The biggest problem with the breathalyzer is that it is the results can easily become artificially high. The food you ate, fumes in the area where the test was taken, dieting, health conditions and more can all throw off the test. In fact, diabetes affects breathalyzer tests enough that many people with the condition are often given DUIs when they aren’t actually drunk. That’s why anyone who has failed a breathalyzer test and been charged with drunk driving should contact a skilled DUI lawyer as soon as possible.
How Diabetes Affects Breathalyzer Results
While most people think breathalyzers test how much alcohol is on someone’s breath, the reality is that they actually measure for methyl compounds. The problem is that alcohol is not the only methyl compound that might show up. Acetone is also a methyl compound and acetone is often caused by hypoglycemic spikes in a diabetic’s body. As a result, diabetes affects breathalyzer test by causing falsely high results.
Things that Can Throw Off Breathalyzers
The same thing that causes diabetes to affect breathalyzer results can also cause other conditions and diets to leave you with a falsely high breathalyzer. Other things that will leave you with a high amount of acetone in your system if your blood sugar has dipped, include when a person is on a keto diet, has started a low-carb diet, is a smoker or or has been partaking in a cleanse. All of these factors can result in artificially high results.
Vista police should not perform breathalyzer tests to those who have vomited or belched within fifteen minutes of the test. Acid reflux will also produce mouth alcohol. Breathalyzers are supposed to measure air from deep within the lungs and alcohol in the mouth of someone taking the test will cause an artificially high reading.
You Can Fight Breathalyzer Results
If you failed a breathalyzer, that doesn’t mean you were guilty of drunk driving, especially if your acetone levels were artificially high. Vista attorneys can help you fight these charges by showing that diabetes affects breathalyzer results along with many other conditions. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation, please call skilled DUI lawyer Peter M. Liss (760) 643-4050.
Creative Commons Image by West Midlands Police
