Image credit – University Health Network
A lot of us probably know when we’ve had too much to drink and can probably draw the line as to when to stop, but there are times when we’re having too much fun to the point where we might pass out from drinking too much, or worse, drink too much to the point where we get alcohol poisoning.
However, thanks to the work of scientists in Canada, they have developed a somewhat simplistic-looking device that will help us sober up quickly by exhaling the alcohol content in our body. Toxins, such as alcohol, are typically broken down by our liver, but our liver works at a constant rate meaning that there’s really no way to speed up this process.
However, our lungs also play a role in helping break down alcohol by exhaling small amounts of it whenever we breathe out. Usually this isn’t enough to sober us up, which is where this device comes in. It forces our body to hyperventilate which speeds up how much alcohol we exhale, but at the same time, the device will feed us back carbon dioxide at enough levels to prevent our bodies from freaking out and causing us to lose consciousness.
The device, called ClearMate, was initially designed and approved to be used in emergency rooms to treat carbon monoxide poisoning, so whether or not it will also be approved as a way to treat alcohol poisoning remains to be seen.
Filed in . Read more about Health and Science. Source: gizmodo