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A medical practitioner is warning of the dangers of consuming too much alcohol in a short period of time.
This warning follows last month's tragedy of a 21-year-old woman dying hours after drinking nearly two dozen cups of an alcoholic beverage to celebrate her birthday.
Dr. Romario White, a resident at the University Hospital of the West Indies, explained Tuesday on Radio Jamaica’s Beyond the Headlines that this practice often leads to alcohol poisoning, because there are not enough enzymes in the body to "keep up" with that level of alcohol in the body in such a short time.
As a result, he said, the excess alcohol circulating in the body "has an especially huge impact on the nervous system, leading to a 'depressant effect' - meaning it causes the nervous system (to experience) a decrease in activity there."
That results in adverse manifestations such as slurred speech, staggering and loss of inhibitions, he explained.
Dr White said that in extreme cases, alcohol poisoning could lead to respiratory depression, "which basically is that it is turning off your breathing altogether."
Meanwhile, the police have revealed that further testing is being done to determine the cause of death of the 21 year old woman, after the results of a post mortem were inconclusive.