First aid situations caused by intoxicants – how to help

The use of intoxicants can result in life-threatening poisoning. Intoxicants also increase the risk of accidents and various diseases.

In particular, the combined use of intoxicants can cause severe poisoning. This can lead to problems such as respiratory failure, heart arrhythmia, cerebral haemorrhage, cardiac arrest and psychosis.

When providing first aid to an intoxicated person, it is important to recognise life-threatening situations and call for additional help if necessary. See the instructions below.

How do you recognise a life-threatening narcotics or alcohol poisoning?

The use of intoxicants may involve incoherent speech and illogical behaviour. The situation becomes dangerous when intoxicants cause respiratory failure or other life-threatening symptoms.

The severity and progression of the symptoms of poisoning depend on factors such as the substance used, the amount of the substance, the method of use, when the substance was taken and the user’s tolerance to the substance in question. The body’s tolerance can decrease in just one day.

The situation is life-threatening if you notice any of the following changes in the intoxicated person:

• their breathing is irregular or you cannot hear them breathing
• they begin to complain of a sudden severe headache
• they are convulsing
• they do not respond to your attempts to wake them up
• they suddenly develop a high fever
• their behaviour becomes self-destructive.

In these situations, always call the emergency number 112 for additional help.

Typically, a life-threatening emergency arises when a person has fallen asleep in a state of severe intoxication. Often, it is not until the following day that it is discovered that the intoxicated person has died in their sleep due to suffocation or respiratory failure.

Monitor the intoxicated person’s condition particularly closely if they are more tired than usual and going to sleep. Wake them up if they are snoring in an unusual way, if you notice that their lips are turning blue and their skin is particularly pale, or if their breathing is particularly slow.

Call the emergency number 112 for additional help

Always call for professional help if you cannot get the intoxicated person to wake up, they are having difficulty breathing, their lips are turning blue or they suddenly develop a high fever.

Provide the emergency response centre with as accurate and correct information as possible about what substances you know or suspect the person has used. This will promote cooperation and ensure that the intoxicated person receives the help they need. However, call the emergency response centre without delay, even if you do not know the answers to all the questions.

If possible, provide the following information:

• which substance or substances the person has taken
• how much
• when
• how quickly
• tolerance and previous substance use
• what symptoms the person has.

If it is not an emergency, you can also seek advice from the Medical Helpline 116 117 or the Poison Information Center, which you can also call anonymously. The Poison Information Center is open 24/7, tel. 0800 147 111.

How to administer first aid to someone who is heavily intoxicated

Substance-related deaths can be prevented. You can help an intoxicated person by doing the following:

• Wake the person up regularly.
• Call the emergency response centre if necessary.
• Turn the person into the recovery position and support their body, for example by placing pillows behind their back.
• Make sure that the person’s airways remain open.
• Prevent heat loss by covering the person with a blanket, for example.
• Stay with the intoxicated person and monitor their condition. Do not leave them alone.

If someone has passed out, they may be unconscious – how to help an unconscious person

First aid for an unconscious person is always the same regardless of the cause of unconsciousness.

When consciousness is fading, the tongue can easily block the airways.  People who have consumed intoxicants are prone to vomiting, and when lying on their back, they may choke on their vomit. That is why leaving an intoxicated person alone can be fatal.

To determine whether an intoxicated person is unconscious, it may be necessary to use a loud voice and shake the person vigorously. A person who has passed out is unconscious if they do not respond to your attempts to wake them up. In such cases, always call the emergency number 112 immediately.

If the intoxicated person is breathing, turn them into the recovery position without delay. Ensure that their airways remain open and that they stay warm. 

Stay with the person who needs help until help arrives.

Read more about first aid for an unconscious person

What to do if an intoxicated person is not breathing?

If the person you are helping is not breathing normally or you are unsure about it, call the emergency number and start CPR. Press down in the middle of the sternum 30 times and give breath twice so that the chest rises. If giving rescue breaths is not possible for some reason, continue chest compressions without interruption. 

Continue with the rhythm of 30 compressions and 2 breaths until emergency medical technicians arrive and give you permission to stop.

Read more about CPR

If an intoxicated person is convulsing

People who use intoxicants have an increased tendency to experience seizures, which may be due to brain damage, cerebral circulation problems or withdrawal symptoms.

Call the emergency number 112 and make sure that the intoxicated person does not hurt themselves during the seizure.

Read more about first aid for seizures 

The problem is not always related to substances – help is still needed

People who use intoxicants may also have underlying medical conditions, in which case their abnormal behaviour may not be caused by intoxicants but rather a sudden attack of illness requiring immediate assistance. Various types of accidents, such as head injuries and major bleeding, can also cause serious symptoms unrelated to intoxicants. 

These situations also require immediate professional help.

Drug-related deaths are usually caused by accidental poisoning

Drugs and alcohol cause approximately 2,000 deaths in Finland every year. In other words, drugs cause more deaths in Finland than traffic accidents when considering the entire population. 

A large proportion of all substance-related deaths are accidental poisonings. For example, in 2024, they accounted for well over half of all substance-related deaths. In Finland, young people account for an exceptionally high proportion of drug-related deaths compared to many other European countries. 

Poisonings caused by substances are usually the result of a combination of multiple compounds, such as medications and alcohol or drugs. In Finland, drug-related deaths are most commonly caused by the combined use of opioids and benzodiazepines.