Amy Winehouse Died From Alcohol Poisoning: What Is It?

It turns out, Amy Winehouse didn't die from alcohol withdrawal, as her family had earlier speculated -- a coroner ruled that her official cause of death was from alcohol poisoning, according to news reports.

E! Online reported that Winehouse's blood alcohol limit was five times higher than the limit for drunk driving (she had 416 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, while Britain's legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood). The singer died earlier this year, in July.

Winehouse's family released a statement that was announced by their spokesman Chris goodman, CNN reported, saying that the family was relieved to finally know what happened to the 27-year-old Grammy-winning singer.

CNN reported:

"The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol and it is a source of great pain that she could not win in time. She had started drinking again that week after a period of abstinence," Goodman said.

Alcohol poisoning is relatively common, with 50,000 people in the United States diagnosed with alcohol poisoning each year. It's caused by binge drinking during a short period of time -- the body absorbs alcohol more rapidly than it's able to clear the alcohol. According to the Mayo Clinic, it takes your body about an hour to completely process one drink (defined as 12 ounces of beer, 1.5 ounces of spirits or 5 ounces of wine).

With alcohol poisoning, alcohol enters the brain and causes a loss of consciousness, a drop in body temperature, low blood pressure, coma and even death, according to the CDC.

Symptoms of binge drinking include vomiting, slow and/or irregular breathing, confusion, pale skin and passing out, the Mayo Clinic reported. It's imperative that a person with alcohol poisoning -- whether all these symptoms manifest or not -- to see a doctor as soon as possible. A doctor will conduct blood tests and even a urine test to see the blood alcohol level and determine if there has been alcohol poisoning.

Blood alcohol poisoning is treated with oxygen therapy, intravenous fluids, monitoring and use of the nutrients thiamin and glucose, according to the Mayo Clinic. It's also important to make sure there is no breathing or choking problems (since the gag reflex is affected during alcohol poisoning).

Winehouse isn't the first celebrity to die from alcohol poisoning. Bon Scott, the lead singer of AC/DC from 1974 to 1980, died from the condition at age 33, as did country singer Keith Whitley, also at the age of 33.

CORRECTION:An earlier version of this article misstated the ratios used to determine alcohol intoxication.

Comments

[StevenRussell1]

04:01 AM on 10/28/2011

Stay away from alcohol, and live for Jesus, and you won't have to worry about what alcohol poisoning is.

[Jimmy B]

02:59 PM on 10/28/2011

Stay away from alcohol and live for anything other than Jesus = same result.

[jjkrjw0]

02:45 AM on 10/28/2011

Alcohol poisong results from consuming too much alcohol at once. How hard is that to figure out? But I love how the Brits described her death. They called it Death by Misadventure. Ya gotta love the Brits.

[KatherineOne]

01:05 AM on 10/28/2011

It doesnt help that sports promote a culture of drinking .
We encourage kids to be active in sports when they are young then gradually the marketers bombard them with "and beer is important for this also" . But it makes the companies money. It might change if parents stepped in and said youre not going to teach our kids that is normal.

[lgtaper]

12:44 AM on 10/28/2011

you know, I'm going to drink, just to forget all your comments. bottoms up !

[gmgpjandon]

12:15 AM on 10/28/2011

I was thinking alchol poisoning was due to the lowering of the bar to people's genes. Humanity has come a long way from perfection and the farther we get the less human we become. No? Well it could explain a lot of happenings if people weren't such egotists.

[Mike Lazar]

12:42 AM on 10/28/2011

And when and where was that pefection occured? Slavery? Lyinching? Really, when was that perfect time in the history of civilization happened?

[bunnyhemet]

09:56 PM on 10/27/2011

To bad, you have to want help to get help, she was no beginner to alchol use, so she had the knowledge to the withdrawls and the outcome if she followed a still worse relapse. nothing no one can do now shes gone, another one bites the dust, with this disease of alcholism. just to bad that she lost the battle. and didnt win this one.
when we get clean from alchol we know we have another relapse in us but will there be another recovery. in her situation no some dont make it back. they die in the disease......

[Emily Petitt]

08:35 PM on 10/27/2011

My mother died at the young age of 34. On her death certificate, alcohol poisoning was at the top of the list, liver failure from alcohol was second on the list. Alcohol is no joke, I will NEVER drink from stress, to forget, or party. Just an occasional sip of wine. Alcohol is pointless, being intoxicated certainly describes it, toxin is never a goo thing.

[vampyreangelus]

09:31 PM on 10/27/2011

Its her own fault, no one forced her to drink or do drugs.

[ryanraymond321]

02:56 AM on 10/28/2011

I agree, but understand addiction is an actual disease.

[vampyreangelus]

04:49 PM on 10/28/2011

I know it is but no one ever forced her in the first place, she made the choice to start.

[badboyxyz]

07:35 PM on 10/27/2011

i only drink to forget.... actually i can't recall what it is i'm trying to forget so why mess with sucess ... if its not broken don't fix it

[krazysteve]

06:21 PM on 10/27/2011

How could it possibly take over three months to figure this out? If nothing else, the mortician knew when no embalming was required.

[danno1400i]

05:51 PM on 10/27/2011

DAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how stupid are you?????????????????? to much alcohol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it does't take a rocket scientist

[s2at25]

05:42 PM on 10/27/2011

Linsey and Paris, there will be a test later.

[danno1400i]

04:57 PM on 10/27/2011

DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! too much alcohol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shari Greer]

04:38 PM on 10/27/2011

Alcohol abuse is not always by choice. It is a dibilitating issue for those who cannot stop once they start. Not every day.. but everytime they drink it is to excess. The sadness lies in the acceptance of this and 'getting wasted' to be okay. Alcohol kills people in many ways. This young woman is a sad case of alcohol poisening. Her tolerance was probably very low, and her sugar issues could have played into it, but just because booze is legal doesn't mean it is safe. Cigarettes are a good example of legal but lethal... If you are addicted to alcohol, you cannot drink. Period. We all know someone who just 'can't handle it' ... I was one of those people until 16 years ago. My dad was one, and for 29 years he was sober. Three months before he commited suicide.. he started drinking again. Don't play with booze.... it will kill you or someone you love . Some can, some cannot. Know which one you are and deal with it.

[I am just saying]

08:02 PM on 10/27/2011

I take great exception to your very first sentence. That is a crock excuse many drunks use, like my ex-wife of 14 years. The thing very few people consider is that when they down that very first drink they are stone cold sober. Therefore they are making a conscious choice to consume something they know they can't handle. They are fully aware that once they take the first one more will follow until they are totally obliterated and CHOOSE to do it anyway. My ex never got it and when she admitted she had a drinking problem (very rare did she do that) the old adage of 'it is not my fault because I am an alcoholic' always came out.

[yemars14]

02:01 AM on 10/28/2011

You just described the disease of alcoholism. It is a nasty disease, addiction.

[Shari Greer]

05:19 PM on 10/28/2011

You misunderstood this ... alcoholism is a disease and one that people deny for a long time. As with your ex... she took that first drink by choice, but those past that point were 'driven' for her to drink. I have never used my addiction as an excuse. I know if I drank one beer I would be off and running...after 16 years... so I don't. Until SHE gets it,that will be her excuse.. but in reality it sounds like she too is an alcoholic.. and needs to seek help.. But you nor I can make that decision for anyone. It's very personal, and very hard. But.. it can be done.

[chumleypotts]

04:28 PM on 10/27/2011

I'm not sure, but I think it comes from drinking so much alcohol it kills you. I'm hoping someone comes up with a 1200 word posting that explains it in more intellectually precise scientific details so we can all study the phenomena.