For most people, alcoholic beverages are an essential part of any vacation or party. Often, when drinking a glass of wine or a glass of strong alcohol, one does not think about the fact that, in addition to the pleasant sensation, the intoxicating liquid is harmful. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to irreversible consequences: at a certain stage of alcohol dependence, severe pathology of the nervous system and other body systems are found.
What is alcohol
Scientifically, alcohol directly is ethyl alcohol. Ethanol is a colorless liquid with a specific taste and odor. This type of alcohol is obtained through fermentation or artificially. This material is used as a disinfectant, fuel, solvent. In everyday life, alcohol is called a beverage, which includes ethanol in different concentrations.
What are the harms of alcohol
Once in the human body, alcohol acts as a solvent, destroying the fat membranes of red blood cells. As a result, blood cells stick together. Such formations can restrict blood flow in small capillaries. This process leads to the fact that the brain does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, its cells die. Damage to the central nervous system contributes to dysfunction of other organs. A large amount of alcohol causes irreversible chronic pathology.
What happens if you drink
Consequences of alcohol intake are associated with the toxic effects of ethyl alcohol on the bodies of men and women. The severity of the side effects of a drink is related to the strength, quantity and frequency of its drinking. Drinking a little alcohol at important events may not be dangerous. Excessive consumption threatens the development of alcohol encephalopathy, the formation of dependence, dysfunction of internal organs, social deterioration and other negative consequences.
Simple use
According to some experts, moderate alcohol consumption in quantities allowed by the WHO does not cause much harm to the body, does not form dependence and does not lead to intoxication. Alcohol in small doses can be beneficial for disease prevention as it forces the immune system to function. It should be borne in mind that methods of preventing this disease are very dangerous, especially for people with a genetic predisposition to alcohol.
Daily use
Representatives of the World Health Organization warn that daily consumption of ethanol is strictly prohibited. Drinking every day, a person runs the risk of gradually becoming addicted. There is a risk of loss of control, the desire to increase the dose systematically - this is a direct route to alcoholism, the acquisition of mental and physical health disorders. It is recommended to rest for a few days so that the toxins are removed from the body.
Abuse
The body considers increasing doses of strong alcohol as a poison, so you are harming yourself, even if you rarely drink. A large amount of alcohol negatively affects the brain, liver, cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract. Persistent alcohol abuse can lead to constant dependence, leading to irreversible consequences.
Alcohol addiction
Once in the body, high alcohol concentrations can lead to persistent addiction. This is explained by the toxic properties of ethanol. Alcoholism is a disease characterized by continuous and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, pathological attraction to a state of intoxication, and changes in alcohol tolerance. Specialists identify the signs of the following diseases:
- The presence of alcohol withdrawal syndrome - when the patient refuses to drink alcohol, the patient experiences negative physical and psychological changes.
- The desire to drink appears in any situation of emotional significance.
- Changes in behavior were found: memory loss, aggressiveness, lack of desire to communicate with loved ones, etc.
- Lacking a system, alcohol consumption can last more than a day (binges).
- Increased tolerance to ethyl alcohol, increased threshold of alcohol rejection.
- Persistent intoxication, desire to drink to relieve symptoms.
- The presence of certain external manifestations (bruising, thickening of veins, rapid skin aging).
When a person is considered an alcoholic
Experts recommend separating domestic intoxication from alcohol. In the first case, a person is able 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 who suffers from alcoholism. He could not control his desire to drink, the amount of alcohol consumed, and tended to drink excessively.
Cause of incident
Anyone can become addicted to alcohol if he stops controlling himself, as some cultural traits provoke people to drink intoxicating beverages during times of joy, sadness, and holidays. There are 2 groups of people who are very prone to addiction to ethanol. Experts identify the following causes of alcoholism:
- Hereditary tendencies. People who have alcoholics among their ancestors can acquire the genetic material responsible for the high risk of alcohol addiction.
- Psychological factors. Emotional experiences (job loss, unhappy love, death of a loved one) can lead to alcohol addiction. Someone tries to drink alcohol to relax, to avoid moral trauma. As a result, it gets a constant craving for ethanol.
How alcoholism develops
A dangerous factor in the development of alcoholism is that persistent addiction can arise without the patient’s knowledge. Someone starts drinking alcohol in company on holidays or sometimes drinking to calm the nerves. Ethanol may not cause a negative reaction 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 personality decay occurs, physical cravings for alcohol begin to arise.
Stages of alcoholism
Experts distinguish 3 degrees of alcoholism. Each stage is characterized by the following factors:
- First degree - at the stage of development of the disease, patients often have a desire to drink alcohol. If not satisfied, it will disappear after a while. When patients drink, there is a loss of control over the amount of alcohol consumed. The person becomes aggressive, irritable, episodes of memory loss occur. Every hangover has one reason or another that the patient comes up with to justify. Alcohol drinkers stop judging it as a negative phenomenon.
- The second stage is characterized by increased tolerance to alcoholic beverages. At this stage, physical dependence is formed: withdrawal symptoms, headache, thirst, irritability, shaking hands and body, sleep disturbances. With a sudden party disruption, complications may occur.
- The third stage - the desire for alcohol increases. Mental disorders occur, leading to amnesia. Physical, social and personal deterioration is on the rise. Alcoholism causes severe body deficiency, if it is interrupted without medical intervention, metal-alcohol psychosis may occur.
Life expectancy of an alcoholic
It is impossible to give a vague answer to the question of how long alcohol lives, because each person’s body individually responds to ethyl alcohol. An important factor is the quality of the drink and the quantity of its consumption. Drinking a glass of good wine with dinner can lead to a long and happy life. According to many scientists, some people may benefit from this.
The use of cheap drinks, substitutes 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 during adolescence. Patients with stage 3 addiction have the highest risk of death. They die of severe organ pathology, living 6-7 years after such a diagnosis.
Consequences of drinking alcohol
Excessive alcohol consumption at any age increases the risk of diseases of body systems, interfering with the activity of the human brain. The consequences of such a process are irreversible changes in the psyche, a decrease in social activity, physical danger to the patient. With regular use, a person suffers from persistent poisoning, which causes the deposition of harmful substances in the body.
Social implications
Alcohol addiction directly affects not only the patient himself, but also his family, social environment, and career. Patients face economic problems, as a lot of money is spent on buying alcohol. In addition, as a result of addiction, problems can arise at work, as alcoholics are unable to perform their functions properly, skipping the working day due to intoxication.
Persistent intoxication also adversely affects the patient’s family. This happens as conflicts become more frequent, patients become aggressive. The life of an alcoholic and others is threatened by drunk driving. Driving after drinking alcohol significantly increases the likelihood of accidents. People who are drunk are at greater risk of committing crimes.
Health consequences
Alcohol dependence has a major impact on the physical and mental health of patients. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages can lead to the following consequences of alcoholism:
- The toxic effects of ethanol on neurons (nerve cells) and brain structures begin even when small doses of the substance enter the body. Experts note a violation of the activity of the control center, a failure in the regulatory mechanisms of the cortex. Such processes contribute to rapid changes in mood, partial loss of control over actions, irritability, aggression, and the occurrence of mental disorders.
- Pathological processes in neurons adversely affect the function of the sensory organs, the intellectual abilities of the patient, and his memory. With systematic alcohol consumption, chronic encephalopathy is observed, and cerebral infarction is possible. Prolonged exposure to alcohol causes Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s.
- The cerebral ducts become brittle, aneurysms can form with subsequent rupture. The risk of blood clots, disruption of blood supply, atrophic phenomena of the auditory and optic nerves, ischemic stroke of the spinal cord and brain is increased. Gradually, chronic alcoholism leads to irreversible mental illness, complete deterioration of personality.
- Consequences of alcohol consumption on the part of the cardiovascular system are: cardiomyopathy with the development of heart failure, hypertension with a tendency to rupture of arteries, veins, aneurysms, ischemia, myocardial infarction, blockade and arrhythmias.
- The negative effects of frequent alcohol consumption on the human reproductive system are impaired viability 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 disorders occur.
- Frequent effects of alcohol are ulcerative processes and necrotic inflammation of the stomach (gastritis, peptic ulcer), lesions of the pancreas, accompanied by chronic pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus. Gradually, doctors noted whole-body fatigue, associated with metabolic disorders and decreased appetite. The emergence of oncological diseases of the stomach and intestines is possible.
- Liver disease is considered by experts to be the most dangerous consequence of systemic intoxication. Organ cells cannot cope with chronic intoxication, so alcoholics often develop fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatitis.
How often can you drink alcohol?
The World Health Organization, prescribing certain safe doses of alcohol every day, warns that drinking every day is a risk to the body’s normal functioning. To prevent pathological conditions from arising, it is recommended to rest. Experts advise to consume alcoholic beverages no more than 1 time in 3 days, and you should do it with a minimum dose.
Safe Daily Dosage of Alcohol
The standard dose of alcoholic beverages, prescribed by the WHO, is equal to the content of 10 g of pure ethanol. This part is called the drink or unit. The equivalent is 330 ml of beer, 150 ml of dry wine, 45 ml of strong alcohol. The world organization has set the following safe doses of alcoholic beverages each day:
- For men - 4 drinks, which is equivalent to 100 g of vodka, 3 glasses of dry wine, 1-2 cans of beer.
- For women, the safe dose is 3 units, that is 1-2 glasses of dry wine, 80 g of vodka, 1 bottle of beer.