BOO! Oh, goodness! Is it that time of year again already? That\u2019s right, folks! Halloween is almost upon us and with that comes Halloweekend! This is my and my friends\u2019 favorite weekend of the Fall semester. Whether it\u2019s dressing up, going out to party or just binge eating candy, it\u2019s always a fun time of the year. But with fun can also come some scary situations, like those Halloween movies that start off as a prank and then turn rather\u2026dark. Halloween can include a whole spectrum of activities, and some of those activities could range from staying sober to drinking and dancing. No matter your personal relationship with substances, it\u2019s never a bad idea to carry some harm reduction strategies with you. Who knows? It might come in handy. So let\u2019s do a quick reminder on how you can keep both your friends and yourself safe on All Hallows’ Eve.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s do a quick refresher on the signs of alcohol poisoning. There\u2019s an easy-to-remember acronym to keep in mind that consists of\u00a0four uppercase letters and a smaller, quieter, yet still equally important one.<\/p>\n
Yes, ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ is a cold city, but if you or your friends were partaking in the consumption of alcoholic beverages, feeling cold could be a symptom of alcohol poisoning. Alcohol is like hot apple cider, but only because it gives you the feeling of being warm despite the opposite actually occurring. As your liver metabolizes the drug, your core body temperature is steadily lowering, which in turn results in the feeling of cold and clammy skin. This can be hard to notice, especially if you\u2019ve been standing outside in the cold waiting to catch a trolley, so keep a wary eye out.<\/p>\n
Usually, people think the \u201cU\u201d stands for \u201cunconscious,\u201d which could definitely be a sign of alcohol poisoning, but if you wave your hands in front of a friend\u2019s face and they keep staring straight ahead, now that\u2019s being unresponsive, not necessarily\u00a0unconscious. You don\u2019t have to shake them and rattle them around, but if your friend is looking directly through you as if you\u2019re a ghost this Halloween\u2026 that\u2019s definitely some cause for concern.<\/p>\n
Throwing up is your body\u2019s way of telling you to stop in an extremely physical and grotesque way. As it expels the alcohol from your system, vomiting can also cause both rotting and corrosion to your teeth. Think of it (\u201cit\u201d being alcohol, not puking) like candy\u2014it can be great in moderation, but definitely not frequently, and even more so not in vast amounts.<\/p>\n
Slowed breathing can be a sign that someone\u2019s heart rate is slower than it should be. And when it comes to seizures\u2026just call 911. Everyone\u2019s body works differently, but just call 911 to be safe. Slurring words can make it awfully hard to understand someone. This can be particularly dangerous when it comes to consent, too. While an individual under the influence cannot legally give consent, there is an even larger risk of misunderstanding someone if their words are not clear, especially when there is a chance that the other person could be intoxicated as well. Either way, that aspect of shared understanding is immediately lost. (Got Consent? Be SU.R.E<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Have you or a friend ever drank and you couldn\u2019t even recognize one another? Were you all acting differently? Maybe more aggressive than usual, or even a lot more wacky? When alcohol affects your brain, the first area it affects is your frontal lobe, which controls your personality, your ability to make sound decisions and your ability to control impulsions. When you drink this is all toned down\u2026and you can become someone even you don\u2019t fully know.<\/p>\n I swear I hate watching scary movies, especially those low-budget slashers, because I always think, \u201cWhat are they <\/span>doing<\/span><\/i>?\u201d They have no common sense! I know it\u2019s a movie, but still! Regardless, make sure you don\u2019t end up feeling like you\u2019re in your own bad horror movie by following some simple harm reduction tips. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n First, have a (charged!) battery pack on you, or at least make sure your phone is fully charged before you go out. How can you call an Uber, or a Safety Escort Shuttle<\/a>, or even call for help if your phone is dead? Along similar lines, definitely plan for a safe way home from wherever Halloweekend may take you so you don\u2019t end up stranded and alone. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Second, stay with a friend. Look after each other and travel together or within a group.<\/p>\n Finally, don\u2019t ever let someone coerce you into doing something you don\u2019t want to do, whether that\u2019s drinking, hooking up or even just going out to a party. It\u2019s always important to notice coercion and peer pressure, and to only partake in activities that you are excited about.<\/span><\/p>\n This is supposed to be a fun week and weekend, and following these harm reduction strategies will definitely help with that!<\/span><\/p>\n Halloweekend will be fun regardless of how you spend it, whether that\u2019s indoors or outdoors, rain or shine, but I hope this article has given you some tips on how to keep your Halloween fun from turning frightful. If you want to learn more about alcohol safety and harm reduction strategies, check out the Wellness Leadership Institute<\/a> to register for workshops and acquire some more knowledge, before or after your Halloween celebrations. Finally, if you see any suspicious behavior on Halloween weekend, you can call the Department of Public Safety (DPS) at 315.443.2224<\/a> to report it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Happy Halloween, everyone!! Make sure you\u2019re spooky, scary, sexy and, most importantly, safe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Written By Wynter Chaverst \u201923, College of Arts and Sciences, Be Wise Peer Educator<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BOO! Oh, goodness! Is it that time of year again already? That\u2019s right, folks! Halloween is almost upon us and with that comes Halloweekend! This is my and my friends\u2019 favorite weekend of the Fall semester. Whether it\u2019s dressing up, going out to party or just binge eating candy, it\u2019s always a fun time of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":374,"featured_media":3398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,23],"tags":[98,303,86],"class_list":["post-3397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-life","category-health-and-wellness","tag-halloween","tag-safety","tag-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/374"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3397"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3460,"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3397\/revisions\/3460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.syr.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}(Silent)<\/span> E <\/span>S<\/span>tands for\u2026 Erratic Behavior<\/span><\/span><\/span> Link<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Now you know the signs. If you see someone showing these signs of alcohol poisoning, call for help<\/strong>\u2014911 or 315.443.2224<\/a>.<\/strong> Link<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Reducing Harm Via Harm Reduction Strategies Link<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n