# Sooo I accidentally consumed alcohol... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640 "2015-07-09T04:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/21 "2015-07-09T17:10:22Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Yeah. Have a drink. Then another. It’ll help you relax when you pull that stick out of your ass. 😕 This person is not even 18 years old and lacks life experience that would have made the answer to the original question obvious. She has probably been subjected to scare tactics to warn her away from what we might consider normal teenage activities, but choosing not to drink alcohol at her age can hardly translate to having a stick up her ass, can it? She’s trying to figure out a health problem and asking questions. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/22 "2015-07-09T17:12:10Z")
European bars let you in at 17? Nice. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/23 "2015-07-09T17:17:50Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > 😕 > This person is not even 18 years old and lacks life experience that would have made the answer to the original question obvious. She has probably been subjected to scare tactics to warn her away from what we might consider normal teenage activities, but choosing not to drink alcohol at her age can hardly translate to having a stick up her ass, can it? She’s trying to figure out a health problem and asking questions. You are a far more generous person than I. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/24 "2015-07-09T17:41:57Z")
My new go-to excuse. Yessssss!!! ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/25 "2015-07-09T17:44:10Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > European bars let you in at 17? Nice. In England anyway, under 18’s are permitted in many pubs until 8 pm. They can even enjoy a glass of wine or beer with a meal if they’re with a parent. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/26 "2015-07-09T17:52:51Z")
I agree with the others, you were almost certainly not served alcohol. Had you been, the effects would be nonexistent. There are a few concerns with mixing acetaminophen and alcohol. The first and foremost is damage to the liver. **Regular drinkers** , people who use (even casually and not to a point that would be considered abuse) alcohol on a regular basis throughout the week will have an enzyme in their body that their liver produces to help process the regularly consumed alcohol. This enzyme reacts poorly with acetaminophen. The most recent studies I’ve shown have simply resulted in **suggestions** that for persons who are regular users of alcohol, the recommended daily maximum dose of acetaminophen be set at a much lower level than the **4g** it is currently at by most health authorities in the U.S. and other countries. But you’re not a chronic user of alcohol, so this enzyme would not be present in your body. Additionally, you took such a small dose of acetaminophen that even if you were, it would likely be safe. The people who are at risk of liver damage are those who regularly consume both. The second fear based on recent studies is the potential that mixing acetaminophen and alcohol can cause kidney disease. But those are I believe fears based on relatively new science that isn’t fully understood or accepted yet. However again, this focused on chronic users of these drugs. You have literally nothing to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/27 "2015-07-09T18:55:05Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > [Shakes cane] Kids these days! No longer know how to party! Not like the wild acetaminophen benders we had back in our day. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/28 "2015-07-09T19:33:12Z")
I accidentally drank some last night. I’m going to accidentally drink some more tonight. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/29 "2015-07-10T04:50:56Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I agree with the others, you were almost certainly not served alcohol. > > Had you been, the effects would be nonexistent. > > There are a few concerns with mixing acetaminophen and alcohol. The first and foremost is damage to the liver. **Regular drinkers** , people who use (even casually and not to a point that would be considered abuse) alcohol on a regular basis throughout the week will have an enzyme in their body that their liver produces to help process the regularly consumed alcohol. This enzyme reacts poorly with acetaminophen. > > The most recent studies I’ve shown have simply resulted in **suggestions** that for persons who are regular users of alcohol, the recommended daily maximum dose of acetaminophen be set at a much lower level than the **4g** it is currently at by most health authorities in the U.S. and other countries. Thanks for that. I was cringing a bit at everyone saying it took a large amount of alcohol and a large amount of Tylenol. It’s true for non-drinkers, but less true for drinkers. I didn’t want anyone who actually drinks a lot to get the wrong idea. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/30 "2015-07-10T06:32:21Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > That’s a typical alcohol level for a crappy lite beer. Why would she be unable to smell or taste it? Even an O’Doul’s at .4% has tasteable alcohol. Light beers are 4.2% ABV, regular beers are about 5%, some craft types go higher. Except in Utah, Colorado, et al., who force many of the beers to 4%. Mike’s is 5%, they make a “Harder” one that is 8%. I don’t know how you can taste alcohol on near beer because it’s overpowered by the taste of sadness. > [@Habeed](#): > > European bars let you in at 17? Nice. Around here, if they serve food (and I mean bars, not Applebee’s), kids seem to generally be okay. They can’t buy drinks, but eating with a drinking adult is fine. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > I accidentally drank some last night. I’m going to accidentally drink some more tonight. [Paraphrasing Homer]All right, beer. I’m just gonna do this: _gulp_ _gulp_ And if you get drunk, it’s your own fault![/Homer] ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/31 "2015-07-10T09:24:40Z")
I agree with \*\*kferr \*\*that you were most likely served Fentimans. It has a tiny amount of alcohol in it and I guess if you’ve never consumed alcohol before, you would notice it. > **[British lemonade causes US alcohol row](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/6455178/British-lemonade-causes-US-alcohol-row.html)** > > Fentimans, a traditional Victorian lemonade enjoyed by British drinkers for more than a century, has caused a row after an American teenager had a bottle confiscated in school for its tiny alcohol content. You sound quite uninformed about alcohol. The internet is a big place, why don’t you do some research and educate yourself? Hope you enjoyed your UK trip. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/32 "2015-07-10T10:03:31Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > [Mike’s Hard](http://www.mikeshard.com/en/home) is one. (“Hard” being relative. You can’t even taste any booze. It’s not bad on a hot day, though) There’s an upgraded version called Mike’s Harder. Which would lead to an interesting moment if you thought you were getting one but got the weaker one and said “I thought this was going to be Harder!” ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/33 "2015-07-10T13:01:48Z")
> [@Scougs](#): > > Lemon flavoured alcopops are very common. > > Usually Smirnoff Ice, but there is also lemon flavour Bacardi Breezer, and Hooch which was all the rage years ago but has made a recent comeback. Now that you mention it, I know my local does stock Smirnoff Ice. I just never thought it would be lemon flavoured, just sickly sweet like WKD and the rest. It seems that recently the fruit “ciders” like Kopparberg and Rekorderling are pushing out the older alcopops. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/34 "2015-07-10T13:15:01Z")
Mmm, Kopparberg. They make a nice perry. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/35 "2015-07-10T19:06:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not like the wild acetaminophen benders we had back in our day. Saw this yesterday and still giggling to myself over a story from college. Sicne you implanted the memory worm I thought I’d share. My roommate made a trip to Canada and picked up some OTC Tylenol with codeine. The codeine content is low so he and his friend wanted to maximize the recreational effect without exploding their livers. They can up with the idea of grinding them up and snorting them to get things in to their system faster. In the days before the internet the planning involved referencing medical books and a trip to the library. Once they were pretty sure both the tylenol and codeine would dissolve and absorb they carried out their plan for the tylenol with codeine bender. I cam back to the room with them both miserable. The filler used for making the pills apparently didn’t dissolve in the sinuses. 😃 They were blowing out white powder for days. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640/36 "2015-07-10T20:27:31Z")
The OP could have had “bitter lemon”, which is usually an acquired taste for Americans. Certainly most American teenagers aren’t fans. (NB, it’s not alcoholic, but is the best mixer for Pimms cup!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sooo-i-accidentally-consumed-alcohol/724640.md?page=1)