# Can alcohol be absorbed rectally? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129 "2004-07-01T22:51:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/21 "2004-07-02T12:28:41Z")
> [@Ross](#): > > I believe one can consume vodka by holding the bottle to the eye. It works faster or something. > > I think it was in a movie. Either that or the vicar used to drink his sherry that way when he came round for lunch. IANAMD But, isn’t this massively dangerous? I remember once reading (It was a work of fiction, but still) ‘This is Deadeye Wilson. He is not a great marksman. He acquired the nickname after passing out one night and sleeping with the left side of his face in a bow of moonshine. He woke up with a hangover and a burned out cornea’ Back To The OP It also works with nicotine. Try searching the web on “clyster”. There was a great enema fad in France. Besides trying many different liquid mixtures, the clyster tobacco pipe was invented. I am not making this up. After careful insertion of the nozzle, the enema professional would blow smoke up the patient’s ass- literally. The stimulant effect was said to be rather dramatic. The smoke clyster was recommended for reviving somebody who had fainted or drowned. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/22 "2004-07-02T12:31:24Z")
I’ll have a dirty martini, please. A **very** dirty martini. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/23 "2004-07-02T12:32:29Z")
> [@aaslatten](#): > > but how do people actually do this? what are the mechanics? It was all the rage for Swedish youth a few years back (might still be, for all I know). You would soak a tampon in liquor and put it up your vagina or, if you happened not to be equipped with a vagina, your rectum. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/24 "2004-07-02T12:45:42Z")
I once **heard** that alcoholics that had developed ulcers so bad that they couldn’t drink would get their fix by taking alcohol enamas. I really don’t feel like Googling “J&B enamas” though. One must draw the line. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/25 "2004-07-02T13:30:30Z")
Having once snorted Jack Danial’s, I can attest that oral ingestion is a more pleasant way to imbibe. Other than that, I have nothing to add other than my disappointment that it took over an hour for someone to come up with the ‘drunken a-holes’ line. Thank you, **DanBlather**. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/26 "2004-07-02T14:02:25Z")
> [@BoringDad](#): > > So there are people who are experts in this? Boy, that’s gotta look good on the resume. I obviously don’t get to the right kind of parties. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/27 "2004-07-02T14:19:20Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > It was all the rage for Swedish youth a few years back (might still be, for all I know). You would soak a tampon in liquor and put it up your vagina or, if you happened not to be equipped with a vagina, your rectum. Hey! Another reason to follow my motto! I mean, who the heck wants to stick a liquor-soaked tampon is his rectum? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/28 "2004-07-02T14:25:13Z")
> [@](#): > > I know people have commented on this already but I wanted to emphasize that alcohol is absorbed MUCH MUCH faster into the bloodstream when taken rectally rather than orally. It takes much less to get you drunk if you partake of an alcohol enema. And it takes much, much less to give you alcohol poisoning. > > Anyone who is thinking of taking an alcohol enema better do a lot of research on it first. You’re really taking a risk if you don’t know what you’re doing. To elaborate (ad nauseum, literally), the main purpose of the rectum is to absorb water; it does its job well and absorbs alcohol just as well. Beyond that, achohol enemas bypass the body’s natural defenses against alcohol poisoning: you might get too wasted to pour and drink another drink but still be able to (sheesh, I’m not going to describe it, but you could probably do it while drunk.) Perhaps more importantly, you won’t throw up if you had too much, and the hospital can’t pump something out that has already been absorbed by the large intestine. …And if nobody minds my saying so, ick. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/29 "2004-07-02T14:46:08Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > It was all the rage for Swedish youth a few years back (might still be, for all I know). You would soak a tampon in liquor and put it up your vagina or, if you happened not to be equipped with a vagina, your rectum. The version I heard was “Finnish youth”. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/30 "2004-07-02T14:48:54Z")
I just want to say I love this place. \ ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/31 "2004-07-02T15:14:53Z")
Well, since my last post I asked one of my Russian neighbors about this. He’s known for building stills and making vodka, so I figured he would know. His accent is thick, But I can usually understand him. Not today though. He did say he had heard of it. But, he kept slurring and slipping into Russian. I figured that he’d be sober at 10:30 am. Nope. He’s drunk off his ass. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/32 "2004-07-02T15:42:23Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > The version I heard was “Finnish youth”. The version I lived through, being a Swedish youth at the time, was “Swedish youth”. I’m sure it happened in Finland too. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/33 "2004-07-02T16:49:08Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > It was all the rage for Swedish youth a few years back (might still be, for all I know). You would soak a tampon in liquor and put it up your vagina or, if you happened not to be equipped with a vagina, your rectum. You know, I have a feeling I am _really_ going to regret asking about this, but how, exactly, does one go about getting a soaking wet, soggy tampon into _either_ of these orifices? Ugh. I already think I don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/34 "2004-07-02T16:58:32Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Well, since my last post I asked one of my Russian neighbors about this. He’s known for building stills and making vodka, so I figured he would know. His accent is thick, But I can usually understand him. Not today though. He did say he had heard of it. But, he kept slurring and slipping into Russian. I figured that he’d be sober at 10:30 am. Nope. He’s drunk off his ass. Wow. Like the Germans. Although I can say I only had beer with breakfast once when I was there 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/35 "2004-07-02T17:06:03Z")
**ChaoticDonkey** One of us has been whooshed. If that smiley isn’t your way of saying ‘I never went more than 5 minutes during that visit without drinking some bier’ it may be me. If not, re-read my last post. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/36 "2004-07-02T17:16:34Z")
A goatsee martini? Shaken, not stirred. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/37 "2004-07-02T18:01:17Z")
> [@Fretful Porpentine](#): > > You know, I have a feeling I am _really_ going to regret asking about this, but how, exactly, does one go about getting a soaking wet, soggy tampon into _either_ of these orifices? > > Ugh. I already think I don’t want to know. Ummm . . . a plastic applicator with a rounded tip for comfort? ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/38 "2004-07-02T18:34:05Z")
> [@Fretful Porpentine](#): > > You know, I have a feeling I am _really_ going to regret asking about this, but how, exactly, does one go about getting a soaking wet, soggy tampon into _either_ of these orifices? I never did it myself, so I’m not entirely sure. I believe they wringed the tampon somewhat before inserting it, and my limited knowledge of medicine ( **Qadgop** , get in here) leads me to believe that failing to do so would have rather unpleasant consequences. As did this practice, by the way. Adjusting dosage is difficult and there were several hospitalizations. ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/39 "2004-07-02T20:37:07Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > > [@KP](#): > > > > Yes, alcohol can be absorbed rectally, vaginally, or through many other mucosal surfaces (nasally, orally without swallowing, etc.) I’m not aware of any studies ion the rate of uptake in humans, but I would guess that it would be somewhat slower. > > I know people have commented on this already but I wanted to emphasize that alcohol is absorbed MUCH MUCH faster into the bloodstream when taken rectally rather than orally. It takes much less to get you drunk if you partake of an alcohol enema. And it takes much, much less to give you alcohol poisoning. > > Anyone who is thinking of taking an alcohol enema better do a lot of research on it first. You’re really taking a risk if you don’t know what you’re doing. You are confusing absorption and intoxication. As I said, I’m not aware of specific medical literature on the rate of absorption, but rectal administration can lead to greater/more rapid effects (and toxicity) despite possibly slower absorption. We actually use this in administering certain medical drugs. The veins that drain most tissues follow a path roughly paralleling the arteries that feed them, but there are several important exceptions. The blood supply of the “gut” (liver, spleen, stomach, small and large intestines) is one. These organs get their primary supply of oxygenated blood from trunks that come from the aorta, but instead of flowing back to the aorta’s venous counterpart (the ven cava) the blood from most of the gut flows therought hte hepatic portal vein to the LIVER. The stomach/intestines are primarily meant to absorb chemicals–foreign chemical. Since you never know what chemicals might be in that last plant you ate, a quick detour to the liver for detoxification is only wise, instead of releasing all foreign chemicals, willy-nilly, into the general circulation. (The liver’s own metabolic needs are met by these absorbed chemicals, supplemented by “fresh” blood from the aorta, via the hepatic artery) Alcohol is one of the chemicals the liver detoxifies. However, as I noted the colon (the last part of the intestines) and specifically the rectum (the last part of the colon) really don’t absorb much–mostly water. Infact, you wouldn’t want to absorb much, because the colon is mostly full of bacteria that could kill you if they entered the blood (the crypts and pits I mentioned have lots of immune cells and lymph nodes) and the stuff the rest of your digestive system didn’t find worth absorbing. The only reason they left the water in untiol the end was to help make the "crud’ easier to pump downstream. While the superior rectal vein empties into the portal hepatic vein for detox, the middle and inferior rectal veins drain into vena cava (in much the same way as the veins of the abdominal and pelvic wall do) **if you put alcohol in the lower rectum, it can bypass the liver, and enter the general circulation without being detoxified by the liver.** Evolution had no idea you’d do a damnfool thing like that. It expected all alcohol to be absorbed easily far higher in the digestive tract. **This could get you drunk faster and cause alcohol toxicity with less alcohol, _even if absorption is slower in the rectum than the stomach and small intestine!_** Alcohol [and other chemicals in liquor) absorbed “upstream” go to the liver to be destroyed/changed before they are allowed into the general circulation to reach (e.g.) the brain. Absorbing them in the lower rectum bypasses this protection for a bigger systemic “hit” with less absorbed toxin. **Anyone considering rectal alcohol shouldn’t just “do a lot of research on it first.” They should ask themselves why it is so all-fired important to them to bypass one of their body’s basic protections.** Liquors contain many chemicals besides alcohol – some only allowed for human consumption because they were ‘grandfathered in’ by centuries of use–_oral_ use. Taking them rectally, is somewhat akin to ‘mainlining’ them by injection. It may not be very safe. Another concern might be damage to the rectal mucosa. You know how liquor burns your throat? It does the same to your rectal lining-- then barrier keeping countless ‘crappy’, potentially lethal, bugs out of your bloodstream. Alcohol also impedes the function of all the immune tissues in your rectal wall. > [@priceguy](#): > > It was all the rage for Swedish youth a few years back (might still be, for all I know). You would soak a tampon in liquor and put it up your vagina or, if you happened not to be equipped with a vagina, your rectum. I wasn’t aware of the practice in Sweden, but it was widely reported among _ **Finnish** _ girls have traditionally drunk less and at later ages than their male counterparts, or girlss in other European nations. I’m not sure how widespread the phenomenon actually was. (It may have been limited to one school or clique. It may have been discussed among teens more than actually practiced), but there was a flurry of international publicity by the news services in March 1999. > [@](#): > > “HELSINKI [AP] - Some teen-age Finnish girls are experimenting with tampons > dipped in vodka as a way of catching a buzz without parents detecting > boozy breath, an anti-drinking group claims. The group has received > reports of girls using alcohol-soaked tampons, hoping the alcohol would > then enter their bloodstream. High alcohol consumption in Finland is > sometimes a source of embarrassment for this conservative country, with > many worried more liberal liquor laws introduced in recent years have > increased drinking among young people.” > > \*\*Thrill-Seeking Teens Dunk Tampons In Vodka \*\* > (Last updated 8:06 AM ET March 3) > > [http://nt.excite.com/news/r/990303/08/odd-tampons](http://nt.excite.com/news/r/990303/08/odd-tampons) > > HELSINKI (Reuters) - Some teen-age Finnish girls ar\*e experimenting with > tampons dipped in vodka as a way of getting tipsy without parents > detecting boozy breath, an anti-drinking group said Tuesday. > > The group’s executive director said he had received reports of individual > cases of girls in eastern Finland using alcohol-soaked tampons, hoping > the alcohol would then enter their bloodstreams. > > “I believe tampons are supposed to keep things in and not let them seep > out,” Tapio Jaakkola at the Irti Huumeista drug and alcohol center told > Reuters. > > “Drinking through the mouth is probably still the best way for alcohol to > be absorbed,” he said. > > High alcohol consumption in Finland is sometimes a source of > embarrassment for this conservative Nordic society, with many > commentators worried more liberal liquor laws introduced in recent years > have increased drinking among young people…"\* ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129/40 "2004-07-02T21:30:20Z")
> [@Doug Bowe](#): > > Actually there’s a little history here! > > About 15 years ago “American Heritage” published a paper that the ancient Incas brewed an alcoholic beverage vile enough to make you lose it if you drank it. > So they used the enema method. > > _“Rhinal absorption of intoxicants is widespread [Anadenanthera beans, coca leaves, Virola resin, and many nicotianas] on the subcontinent and represents, apparently, a peculiarly American custom which, together with tobacco, spread to the Old World in post-Columbian times.”_ I opened this thread specifically to mention South American Indian nicotine enemas. Imagine my surprise at getting scooped on the subject! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-alcohol-be-absorbed-rectally/253129.md?page=3)