<p>Like if they drink too much and they pass out? I wouldn’t want to get them in trouble with the RA.</p>
<p>Well at a local high school party, the kid passed out, nobody did anything and he died.</p>
<p>You deal with the situation in the moment. You call for help and worry about the consequences later. His life may depend on you calling for help.</p>
<p>Poke ‘m with a stick to see if he’s still kickin’.</p>
<p>At my school, if you call the campus ambulance, you will not get into trouble regardless of the reason. They want you to call and save your roommate/friend/hallmate/suitemate/etc’s life than worry about getting written up for underage drinking.</p>
<p>caemin: Same with my school, UMASS Amherst.</p>
<p>If your roommate is actually passed out (as opposed to asleep) and cannot be woken up, you need to call for help. Their life could depend on it!</p>
<p>Call 911.</p>
<p>They might be suffering from alcohol poisoning.</p>
<p>Before you do anything, make sure that the situation actually demands that paramedics be called. Most likely he’s just sleeping, in which case just turn him on his side, raise his head a little, prepare for some sleep vomiting (hold his head up and to the side, clear out his mouth, don’t get anything on your clothes), and just sit back and make sure he keeps on breathing. If you can rouse him (eyes half-open, incoherent mumbling, straight back to sleep), he’s fine.</p>
<p>If he does stop breathing though, start hands-only CPR and call paramedics. Watch out for seizures, <6-8 breaths per minute, and hypothermia. Absolutely under any circumstance do not sit back and watch him choke on his vomit, this is probably the most likely reason for an intoxicated person to die. </p>
<p>Just keep in mind that sleeping or passed out doesn’t equal alcohol poisoning. Also keep in mind that death isn’t worth maintaining your image, and that people will definitely understand if calling the paramedics was the only option you had.</p>
<p>Puking when passed out just means they’ve had a lot, but not necessarily too much. I’ve been the sober guy at my fair share of parties, and not once have I actually needed to call 911. Close monitoring, though, is necessary.</p>
<p>Regardless of puking, if they’re passed out, make sure they’re on their side. Check on them every 10-15min. If their pulse becomes irregular, call 911!</p>
<p>Personally, my criteria for drunk people is as follows:
–If they are truly unconscious / “passed out” and I can’t wake them up or get a response I call 911 or campus health services and wait for the paramedics to arrive. Even if they’re breathing. </p>
<p>– If I can wake them up, have them say something coherent (usually ask how much they’ve had), then I follow Aero’s procedure and monitor.</p>
<p>I’d always default to calling the paramedics if you can’t wake them. If someone drinks so much that they are in that position, then they fully deserve any consequences of going to the hospital. Plus, they are no longer your responsibility as soon as the paramedics take over. It usually takes about 10 minutes for them to get there, and it certainly is better for the intoxicated person to be supervised by medical professionals all night instead of a college student.</p>
<p>I was told by a counselor to call 911, if they are passed out/unresponsive. Think about it–unless you had some sort of medical training, you don’t know how serious the problem is. Its also possible that someone slipped something in his drink and they aren’t sleeping. I actually had to do call once…</p>
<p>My friend told me a story about how his friend at Stanford, was at a frat party. He left his cup unattended and woke up in the hospital…yes, there was underage drinking, but apparently, he was never written up/got in trouble b/c of the circumstances. Don’t let someone die b/c you failed to call 911 or neglected them.</p>
<p>"“In my mind, the best way to prevent a kid from screwing up in college (which, incidentiallly [sic], can be caused as much by slacking off and playing videogames with fellow dormers as it can by alcohol or drugs) is to give him/her more freedom in [high school],” lucifer11287 wrote Jan. 15 on collegeconfidential.com, a college admissions message board. “Contrarily, if a kid is used to drinking/partying and doesn’t consider it novel, then they will probably know how to fit alcohol into a successful lifestyle.”</p>
<p>Lucifer11287 would probably have concluded that Matthew Pearlstone, a Cornell freshman who died of alcohol poisoning on March 17, the morning of St. Patrick’s Day, while visiting the University of Virginia, was a novice drinker. But Matthew Pearlstone was lucifer11287.</p>
<p>Pearlstone, 19, who was from St. Louis, Mo., had a history of heavy drinking. He partied regularly on weekends and occasionally during the week, though “during the week, he’d have trouble finding people to drink with him,” his Cornell housemate, Philip Chow, recalled in an interview, repeatedly referring to his friend in the present tense. “So what he does is he usually calls his friends on the phone and then takes shots with them.”</p>
<p>The story of how Pearlstone died — accidental alcohol poisoning, the local coroner ruled — is not a unique one. About 36 college students die each year for reasons related to alcohol consumption, according to a recent analysis by USA Today. …"</p>
<p>[In</a> postings, a tragic portrait of defiance - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2006/04/14/15232/]In”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2006/04/14/15232/)</p>
<p>"</p>
<p>If you drink, have friends who drink or have children of any age, know the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning:</p>
<pre><code>* Confusion, stupor
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Slow breathing (less than eight breaths a minute)
- Irregular breathing
- Blue-tinged skin or pale skin
- Low body temperature (hypothermia)
- Unconsciousness (“passing out”)
</code></pre>
<p>It’s not necessary for all of these symptoms to be present before you seek help. A person who is unconscious or can’t be roused is at risk of dying.</p>
<p>When to see a doctor
If you suspect that someone has alcohol poisoning — even if you don’t see the classic signs and symptoms — seek immediate medical care. "</p>
<p>[Alcohol</a> poisoning: Symptoms - MayoClinic.com](<a href=“Alcohol poisoning - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic”>Alcohol poisoning - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic)</p>
<p>Thank you for your posts, nsm.</p>
<p>Bear in mind that if you have “had a few” also, your judgement is suspect.</p>
<p>An unresponsive human being needs medical care. If you can’t wake them up, call the EMTs.</p>
<p>It won’t be the first overindulged ungraduate they have attended to and won’t be the last
:).</p>
<p>There are no disciplinary consequences as severe as attending the funeral of a dead friend you might have saved :(.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We can all have our own definition of “too much,” but what if you followed excelblue’s advice- put the unconscious person on his side and check every 10-15 minutes- and he managed to vomit 1 minute after you checked and choke on his own vomit? Then the next time you check he won’t have been breathing for 9-14 minutes. Most people can’t hold their breath for 9-14 minutes.</p>
<p>Unconscious students need professional medical care, as Northstarmom says.</p>
<p>Agreed that CONSTANT observation is pretty critical when someone is passed out due to excess alcohol, and that medical intervention is best. Since the OP seems to be grappling with this, here’s something that might be even more productive: If you have the opportunity to encourage your roomie to slow down as soon as you seem him start to get a wonked, it’s way better that trying to haul him back from the point of no return. Sometimes a “dude, slow down, you’re going to hurl, have some water…” is enough to trigger some folks to back off a bit. Just a thought.</p>
<p>How do you tell ‘passed out’ from just going to sleep? Several times I’ve woken up not knowing how I got to where I was, I assume I passed out, but I was perfectly fine. When people get too drunk they generally become sleepy, you guys really poke and prod them to see if they can wake up? I suppose if never really came up for me because I drank with the same people from start to finish and I knew their tolerances (also, we mostly drank beer). From what I’ve observed it’s generally freshmen who don’t know their limits trying to chug a fifth that get alcohol poisoning, but I suppose being cautious is the best route, though the emergency room bills are nothing to scoff at.</p>
<p>“Agreed that CONSTANT observation is pretty critical when someone is passed out due to excess alcohol, and that medical intervention is best.”</p>
<p>And no one is going to constantly observe their passed out roommate or someone who has passed out at a party…</p>