How Long Does Alcohol Stays in Your System? A Doctor Explains
It’s generally used for situations where the timing of the drink doesn’t matter, such as when the individual is required to be completely abstinent. This is because EtG hangs around in the body far longer than ethanol does. When the substance enters the bloodstream, it affects all major organs in your body, including the heart and brain.
When it comes to ethanol urine tests, there’s going to be a small lag as the body filters the alcohol from the blood into the bladder. Urine alcohol levels generally peak 45 to 60 minutes after alcohol ingestion. But once it’s there, it can be detectable for up to 12 hours.
As you get older, your liver works more slowly, so it takes longer to metabolize and excrete alcohol. Many aging adults also take medication that can affect liver function, slowing the process further. When misused, alcohol can do as much (or even more) overall harm as many illegal drugs.
The optimal drinking range for moderate alcohol consumption is a BAC between .02% and .06%. A BAC of .08% is illegal in most states, leading to an arrest if driving under the influence (DUI). Depending on how much you drink, it can take 6 to 24 hours for your body to metabolize alcohol. The human body is very effective at processing alcohol, provided that the alcohol is not consumed so quickly that alcohol poisoning occurs. Between 90% and 98% of all alcohol that enters the body is metabolized and absorbed.
Every day in the U.S., about 37 people die from drunk driving crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And 31% of drowning deaths involve a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over the legal limit. Roughly 20% of the ethanol in liquor is absorbed into the blood from the stomach and the rest from the small intestine.
- In the U.S., a BAC level of 0.08% is legally recognized as the threshold for intoxication for drivers aged 21 and over, and exceeding this limit can result in an arrest for DUI.
- A glass of wine versus grain alcohol has a different alcohol concentration, affecting how alcohol is metabolized.
- This means drinking on an empty stomach can get you drunk much faster.
The stomach’s role
Lab tests might also test urine for ethyl sulfate (EtS), another metabolic substance that confirms a person’s most recent alcohol consumption. Different types of alcoholic beverages have different alcohol concentrations. A standard drink is defined as the amount of alcohol in one normal-strength (5% alcohol/10 proof) 12-ounce beer. The amount of alcohol in various alcoholic beverages can be seen in the table below.
Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG) Tests
Driving with a BAC of .08% or more can result in serious penalties, including fines, jail time, license suspension, and more. Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp. Having more than that overloads your system with more booze than it can process The Stages of Alcoholism Explained Early, Middle and End-Stage at once, which is what ultimately causes you to feel drunk and sends your BAC over the legal limit.
Test for Abstinence Versus Intoxication
It’s hard to say for sure, and you could probably take some at-home measures to mask the rankness. But the stench can definitely be picked up on a breathalyzer test for that long. These kits are like pregnancy tests and you can find them in your local pharmacy.
Breath tests for alcohol can detect alcohol within a shorter time frame, at about 4-6 hours. Any number above 0.02% is unsafe since you experience some loss of judgment and a decline in visual functioning. EtG is shorthand for ethyl glucuronide, a substance that’s created when the liver metabolizes alcohol.
