The dangers of butt chugging

Butt chugging is a worrying trend of consumming alcohol. [iStock]

How do you consume alcohol? The answer depends whom you ask. This is because a habit once thought to be a fringe practice is gaining ground with young people. Butt chugging is the name, also called boofing, plugging or butt enema. 

In this worrying trend, revelers choose to get drunk  by inserting alcoholic drinks into the rectum through the anus instead of drinking using the mouth. The trend has been brewing amongst the Gen Zs, and many are worried.

It is not a new story to the world but it is most certainly shocking in our African setup.

It is important to know drinking that the normal way, using your mouth, offers certain safeguards that are eliminated once you go the butt way, leaving you at risk of alcohol poisoning and, even, death.

In a report medically reviewed by Dr Alana Biggers, Adam England in Healthline explains what happens once the alcohol gets inside the body.

Firstly, butt chugging allows the alcohol to evade the metabolic effect which enables the body to reduce any concentration of a substance taken orally, before it is circulated around the body.

Secondly, the liver and stomach usually contain alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase. The two important enzymes play the role of breaking down the alcohol in your body effectively.

However, this is not the case with alcohol enema. This process bypasses the stomach and liver and the filtering and metabolizing of the alcohol does not take place. In fact, with the two enzymes missing in the colon and anus, the alcohol is directly absorbed into your bloodstream without being broken down or filtered. This occurs through the lining of the large intestines.

When someone asks if you are likely to be drunk way faster and more than an individual drinking through their mouths, the answer is yes. The fact that butt chugging allows a much higher concentration of alcohol into the bloodstream clearly explains why it is different than just drinking in the first place.

Why the do people do this?

In a research report medically reviewed by Dr Debra Sullivan, Caitlyn Geng explains on Medical News Today these alleged benefits. Boofing prevents the alcohol scent from being felt in one’s breath and prevents hangover and vomiting (Not being able to vomit could be dangerous.)

Some also think that alcohol enema helps prevents alcohol detection via  the breathalyzer test (Alco-blow). This is not all true.

Once he concentrated alcohol reaches the bloodstream through the blood vessels in the rectum, it moves to the lungs where one will exhale some of the alcohol in form of alcohol vapour. 

Every action has consequences. There are many risks that come with alcohol enema.

Risks

According to an extensive research by We Level Up California Addiction and Rehab Centre such risks include:

One is in high risk of infections due to the wear and tear of the rectal tissue and membranes which can lead to painful bleeding. The more you use your rectum to consume alcohol, the more you stand a chance to get infections like hepatitis C, HIV &AIDS and even Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

This is possible because, the protective membranes and tissues in such sensitive areas could be damaged and this leaves one as easy prey to contagious diseases transmitted through any sexual contact.

The chances of overdose are also very high since through butt chugging, one may consume a large quantity of alcohol unlike just drinking. The alcohol one consumes orally is also filtered and metabolized by the enzymes in the liver and the stomach. 

Butt chugging bypasses your digestive system and goes directly to the bloodstream through the colon lining. The effect of the alcohol in this case is usually felt so strong as it is and this is very dangerous. In both case scenarios, death is a very probable and tragic outcome.

Another tragic outcome of butt chugging is addiction. As much as it is a form of entertainment for some people, alcohol still remains to be very addictive. If one can be addicted due to overdoing it orally, imagine how much addiction one could fall into if they consumed all that alcohol through butt chugging on a daily. During the process, one usually has minimal control of the quantity of the alcohol they consume.

Then there is the risk to the colon, leaving one requiting a colostomy.

We saw (above) that the tears or ulcers that butt chugging bring about in the rectal tissue and membranes leave one vulnerable to infections, bloody stool, inability to control their bowels, blocked blood flow to their colon and even the need for a colostomy.

According to John Hopkins Medicine, colostomy is a surgery to create an opening for the colon (large intestines) through the belly (abdomen). The surgical procedure is a possible outcome of a damaged colon and this is also fueled by a behavior like butt chugging.

In a nutshell, excessive consumption of alcohol is harmful to one’s health. They say prevention is better than cure, so if butt chugging has such dire consequences, it’s better to avoid it.