Answer-----
Dear Lisa

I believe that alcohol poisoning shuts down your entire system if it is severe enough. You quit breathing, your heart simply stops. It is like being bitten by a venomous snake.

Answer
Dear Lisa

Basically, alcohol is a poison that attacks our brain cells, which results in the euphoric feeling that accompanies alcohol consumption. Depending on people's genetic makeup, what they eat, what kind of exercise they get, the effect of alcohol varies. My son is very healthy and drank himself into a coma for three days. It is impossible to predict when someone is going to pass out, get comatose or die from overdosing on alcohol. Sometimes it will be when they are consuming it, the long terms effects of alcohol abuse are terminal. It can vary depending on how fast she drank, what she had (or didn't have) to eat, etc. etc.

I hope this is helpful