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Quick Start Guide
The following is a quick start guide for
using your Alcohoot personal smartphone
breathalyzer.
1.
Download the Alcohoot app on your iOS or Android
smartphone.
2.
Open the app, accept the disclaimer and review the
instructions in your “Getting Started” guide.
3.
Slide out the headphone jack on your Alcohoot device to
turn it on and plug it into your smartphone.
4.
Allow the app to access to your microphone. (The data
from your device communicates to your phone through
the microphone in your headphone jack.)
5.
Allow Alcohoot to access your location so it can provide
you with the correct legal driving limit in your region, find
nearby resturaunts, and get a ride home.
6.
When performing a test, blow a long steady breath (for
about 5 seconds) until the device vibrates, in order to get
an accurate deep lung breath reading from your
Alcohoot.
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Document V1. 2015
Having
Trouble
Getting
Ready?
Try the following tips
to help you get going
after going through
the Quick Start Guide.
- Unplug the headphone jack and check to be sure there is no
obstruction in the phone’s headphone port. Reconnect the jack
firmly into the port.
- If you’re using an Android device, turn up the volume all the
way up to maximum level.
- If the Alcohoot logo isn’t lighting up, charge your Alcohoot
with the charger cord provided.
- Remove any bulky phone cases that may inhibit a firm
connection between your phone and your Alcohoot, or use an
Alcohoot approved TRRS headphone jack extension.
- After plugging in your device, wait until the app shows
‘Ready’ (towards the top of the screen) before you begin your
test.
- After tapping ‘Tap to begin’ (and waiting for the countdown to
complete), make sure you see a steady blue light on your
Alcohoot before starting to blow into the device.
- Don’t remove the device when calculating BAC in order to
recieve the most accurate reading, and avoid errors.
- When in doubt, completely unplug your device, slide back the
plug, restart the app, and firmly replug your device into your
smartphone.
For more information please visit:
http://www.alcohoot.com/faq
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Document V1. 2015
Factors that affect Determine
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
Hydration Levels
Your body consists mostly of water, in the form of blood and other fluids.
Drink for drink, a person with less body fluid will usually become more
impaired than a person who is better hydrated. A person with more body
fluid develops a smaller concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream; with
more fluid (solvent) in their system, the same amount of alcohol (solute)
leads to a more diluted solution (BAC).
Tired/Stressed/Illness
When you’re tired, your liver may be less efficient at processing and/or
eliminating alcohol from your body, leading to a higher BAC level. If you are
sick or just getting well, you are likely to experience greater impairment from
alcohol, while in certain cases of chronic illness, any use of alcohol is high
risk. Even if able to process alcohol normally, tired individuals may also
experience greater impairment than their alert counterparts. Fatigue causes
many of the same symptoms as intoxication which is going to magnify the
effects of the alcohol and intensify the symptoms, so your BAC may be
lower than you expect.
Body Size
This refers to your “lean mass,” and not your body fat. Alcohol is soluble in
water but not fat, thus a smaller-framed person generally will experience
greater impairment than a large person would from the same number of
drinks. While it’s not entirely clear what causes this, larger people may
metabolize alcohol more quickly since they have a larger liver capacity and
more body fluid to dilute alcohol.
Altitude
It’s estimated that one drink at high altitude will have the same effects on
the human body as three drinks taken at sea level. That’s because the
blood absorbs alcohol quickly, interfering with the absorption of oxygen by
hemoglobin. This effect is magnified by high altitude, thus drinking alcohol
at high altitudes reduces the amount of oxygen that gets to the brain.
Drinking alcohol dehydrates the body too. Like alcohol, high altitude also
causes dehydration, which increases BAC levels more quickly due to the
ratio of water to alcohol in the body, so your BAC number may be higher
than you expect. Studies have shown that the effect of alcohol on the body
is magnified at heights over 5,280 feet, or one mile.
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Gender
Women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently from men. The difference in BAC levels between
women and men has been attributed to the smaller amount of body water typically found in women
relative to men. Women also typically have lower amounts of ADH, the alcohol metabolizing enzyme,
in the stomach, causing a larger proportion of the ingested alcohol to reach the blood. The combination of these factors may render women more vulnerable than men to alcohol-induced liver and heart
damage and higher than expected BAC results.
Empty Stomach
When food is in your stomach, the pyloric valve between your stomach and intestines closes, slowing
the movement of alcohol into your bloodstream. When a consumed meal has high fat content, the
valve can remain closed for up to six hours. If you eat foods rich in fat prior to drinking, you may find
that alcohol will be absorbed more slowly into your bloodstream. Your body digests carbohydrates
quickly and thus alcohol could be absorbed more quickly than you realize. Drinking on an empty
stomach could lead to higher than expected BAC results just as drinking drinking after a meal could
lead to lower than expected BAC results.
Functional Tolerance
“Functional tolerance” is a decrease in the body’s sensitivity to alcohol’s effects. In other words, a
person exhibiting functional tolerance will not seem to be as intoxicated as a person with little or no
functional tolerance. This is a behavioral adaptation to the effects of alcohol, and as long as the liver
continues to eliminate alcohol at the rate of one drink per hour, it will have no effect on blood alcohol
concentration. Having a "tolerance" to alcohol will still result in a high BAC after prolonged drinking
even if you have decreased sensitivity to alcohol's effects. Similarly someone who does not drink
often will have an increased sensitivity to alcohol's effects at a lower BAC. Developing a “tolerance”
in upwards of 50%, taking twice the amount to feel the effect, is a sign that you developing a problem
with alcohol.
Sources and Good Further Reads:
University of Notre Dame, McDonald Center for Student Well Being
http://oade.nd.edu/educate-yourself-alcohol/absorbtion-rate-factors/
Loyola Marymount University
http://academics.lmu.edu/headsup/forstudents/bloodalcoholcontent/
Alcohol Policy Information System
http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/
Absorption, distribution and elimination of alcohol: highway safety aspects, Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Supplement, (s10),
98–108 (1985)
http://www.jsad.com/doi/10.15288/jsas.1985.s10.98
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI)
http://nccd.cdc.gov/DPH_ARDI/default/default.aspx
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