When a Friend Is Very Drunk or May Have Been Spiked

Most of what a student needs to know about drink and spiking is how to look after a friend.

A two-minute read, three things to try, for ages 18 and over.

Where to start

Tell your child that suspected alcohol poisoning means an ambulance, not a lift to A&E. Call 999. Help is free and available at any hour.
Tell your child never to leave a very drunk friend to sleep it off alone.
Tell your child that suspected spiking means medical help early, and a report to the police.
Alcohol poisoning can look like confusion, being sick, slow or irregular breathing, pale or blue-tinged skin, a fit, or passing out. If your child thinks a friend has alcohol poisoning, your child should call an ambulance, and not try to take the friend to A&E. Call 999. Help is free and available at any hour. The person who answers will tell your child what to do.
Spiking is a crime, and it isn’t the fault of the person who was spiked. The Home Office lists the signs as confusion, feeling or being sick, hallucinations or paranoia, poor co-ordination or vision, difficulty speaking clearly, and memory loss, so spiking can look like being very drunk. If your child thinks they or a friend have been spiked, your child should get medical help, ask the venue’s staff for help, stay with the friend and report it to the police early, because some drugs leave the body in under twelve hours.
If your child, or a friend, may have been sexually assaulted, a sexual assault referral centre gives medical care, including emergency contraception, and can take forensic samples, whether or not the assault is reported to the police. It is best to go as soon as possible, and the NHS website finds the nearest centre.

The rest of the tip, and why it works, is in the library.

Sources

NHS, Alcohol poisoning (2026); Home Office, Spiking: advice and support (2023); NHS, Help after rape and sexual assault (2024); FRANK, advice for parents and carers

It goes with

When They Leave Home. For parents whose child is about to leave home, or has just gone, for university, an apprenticeship, a job or a year away.

The first chapter you open here is free to read in full.

Free on this subject

Leaving home. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.
Friendships. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.

The rest of the library

The Parent Book is a library written by therapists: chapters on the situations parents bring to our therapy rooms most often, quick tips for tonight, things to do together, and every sheet to print. One subscription opens all of it, from the day you join.

Subscribe to the library

£129 a year, by Direct Debit.

The Direct Debit is set up now and the first payment is taken on the next collection date. It renews each year on the anniversary of that payment. Change your mind in the first fourteen days and we refund you in full; after that, you can cancel at any time from your account page and read to the end of the year you have paid for.

Start your subscription

Already a subscriber? Sign in School staff: the teachers’ shelf

If you need help right now

If you or your child is in immediate danger: 999 · Go to your nearest A&E · 24/7.
If either you or your child is in a mental health crisis: NHS 111 · England, Scotland and Wales: call 111 and choose the mental-health option. Northern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 · 24/7.
If your child is under 19 and needs to talk to someone themselves: Childline · 0800 1111 · 24/7 · www.childline.org.uk.
If you are worried that a child is being harmed or is at risk: NSPCC Helpline · 0808 800 5000 · Mon-Fri 10am-4pm by phone; email 11am-4pm, seven days a week. An email sent when the service is closed is not received. · email help@nspcc.org.uk · www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/our-services/nspcc-helpline · If the NSPCC service is closed and the concern cannot wait, call the police on 101. You can also contact the child’s local out-of-hours children’s social care, social work or social services team. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
If you would prefer to text rather than speak: Shout · Text SHOUT to 85258 · 24/7 · giveusashout.org.
If you or someone you are worried about needs someone to talk to: Samaritans · 116 123 · 24/7 · www.samaritans.org.

If you need help right now

Published by Kensington Square Therapy. Company No. 16707111. Written by therapists registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). This page is not therapy, and not a substitute for professional support. The full library is at theparentbook.com.