Alcohol is perhaps the most widely used and misused substance. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are nearly 2.3 billion alcohol users worldwide. If you are among these two odd billion users, you might be wondering how long does alcohol stay in your system? Well, we are going to break it down for you to understand how alcohol affects detection times in the urine, blood, breath, and more.
How Is Alcohol Processed By Your Body?
First things first, to understand how long does alcohol stay in your system, we need to first understand how it is processed by your body. When you consume alcohol, it travels through the digestive system but is not completely digested in the digestive tract. Instead, when it travels to the upper gastrointestinal tract, most of it gets absorbed right into the bloodstream, from which it is carried throughout the body and reaches the brain.
While food can slightly slow down this process, alcohol is typically absorbed into the bloodstream right away. This is how you experience its effects.
How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?
Alcohol can stay in your system between 6-72 hours, depending on the type of test used.
How long does alcohol stay in your system for a urine test?
Urine tests are among the most commonly used drug testing methods for alcohol. How long does alcohol stay in your urine system for detection varies between 12-24 hours. However, it can even be detected for up to 72 hours in cases of heavy alcohol use.
How long does alcohol stay in your blood system?
Alcohol can be detected in your blood for up to 12 hours after the last drink.
How long does alcohol stay in your system for breathalyzer test?
Alcohol can be detected in your breath for 12-24 hours after the last drink.
How long does alcohol stay in your saliva?
Alcohol can be detected in your saliva for up to 12 hours after the last drink.
How long does alcohol stay in your hair?
Alcohol can be detected in your hair for up to 90 days. Alcohol can be detected in your hair for the longest period of time, but hair tests are not typically used except in cases to establish a history of alcohol use.
How Is Alcohol Measured In Your Body?
Alcohol is measured in your body using a measure known as blood alcohol content, or BAC. BAC measures alcohol in the bloodstream as weight (milligrams) per unit volume (milliliters). It is noted in percentage. It is understood that the BAC reflects the quantity of alcohol consumed.
BAC levels can range between 0% (no alcohol) to 0.4% (potentially fatal levels of alcohol). For many regions in the U.S., the legal limit is 0.08%, at which point alcohol adversely impacts reasoning and judgment.
Factors Affecting How Quickly Alcohol Leaves Your Body
While alcohol can be detected in your system anywhere between 6 and 72 hours, this depends on a myriad of other factors:
- Dosage and Frequency: Higher quantities of alcohol and more frequent drinking lead to a longer retention of alcohol in the body.
- Metabolism: As alcohol metabolism is a decisive factor in how quickly alcohol leaves your body, faster metabolism rates lead to quicker elimination.
- Liver Functioning: Alcohol is mainly broken down in the liver, so liver functioning can impact how slowly or quickly alcohol leaves your body. As alcohol itself impacts the liver, heavy and frequent drinking can impact liver functioning as well.
- Age: With age, metabolism rates slow down. So, older persons can retain alcohol for a longer time in their system.
- Body Weight: Higher body weight leads to longer retention times.
Even a standard drink takes one hour to be processed by the body. Nothing can hasten this process. But eating a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water, and maintaining a level of physical activity can help with alcohol metabolism and other unwanted effects like hangovers and so on.
Think Before You Drink
The half-life of alcohol varies between 4-5 hours. This means it takes nearly 6-72 hours for alcohol to leave your body, depending on the number of drinks consumed. Therefore, stick to lower doses and always plan ahead. Even if it is just the one drink or a few drinks, do not drink and drive, operate heavy machinery, or engage in other high-risk activities
References –
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcohol/how-long-in-system
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/22689-blood-alcohol-content-bac