With the holiday season high, there is festive cheer, family gatherings and also an undeniable increases in alcohol consumption that fills the air. Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations to spring break and bachelor parties and sporting events that bring together huge crowds for celebrations mean that drinking becomes synonymous with partying. But behind the revelry lies a much darker behavior: high-intensity drinking.

Alcohol is the most widely used substance in the United States; it has been reported that 84% of adults aged 18 and older reported lifetime use. Moderate drinking is socially acceptable, but high-intensity drinking is an alarming trend. The behavior of consuming eight or more drinks over a few hours for women and 10 or more for men exceeds binge drinking and significantly increases risk for harm.

High-intensity drinking is far from being just a mere passing concern; it is instead a public health crisis. The burden is even greater as 29 million people in the United States suffer from alcohol use disorder. That has caused over 140,000 deaths annually while accounting for 200,000 hospitalizations and 7.4% of visits to emergency departments in the United States. However, only 7.6% of these affected get treated, thus forming a glaring gap in handling this concern.

What Is High-Intensity Drinking?

High-intensity drinking is a dangerous escalation from traditional binge drinking, characterized by consuming double or triple the standard binge amounts. While binge drinking involves four or more drinks for women and five or more for men, high-intensity drinkers often surpass these levels, leading to blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) exceeding 0.2%—a level that significantly impairs judgment and motor skills.

According to Dr. George Koob, the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), high-intensity drinking is one of the factors that intensify the risks of injuries, overdose, and death. It is also very highly associated with the onset of AUD, since the chance of addiction increases with increased alcohol consumption per occasion.

Blackouts and Memory Loss Risks

One of the most troubling consequences of high-intensity drinking is alcohol-induced blackouts, periods of amnesia where individuals may appear functional but are incapable of forming memories. Blackouts occur when alcohol disrupts the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory formation.

Blackouts are often categorized into two types:

1. Fragmentary Blackouts: Characterized by spotty memory, where recalling certain details can trigger partial recollection.

2. En Bloc Blackouts: Significant amnesia for hours, wherein no memory is created at all, even if tried to be recalled.

Aside from memory loss, intense binge drinking is linked with poor decision-making, violence, injury, and conflicts in personal relationships.

Why Holidays and Special Events Are Hotbeds for Excessive Drinking

Holidays and celebrations create the perfect storm for high-intensity drinking. According to research, adults drink nearly double the amount of alcohol during holidays like Christmas and New Year's Eve than they do at any other time of the year. It is during these periods of social gathering, holiday stress, and seasonal sadness that people drink in excess.

For college students, experiences like spring break and 21st birthdays increase the danger. Some studies indicate that students, especially those who travel with buddies to spring break, indulge in more alcohol and make more serious decisions than any student who remains at home or goes with their family to other destinations. Sporting events are, too, notorious for promoting drunk consumption, especially among male customers. Alcohol consumption usually goes high during Super Bowl Sunday, thus leading to games day violence and arrests.

Consequences of Heavy Intensity Drinking

High-intensity drinking impacts not only physical health and mental well-being but also social relationships.

Acute Risks

- Alcohol poisoning

- Severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalances

- Hypoglycemia

- Risky sexual behavior

- Injuries and accidents

Chronic Risks

- Liver damage, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis

- Cardiovascular diseases such as arrhythmias and cardiomyopathy

- Neurological damage, including memory deficits and blackouts

- Progression to alcohol dependence or AUD

Psychological Impact

High-intensity drinking is strongly linked with increased risks of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Poor decision-making during episodes can lead to long-lasting consequences, including damaged academic, professional, or personal outcomes.

How to Address the Problem

Combating high-intensity drinking requires education, early intervention, and accessible treatment options. The NIAAA has defined high-intensity drinking to be distinct from binge drinking and has called for targeted approaches to decline prevalence and associated harms.

One promising treatment option is naltrexone, which a medication helps control alcohol cravings. Encouraging in preliminary evidence, more extensive clinical trials will be necessary to ascertain its efficacy more specifically in high-intensity drinkers.

As we head into the holiday season and other special occasions, it is important to heighten awareness of the dangers of high-intensity drinking. A good understanding of long-term consequences and seeking help when alcohol-related issues arise can be the difference between life and death. Celebrations should be about joy and connection, not about the gateway to harm.

If you or someone you know drinks at dangerous levels or have an alcohol use disorder, there is help available. Remember, for suspected cases of alcohol poisoning, dial 911. In this way, we can foster healthier relationships with alcohol and create safer environments for everyone.

More women in the US and UK are seeking testosterone to manage menopause symptoms, with some turning to online pharmacies without a prescription, according to media reports.

There are no US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved testosterone products specifically indicated for women. Australia has approved a low-dose testosterone product for postmenopausal women, while the UK and New Zealand permit some female-dosed formulations, although availability varies.

What’s Happening In The US?

Reuters reported that off-label testosterone use is rising in the US, mainly to treat persistently low sexual desire associated with menopause. Some clinicians are also prescribing testosterone for symptoms such as fatigue and loss of muscle strength, despite a lack of medical guidance supporting these uses.

Prescriptions for low sexual desire reportedly rose 146% between January 2023 and July 2026. However, many pharmacies and health insurers continue to deny these prescriptions.

Also read: US Congress To Hold First-ever Menopause Hearing: Why It Matters For Women

Why Are UK Women Turning To Testosterone?

The BBC reported that some women in Wales are posing as men to buy testosterone from online pharmacies because of difficulties accessing NHS prescriptions.

There has also been a “very sharp increase” in testosterone referrals to the NHS for postmenopausal women.

Menopause specialist Dr Michelle Olver said she had seen women with testosterone levels up to 12 times the safe level after buying the hormone online, putting them at risk of permanent side effects.

Why Is Testosterone Gaining Attention?

Also read: ‘I Was Vocal About Cancer But Silent About Menopause Out Of Shame’, Says Actress Lisa Ray

Although testosterone is often called a male hormone, women also produce it, primarily through the ovaries and adrenal glands. Levels generally decline with age.

Some women are prescribed testosterone for distressing loss of sexual desire. Others are seeking it for fatigue, impaired thinking, low mood and loss of muscle strength.

The FDA is set to hold a public workshop on September 17 to examine testosterone use in menopausal women. The agency says off-label use is growing, while questions remain about its effects on sexual function, mood, cognition, muscle and bone health, as well as long-term cardiovascular and breast cancer safety.

What Does The Evidence Say?

Menopause does not automatically mean a woman has a “testosterone deficiency.”

Notably, there is no established testosterone level below which an otherwise healthy woman is diagnosed as testosterone deficient. A blood test alone also cannot determine whether low testosterone is responsible for symptoms such as fatigue, low mood or loss of sexual desire.

However, the Menopause Society and other medical organizations support testosterone use in menopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

“We do not have any evidence in women that it will improve muscle mass or bone density or mood or well-being or really any other metric,” said Dr Stephanie Faubion, director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Women's Health and medical director of The Menopause Society.

“What testosterone is being touted for in the lay public and on social media is not really what we have data for,” she said.

Are There Any Side Effects?

According to Cleveland Clinic, testosterone treatment generally isn’t recommended for women with cardiovascular disease, liver disease or hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast or uterine cancer.

Excess testosterone can cause acne, increased facial or body hair and scalp hair loss. Higher doses may also lead to voice deepening and clitoral enlargement, some of which can be irreversible.

Testosterone should therefore not be used in higher doses as a way to boost energy, muscle strength or libido.

You've probably seen gallon jugs with stuff like "BORG o'clock somewhere" scrawled on them in Sharpies, often showing up at parties. Well, there's actual research on them now, and it's not great.

The study by Rutgers University, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, surveyed over 100 college students about their BORG habits. The study finds significant health risks.

What Is BORG?

BORG stands for "Blackout Rage Gallon," and it's basically a personal-sized jug loaded with liquor, water, and whatever flavoring you're into. It started gaining traction around 2020 and hasn't slowed down since the hashtag #borg has racked up millions in views on TikTok alone.

Here's the number that stands out, though. A full BORG can pack up to a fifth of liquor. That's about 17 standard drinks. In one jug. And it is meant for one person.

ALSO READ: Alcohol-Linked Cancer Deaths Doubled In US: Colorectal Leads In Men, Breast Leads In Women

The study pointed out that drinking games have always been part of college culture. But BORG drinks might be worse than most, mainly because of how they're made. Mixing hard liquor with sweet flavors can make people drink more without realizing how much alcohol they're actually consuming, and the fact that people often share sips of each other's jugs only adds to the risk.

"Excessive drinking in young adults has been fueled by drinking games for many decades. But the mixing of hard liquor and additive flavorings in BORGs may be particularly harmful given the sweetness of the beverage and the lure of sharing one's BORG and tasting others' concoctions," said lead researcher Andrea King, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago, US.

When Can BORG Drinks Go Wrong?

The actual numbers from the study are rough. Almost a third of students said they'd blacked out from a BORG at some point, not just "drunk," actually blacked out, meaning their brain stopped saving memories from that stretch of time.

Nearly 20 percent of students said they threw up, and nearly 6 in 10 admitted to saying or doing something embarrassing. And this is just the students who actually admitted to having done this. The actual count could be much higher. Some cases were serious enough to end in injuries or trips to the emergency room.

According to the World Health Organization, there is no safe level or risk-free amount of alcohol consumption that does not affect health.

READ MORE: Exclusive: From IPL To Olympics — How Sport Became A Marketing Tool For Junk Food And Sugary Drinks

BORGs: The ‘Safe Drinking’ Myth

What's even more interesting, however, is how this trend began in the first place. BORGs were initially promoted on social media as the more responsible choice when it came to drinking. The idea was for everyone to bring their own jug instead of sharing cups, so as to avoid the spread of germs during the pandemic.

Some recipes online even threw in electrolytes or caffeine, supposedly to dodge hangovers or keep people from getting too drunk. Students still shared their BORGs constantly, and the added ingredients did nothing to stop the harmful effects of drinking so much alcohol at once.

Even knowing all this, however, a lot of students said they're not planning to stop. That's part of why this study seems to emphasize the fact that awareness matters so much, both for students and for their parents.

As King put it, "There are choice points along the way, ranging from whether to attend a BORG event, and if one does attend, whether to bring a BORG beverage and how much (if any) alcohol to put in the beverage. It doesn't have to be all-or-none, as being aware and mindful to minimize risks can be key."

Alzheimer’s disease is normally seen as a disease of old age, something that starts when memory starts to fail in the 70s or 80s. But science has a totally different narrative. Alzheimer’s is not something you ‘catch’ suddenly in old age. It’s a sluggish, degenerative disorder that develops slowly over decades. When a person begins to forget names, ask the same questions, or have trouble with everyday chores, there may have been damage to the brain for years.

This is why neuroprotection should start much earlier, ideally in our 30s and 40s.

Today, most patients only see the neurologist when the symptoms are obvious. Unfortunately, at this stage the disease process has already progressed and therapy options are limited. Doctors and health professionals need to be more open about prevention, to teach younger folks that brain health is established well before retirement age.

Our modern lifestyle is a silent neurological risk. A busy life is making chronic stress, poor sleep, physical inactivity, bad diets and extended hours of sitting normal. But these common activities may be quietly contributing to inflammation that’s damaging blood arteries and brain cells over time. Studies increasingly connect mid-life problems like obesity, diabetes, hypertension and sleep difficulties to a greater risk of dementia in later life.

Sleep is particularly important for removing such toxic substances from the brain. Constant stress boosts cortisol levels, which may interfere with memory areas. A sedentary lifestyle lowers the blood supply to the brain and undermines cognitive resiliency. Something that seems inconsequential today may be important decades from now.

The good news is that prevention is effective. Regular exercise, good sleep, management of stress, social activity, mental stimulation and regular health checks can all help protect the brain. Neuroprotection is not about fear; it’s about awareness and action.

What we decide to do in our 30s and 40s is not just about our careers or lifestyles; it’s about the health of our brains in our 70s and 80s. We need to change the conversation around Alzheimer’s from late-stage therapy to early-life prevention.

By Dr. Neha Pandita, Senior Consultant Neurology, Fortis Noida