November 23, 2008
With the holidays approaching, yacht owners and guests will use their vessels to enjoy themselves and celebrate the traditions of the seasons. Usually, that means with drink. And often, that means someone has too much to drink, leaving yacht crew members with the unpleasant task of caring for a drunken guest’s safety while onboard.
What is alcohol intoxication? WebMD offers this: "A person is said to suffer from alcohol intoxication when the quantity of alcohol the person consumes exceeds the individual’s tolerance for alcohol and produces behavioral or physical abnormalities. In other words, the person’s mental and physical abilities are impaired."
So you have a guest who is intoxicated and you are asked to handle the situation. In addition to your normal duties you are now security, guest relations, risk manager and possibly the first responder who will render first aid assistance.
Dealing with drunken guests while at sea is more difficult than bouncing someone out of the local pub. It requires finesse, civility and diplomacy and presents problems if not handled correctly.
Calling the authorities is probably not an option, or at least not the best option in most cases. Another obstacle: you can’t call your drunken guest a cab. You are stuck with them. Most often this means you must safely get the guest to their cabin and encourage them sleep it off.
Here are several tips for dealing with drunk and unruly passengers:
Be proactive. Long before the situation gets out of hand, you will see who is drinking too much and how it is affecting them.
If you see a potential problem, alert the crew and make a plan to limit or stop the flow of alcohol.
Be polite, and try to avoid touching or embarrassing a drunk, disorderly guest as this may cause them to strike out. It is best to call them aside, either alone or with a (more) sober friend, and suggest that they call it a night.
You may wish to assist the guest to his or her quarters. Allowing them outside without supervision is never a good idea. Falling overboard or just falling in general is a very real possibility.
Stop the flow of alcohol. Do not let them drink any more. And beware of other substances they may have access to, including certain prescription medications that can be dangerous when mixed with alcohol.
When in doubt, call or radio for medical advice before mixing drugs with alcohol.
Watch them. Do not let them near anything that could hurt them, including stairs or ladders, the railing or swim platform, machinery, etc.
If the person falls asleep, check to make sure they are breathing normally. If they are, let them sleep it off. If possible, have them sleep on their side. This will prevent drowning in their own vomit, should their body expectorate the alcohol while they are unconscious. You should continue to monitor their airway and breathing and watch for seizures. If the victim is unresponsive, is having difficulty breathing or is having a seizure get medical help immediately.
Vomiting is common with excessive drinking. If someone vomits a few times, this is normal.
However, if they vomit many times, it may be a sign of head injury or other serious injury and they may need more extensive medical attention.
The best cure for alcohol intoxication is sleep.
That pain in the morning is from dehydration, so encourage guests to drink water, fruit juice or Gatorade when possible. Avoid serving them caffeine as this will dehydrate them further.
The theory of "hair of the dog that bit you" doesn’t work and only serves to start the intoxication-dehydration trend again.
When in doubt, always get help. It is possible that the person may be suffering from another condition other than alcohol intoxication such as kidney problems, diabetes or a number of other medical problems.
Keith Murray, a former Florida firefighter EMT, is the owner of The CPR School, a mobile training company that provides CPR, AED and first aid training. He also sells and services automated external defibrillators. Contact him at +1-561-762-0500 or keith@theCPRschool.com . Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.
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