Going to a concert can be great fun, but the days are long, and you may not drink or eat as much as usual. If you decide to have alcohol rather than water, the combination of heat in a venue or outside, dehydration and alcohol could result in you appearing to be more impaired than you would normally be when drinking the same amount.
Dehydration, heat and alcohol don’t go well together and may end up leading an unexpected DUI charge if you try to drive home while impaired.
Alcohol continues the process of dehydration
You may have heard before that alcohol dehydrates the body, and that is true in part. Depending on the concentration of alcohol in a beverage, it is possible that the alcohol could cause you to lose more water than you’re replacing. Combine this with sweating and eating less than usual during a long concert or festival, and you create circumstances conducive to alcohol impairment.
Alcohol and dehydration together cause you to appear more impaired than you would be with alcohol and good hydration. Alcohol causes you to produce more urine and go to the bathroom more often. Just 10 grams of alcohol will make you produce up to 100 mL of urine, so a standard alcoholic beverage may make your body lose around a half cup of urine.
This is certainly problematic for people who aren’t drinking enough water, because dehydration can cause some of the same symptoms as impairment by alcohol. Dizziness, vomiting, nausea and strange behaviors may be linked to dehydration or intoxication, which is how you could end up facing a DUI when you really are dealing with dehydration more than anything else.
If you’re drinking and sweating, remember to have some water
While you’re at the venue, remember to mix up your drinks. If you’ll have a beer, drink a few glasses of water to go with it. Doing this will make it easier for you to stay hydrated and minimize the risk of being impaired from the heat or drinks enough to result in a DUI charge on your way home.