Alcohol Abuse Basics

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Health Risks In Alcohol Abuse

By Michael Russell

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Drinking alcoholic beverages during social functions is a common practice among adults. Occasional drinking poses no treat to health but sometimes the occasional social drinking can progress over time into alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse has varied effects on our bodies and chronic drinking can pose major health risks.

Alcohol affects the brain and the nervous system by slowing down the drinker's reactions and making him feel tranquilized and relaxed. Alcohol dulls the brain. When someone takes alcohol, his inhibitions are lowered making him more aggressive and hostile. When taken in higher dosage, alcohol can cause mental block out, impairing the person's concentration and ability to judge situations properly. This will also create distorted coordination and emotional reactions.

The liver is one of the primary targets of chronic alcohol abuse. Alcoholic hepatitis results when the liver cells are damaged due to recent heavy drinking. On the other hand, liver cirrhosis is a result of a long-term excessive alcohol use wherein large areas of the liver are destroyed or scarred. Damage to the liver may become extremely serious and life threatening.

The blood vessels found in the skin surface usually widen as a result of alcohol intake because of the alcohol's vasodilator properties. This is the reason why the skin of heavy drinkers appears flushed. Chronic alcohol abuse results in the inability of the blood vessels to shrink back to normal giving the person a permanent reddish look.

Society views alcoholics as responsible for their problems. To some extent, this is true. Like most of their peers, the alcohol abuser made the early choice to drink but once addiction kicks in, choice is removed. The person must drink to feel normal. Twenty percent of alcoholics who try to quit drinking on their own without medical management die of alcohol withdrawal delirium.

Cardiomyopathy is a major health risk alcohol abusers are likely to suffer. Long-term alcohol use creates damage and weakens the heart's muscular tissue resulting in heart failure. Anemia and bleeding disorders can also result from chronic alcohol abuse.

Peptic ulcer disease is likely to develop in heavy drinkers. Alcohol can irritate the stomach lining and prolonged use can cause chronic stomach problems including peptic ulcers.

It seems that when drinkers think in the short term and focus on the "quick fix," they come up with ways in which they can continue drinking without experiencing as many hangovers as usual or at least without suffering from the pain that typically accompanies their hangovers. The only "cure" for hangovers is either responsible drinking or total abstinence.

Alcohol has taken and affected so many lives. This is one of the major causes of traffic fatalities in the U.S. When a person's coordination and judgment are impaired by alcohol, his capacity to drive a motor vehicle is lessened as well. Often, a person under the influence of alcohol believes that he still has the capacity to drive and this sometimes results in vehicular accidents that are fatal. Other types of accidents resulting from the participants being alcohol intoxicated may be fires resulting in injuries and loss of lives, boating accidents, water sports and snowmobiling.

It is not clear why some people develop alcohol abuse or dependence problems and others do not, although experts know that alcoholism often runs in families. People with depression or other mental health conditions also tend to be more likely to abuse alcohol.

A man's ability to procreate is usually affected by alcohol abuse. The nerves that control erection and ejaculation are dulled by alcohol resulting in impotence. In women on the other hand, chronic alcohol use results in a loss of sexual appetite. Furthermore, alcohol intake during pregnancy can prove harmful and may result in fetal alcohol syndrome - the leading cause of mental retardation. Other ill effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy are low birth weight, slow development and learning problems.

You might not realize that you have a drinking problem. You might not drink every day, or you might not drink large amounts when you do drink. You might go for days or weeks between drinking episodes. Many people say they are "social drinkers" because they do not drink every day. But even if you don't drink very often, it is still possible to be abusing alcohol and to be at risk for becoming addicted to it.

Therefore, alcohol abuse is not only a social deterrent but its accompanying health risks are reasons enough for an alcohol abuser to seek immediate rehabilitation and treatment before everything is lost.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Addictions

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

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Most residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs begin with a thorough evaluation process that continues throughout the drug detox protocol. Drug and alcohol treatment consists of many clinical and educational activities that are designed to promote the person's healing process and help him or her develop coping skills needed to avoid relapse.

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