For many people, alcoholic beverages are an integral part of any holiday or party. Often, when drinking another glass of wine or a glass of strong alcohol, a person does not think about the fact that, in addition to the pleasant sensations, the intoxicating liquid is harmful. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to irreversible consequences: in some stages of alcohol addiction, serious pathologies of the nervous system and other systems of the body are found.
What is alcohol?
Scientifically speaking, alcohol is directly ethyl alcohol. Ethanol is a colorless liquid with a specific taste and smell. This type of alcohol is obtained by fermentation or artificially. The substance is used as a disinfectant, fuel, solvent. In everyday life, alcohol is called drinks, which include ethanol in different concentrations.
What is the harm of alcohol?
Once in the human body, alcohol acts as a solvent, destroying the fatty membrane of red blood cells. As a result, the blood cells join together. Such formations can block the blood flow in the small capillaries. The process leads to the fact that the brain does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, its cells die. Malfunctions of the central nervous system contribute to the disruption of the functioning of other organs. A large amount of alcohol causes irreversible chronic diseases.
What happens if you drink?
The consequences of alcohol consumption are associated with the toxic effects of ethyl alcohol on the body of men and women. The severity of the side effects of beverages is related to their strength, quantity and frequency of consumption. Drinking small amounts of alcohol at important events may not be harmful. Excessive use threatens the development of alcoholic encephalopathy, the formation of addiction, disruption of the functioning of internal organs, social degradation and other negative consequences.
Moderate use
According to some experts, moderate consumption of alcohol in the quantities allowed by the WHO does not cause much harm to the body, is not addictive and does not lead to a state of intoxication. Alcohol in small doses can be beneficial for disease prevention as it forces defense systems to function. It should be remembered that this method of preventing ailments is very dangerous, especially for people with a genetic predisposition to alcoholism.
Daily use
Representatives of the World Health Organization warn that daily use of ethanol is strictly prohibited. By drinking every day, a person runs the risk of gradually becoming addictive. There is a risk of losing control, the desire to systematically increase the dose - this is a direct path to alcoholism, the acquisition of mental and physical health disorders. It is recommended to take breaks of several days so that toxins are removed from the body.
Abuse
The body perceives increased doses of strong alcohol as poison, so you hurt yourself, even if you drink infrequently. A large amount of alcohol negatively affects the brain, liver, cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract. Constant alcohol abuse can cause persistent addiction, which leads to irreversible consequences.
Alcohol addiction
Once inside the body, high concentrations of alcohol can cause persistent addiction. This is explained by the toxic properties of ethanol. Alcoholism is a disease characterized by constant and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, a pathological attraction to the state of intoxication and a change in alcohol tolerance. Experts identify the following signs of the disease:
- The presence of alcohol withdrawal syndrome: when the patient refuses to drink alcohol, the patient experiences negative physical and psychological changes.
- The urge to drink appears in any situation of emotional significance.
- Changes in behavior are found: memory lapses, aggression, lack of desire to communicate with loved ones, etc.
- Lack of a system, alcohol consumption can last more than a day (bingeing).
- Increased tolerance to ethyl alcohol, increased alcohol rejection threshold.
- Constant hangover, desire to drink to relieve his symptoms.
- The presence of some external manifestations (bruises, thickening of the veins, rapid aging of the skin).
When a person is considered an alcoholic
Experts recommend separating domestic drunkenness from alcoholism. In the first case, a person can afford to drink systematically, however, stopping the use of alcoholic beverages does not bring serious consequences, aggression occurs at will. This condition is not classified as a disease. An alcoholic is a person suffering from alcoholism. He is unable to control his desire to drink, the amount of alcohol consumed and is prone to binge drinking.
Causes of the event
Anyone can become addicted to alcohol if they stop controlling themselves, as certain cultural characteristics prompt people to drink intoxicating beverages during hours of joy, sadness, and holidays. There are 2 groups of citizens who are particularly prone to ethanol addiction. Experts identify the following causes of alcoholism:
- Hereditary predisposition. People who have alcoholics among their ancestors can obtain the genetic material responsible for the high risk of alcohol addiction.
- Psychological factors. Emotional experiences (job loss, unhappy love, death of loved ones) can cause alcohol addiction. A person tries to drink alcohol to relax, to avoid moral trauma. As a result, she acquires a constant craving for ethanol.
How alcoholism develops
A dangerous factor in the development of alcoholism is that persistent addiction can arise unnoticed by the patient. A person starts drinking alcohol on companies during the holidays or occasionally drinks to calm the nerves. Ethanol cannot cause negative reactions at this stage. The feeling of relaxation and fun leads to the fact that alcohol consumption becomes more frequent. As a result, a person becomes addicted, he begins to show symptoms of alcoholism. Gradually the decay of the personality occurs, the physical craving for alcohol is established.
Stages of alcoholism
Experts distinguish 3 degrees of alcoholism. Each phase is characterized by the following factors:
- First degree - at this stage of the development of the disease, the patient often has a desire to drink alcohol. If it is not satisfied, it disappears after a while. When the patient drinks, there is a severe loss of control over the amount of alcohol consumed. The person becomes aggressive, irritable, episodes of memory loss occur. Every drunkenness has one reason or another that the patient devises to justify. The alcoholic ceases to evaluate it as a negative phenomenon.
- The second phase is characterized by an increase in tolerance to alcoholic beverages. In this phase, physical dependence forms: withdrawal symptoms, headache, thirst, irritability, hand and body tremors, sleep disturbances. With an abrupt termination of the binge, complications can occur.
- The third stage: the desire for alcohol increases. Mental disorders occur, leading to amnesia. Physical, social and personal degradation is on the rise. Alcoholism causes severe exhaustion of the body, if it is stopped without medical intervention, metal alcohol psychosis can occur.
Life expectancy of an alcoholic
It is impossible to give a single answer to the question of how long alcoholics live, since the body of each person reacts individually to ethyl alcohol. An important factor is the quality of the drinks and the quantity of their consumption. Drinking a glass of good wine with dinner can lead to a long and happy life. According to many scientists, some people may even benefit from it.
The use of cheap drinks, a surrogate can cause not only damage to internal organs, but also acute intoxication. According to statistics, the average life expectancy of an alcoholic is 48-55 years. At the same time, the period may be shorter for women, heavy drinkers, and people who started drinking alcoholic beverages as teenagers. Patients with stage 3 addiction have the highest mortality risk. They die from severe organ pathologies, living 6-7 years after that diagnosis.
The consequences of drinking alcohol
Excessive alcohol consumption at any age increases the risk of diseases of the body systems, disrupts the activity of the human brain. The consequences of such processes are irreversible changes in the psyche, a decrease in social activity, physical harm to the patient. With regular use, a person experiences constant poisoning, which causes the deposition of harmful substances inside the body.
Social implications
Alcohol addiction directly affects not only the patient himself, but also his family, social circle and career. The patient faces economic difficulties, as a lot of money is spent on the purchase of alcohol. In addition, as a result of addiction, problems at work may arise, as the alcoholic is unable to perform his duties properly, he skips working days due to a hangover.
Constant drunkenness also has a devastating effect on the patient's family. This happens because conflicts become more frequent, the patient becomes aggressive. The life of an alcoholic and others is threatened by drunk driving. Driving after drinking alcoholic beverages greatly increases the likelihood of an accident. Drunk people are at a greater risk of committing a crime.
Consequences on health
Alcohol dependence has a significant impact on the patient's physical and mental health. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages can cause the following consequences of alcoholism:
- The toxic effect of ethanol on neurons (nerve cells) and brain structures also begins when small doses of the substance enter the body. Experts note a violation of the activity of the control centers, breakdowns in the regulatory mechanisms of the cortex. Such processes contribute to a rapid change in mood, partial loss of control over actions, irritability, aggression and the appearance of mental disorders.
- Pathological processes in neurons negatively affect the functioning of the sense organs, the patient's intellectual abilities and her memory. With systematic alcohol consumption, chronic encephalopathy is observed and cerebral infarction is possible. Prolonged exposure to alcohol causes Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's.
- Brain vessels become fragile, aneurysms can form with subsequent ruptures. Increases the risk of blood clots, blood supply disorders, atrophic phenomena of the auditory and optic nerves, ischemic strokes of the spinal cord and brain. Gradually, chronic alcoholism leads to irreversible mental illness, complete degradation of the personality.
- The consequences of alcohol consumption by the cardiovascular system are: cardiomyopathy with the development of heart failure, hypertension with a tendency to rupture of arteries, veins, aneurysms, ischemia, myocardial infarction, block and arrhythmias.
- The negative impact of frequent alcohol consumption on the human reproductive system is the reduced vitality and maturation of germ cells, the formation of infertility and a high risk of congenital fetal abnormalities. For men, the danger is a decrease in erection, which leads to the gradual development of impotence. Also, with prolonged use, persistent hormonal disturbances occur.
- Frequent consequences of alcoholism are necrotic ulcerative and inflammatory processes of the stomach (gastritis, peptic ulcer), pancreatic lesions, accompanied by chronic pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus. Gradually, doctors note the exhaustion of the whole body, associated with metabolic disorders and decreased appetite. The appearance of oncological diseases of the stomach and intestines is possible.
- Liver diseases are considered by experts to be the most dangerous consequences of systematic drunkenness. The cells of the organ cannot cope with chronic intoxication, so alcoholics often suffer from fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatitis.
How often can you drink alcohol?
The World Health Organization, setting a certain safe dose of alcohol per day, warns that drinking every day is a risk to the normal functioning of the body. To prevent the onset of pathological conditions, it is recommended to take breaks. Experts recommend consuming alcoholic beverages no more than 1 time in 3 days and you need to do it with a minimal dose.
Safe dose of alcohol per day
The standard dose of alcoholic beverages, established by the WHO, is equal to the content of 10 g of pure ethanol. This portion is called a drink or unit. Its equivalent is 330ml of beer, 150ml of dry wine, 45ml of strong alcohol. The world organization has established the following safe doses of alcoholic beverages per day:
- For men: 4 drinks, equivalent to 100 g of vodka, 3 glasses of dry wine, 1-2 cans of beer.
- For women, a safe dose is 3 units, i. e. 1-2 glasses of dry wine, 80g of vodka, 1 bottle of beer.