Can Thicker blood mean higher tolerance to Alcohol?
Blood thinners don’t actually make the blood thinner – they make the blood clot less easily. In a healthy person, blood thickness (viscosity) is maintained in a narrow range by the kidneys and there is virtually no difference in blood viscosity from one person the next unless a person has a blood disorder or is dehydrated. Blood thickness is more or less measured by the hematocrit, which is the percentage of blood volume composed of blood cells. The higher the hematocrit, the thinker the blood. A person that actually has thicker blood means there is less plasma to dilute alcohol than a person with normal blood, so they are substantially more susceptible to alcohol because the BAL goes up more rapidly. The symptoms of “thick blood” depend on the disorder that is causing an elevated hematocrit, but the main effect of high blood viscosity is inadequate oxygen supply to various parts of the body, which causes shortness of breath and tingling sensations in the hands and feet.
