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Ketosis can make you fail a random breath test (for alcohol)


Yes, some people use simple breathalysers as a cheaper method of checking for ketosis than the somewhat expensive blood testing strips.
 
Interesting. I wasn't aware of that.

I wonder the legal ramifications? Presumably you are entitled to dispute the results and request a blood test? I haven't had a drink in two years so it would be a shame to get my collar felt for drunk driving
 
Yups have seen it in real life, when a with T1 paitent suffering from DKA was stopped by cops and they tested him positive.
He kept on telling them that he was on the way to hospital, he has a medical emergency but they where relentless. Finally I and few others convinced the cops to take him first to medical center, just in case he was right this could be life threatening and if he is lieing they can get his blood samples and do the needful. Entire ordeal took more than 30 mins to convince them
 
These are the current UK Police drink/drug driving procedures
https://www.drugdriving.org.uk/police-procedure.php
Note that there is a great difference between the preliminary test and the evidential testing (the former is used to decide whether to do the latter, which is retained and used as evidence to prosecute). I have no idea what percentage of these evidential tests are breath tests, since blood and urine tests are also used.

This link
https://www.drinkdriving.org/police_breath_alcohol_test_evidential.php#medicalreasons
provides excellent info on the subject, and if an evidential breath test is refused, the police are required to ask whether there is a medical reason for the refusal, and a blood test can then be taken instead of a breath test.
 
Fascinating, who knew eating Keto could see you end up in the big house!?
 

More specifically, it's the possibility of higher levels of waste acetone in your breath that may be misinterpreted as alcohol by cheaper breathalysers, and so affect results, rather than actually being in ketosis. Expensive breathalysers can tell the difference, and a request for a blood test will accurately indicate true alcohol levels.

ETA @Jim Lahey: "Proper" ketone meters test beta-hydroxybutyrate in your blood and AFAIK this indicates the actual ketone levels and will be higher than the waste in the form of acetone that we puff out.

Robbity
 
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Robbity said:
ETA @Jim Lahey: "Proper" ketone meters test beta-hydroxybutyrate in your blood and AFAIK this indicates the actual ketone levels and will be higher than the waste in the form of acetone that we puff out.
Click to expand...

Yeah sure. I understand that. I was just saying that as I'm permanently in deep ketosis, I'm surely at a higher risk of being caught out by an erroneous breathalyser test. In any case, I'm sure if it ever came to it then I'd be able to clear my name with a blood alcohol test
 

Nup, you're going to prison

Seriously though, it's quite the fascinating subject actually.
 
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