Did you know that a certain medical condition called auto-brewery syndrome can get you in jail for Nevada DUI? This condition can make someone act and think like an intoxicated person even if they have not consumed any alcohol, which can lead to being incorrectly arrested for DUI—or worse, cause harm to the “intoxicated” person and to the people around him or her. Read on to learn more about this condition and how it affects Nevada DUI laws.
What is auto-brewery syndrome?
Auto-brewery syndrome is a medical condition that causes a person’s body turns to sugar and starch into alcohol. This happens in the person’s stomach and intestines, where too much yeast in the digestive system may be the cause of why the gut brews carbohydrates into ethanol. If that is not unfortunate enough, this condition can also make a person intoxicated without having to drink alcohol, or make the person very drunk while only drinking a very small amount of alcohol. Here are some symptoms of auto-brewery syndrome:
- Disorientation, dizziness, and headache
- Dry mouth and dehydration
- Vomiting and nausea
- Belching and burping
- Red flushed skin
- Memory and concentration problems
- Fatigue
Auto-brewery syndrome is also known as drunkenness disease, gut fermentation syndrome, and endogenous ethanol fermentation.
Can auto-brewery syndrome trick a Breathalyzer?
To be direct, the answer is yes. Having auto-brewery syndrome can trick the Breathalyzer into concluding that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is high enough for you to be accused of and arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). The ethanol produced by your digestive system may cause the Breathalyzer and the officers to think that you have increased the BAC level in Nevada. In fact, a New Yorker with the auto-brewery syndrome was arrested for drunk driving in 2015. Luckily, the accused’s DUI lawyer managed to prove that she was not drunk but was instead suffering from a very inconvenient medical condition.
Can you use auto-brewery syndrome as a defense against DUI allegations?
As we mentioned above, yes, the auto-brewery syndrome may be used as a defense against DUI allegations, as long as you can prove that there is enough yeast in your intestines to brew carbohydrates into ethanol. This can be done by submitting a stool sample to medical laboratories or clinics that offer stool examination. These clinics and laboratories will then provide test results confirming you have yeast in your digestive system and your criminal defense lawyer may use this as proof of your condition.
However, you must ensure that you only hire the best DUI lawyer, as most courts in the USA are getting harder and harder to be convinced of the existence of auto-brewery syndrome as a medical condition. For one, few studies had been done on this medical condition and experts are still trying to learn more about its diagnosis and treatments. Secondly, the authorities cannot help but think that people guilty of drunk driving are using the condition to avoid going to jail.
If you are worried about getting arrested for DUI because you might have the auto-brewery syndrome, it is better to get your digestive system check for alarming residues of yeasts, so that you may know which food to avoid to prevent your stomach from brewing ethanol. That way, you may save yourself from all the trouble of getting pulled over for DUI, getting detained, and having to go all the hassles of the judicial process to prove your innocence.
Image source:
https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-handsome-muscular-man-has-abdominal-pain-isolated-white-background_1602567.htm#query=stomach&position=9