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 pleasant sensations, intoxicating liquid is harmful. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to irreversible consequences: at certain stages of alcohol dependence, serious pathologies of the nervous system and other body systems are found.
What is alcohol
Scientifically speaking, alcohol is directly ethyl alcohol. Ethanol is a colorless liquid with a specific taste and odor. 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 stick together. Such formations can block blood flow in small capillaries. The process leads to the fact that the brain does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, its cells die. Central nervous system failures contribute to the disruption of the functioning of other organs. A large amount of alcohol causes chronic and irreversible pathologies.
What 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 dependence, the disruption of the functioning of internal organs, social degradation and other negative consequences.
Moderate use
According to some experts, moderate consumption of alcohol in amounts allowed by the WHO does not cause much damage to the body, does not generate dependency and does not lead to a state of intoxication. Alcohol in small doses can be beneficial for the prevention of diseases, since it forces the defense systems to work. 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 the 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 loss of control, the desire to systematically increase the dose - this is a direct path to alcoholism, the acquisition of mental and physical health disorders. Taking breaks of several days are recommended for toxins to be flushed out of the body.
Abuse
Increased doses of strong alcohol are perceived by the body as poison, causing harm to itself, even if you rarely drink. A large amount of alcohol adversely affects the brain, liver, cardiovascular system, and gastrointestinal tract. Constant alcohol abuse can lead to persistent dependence, leading to irreversible consequences.
Alcohol addiction
Once inside the body, high concentrations of alcohol can lead to persistent addiction. This is explained by the toxic properties of ethanol. Alcoholism is a disease characterized by the 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 importance.
- Changes in behavior are found: memory lapses, aggressiveness, lack of desire to communicate with loved ones, etc.
- In the absence of a system, alcohol consumption can last for more than a day (binge eating).
- Greater tolerance to ethyl alcohol, increased alcohol rejection threshold.
- Constant hangover, urge to drink to relieve symptoms.
- The presence of certain external manifestations (bruising, 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 allow himself to drink systematically, however, stopping 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 cannot control his desire to drink, the amount of alcohol he consumes and is prone to binge drinking.
Causes of occurrence
Anyone can become addicted to alcohol if they lose control, as some cultural characteristics cause people to drink intoxicating drinks during hours of joy, sadness, and vacations. There are 2 groups of citizens who are especially prone to addiction to ethanol. 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, he develops 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 realizing it. A person begins to drink alcohol in companies during the holidays or occasionally drinks to calm the nerves. Ethanol may not cause negative reactions at this stage. The feeling of relaxation and fun makes alcohol consumption more frequent. As a result, a person becomes addicted, begins to show symptoms of alcoholism. Gradually the decay of the personality occurs, the physical desire for alcohol is installed.
Stages of alcoholism
Experts distinguish 3 degrees of alcoholism. Each stage is characterized by the following factors:
- First degree - at this stage of the development of the disease, the patient often wants to drink alcohol. If you are not satisfied, it disappears after a while. When the patient drinks, there is a strong 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 comes up with to justify. The alcoholic stops evaluating it as a negative phenomenon.
- The second stage is characterized by an increased tolerance to alcoholic beverages. At this stage, physical dependence is formed: withdrawal symptoms, headache, thirst, irritability, hand and body tremors, sleep disturbances. With an abrupt cessation of bingeing, complications can occur.
- The third stage: the desire for alcohol increases. Mental disorders occur that lead to amnesia. Physical, social and personal degradation is increasing. Excessive alcohol consumption causes severe exhaustion of the body; If stopped without medical intervention, metal-alcohol psychosis can occur.
Life expectancy of an alcoholic
It is impossible to give an unequivocal answer to the question of how long alcoholics live, since each person's body 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 this.
The use of cheap drinks, a substitute can cause not only damage to internal organs, but also acute poisoning. According to statistics, the average life expectancy of an alcoholic is 48 to 55 years. At the same time, the period may be shorter for women, heavy drinkers, and people who started drinking alcoholic beverages in adolescence. Patients in stage 3 addiction have the highest risk of mortality. They die from serious organic pathologies and live 6 to 7 years after said 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 financial difficulties as a lot of money is spent buying alcohol. In addition, due to addiction, problems may arise at work, since the alcoholic is not able to perform his functions properly, he skips work 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 lives of an alcoholic and other people are threatened by drunk driving. Driving after drinking alcoholic beverages significantly increases the likelihood of an accident. Intoxicated people are at a higher risk of committing a crime.
Consequences for health
Alcohol dependence has a significant impact on the physical and mental health of the patient. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages can lead to the following consequences of alcoholism:
- The toxic effect of ethanol on neurons (nerve cells) and brain structures begins even when small doses of the substance enter the body. Experts note a violation of the activity of control centers, failures in the regulatory mechanisms of the cortex. Such processes contribute to a rapid change in mood, partial loss of control over actions, irritability, aggressiveness, and the appearance of mental disorders.
- Pathological processes in neurons adversely affect the functioning of the sense organs, the intellectual abilities of the patient and her memory. With systematic alcohol consumption, chronic encephalopathy is observed and a cerebral infarction is possible. Long-term exposure to alcohol causes Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's.
- The cerebral vessels become fragile, aneurysms can form with subsequent ruptures. It increases the risk of blood clots, blood supply disturbances, 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 development of heart failure, hypertension with a tendency to rupture of arteries, veins, aneurysms, ischemia, myocardial infarction, blockage and arrhythmias.
- The negative impact of frequent alcohol consumption on the human reproductive system is impaired viability and maturation of germ cells, the formation of infertility, and a high risk of congenital abnormalities of the fetus. For men, the danger is a decrease in erection, leading to the gradual development of impotence. Also, with prolonged use, persistent hormonal disturbances occur.
- The 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 notice 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.
- Experts consider liver disease to be the most dangerous consequences of systematic drunkenness. The cells of the organ cannot cope with chronic intoxication, which is why alcoholics often suffer from fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatitis.
How often can you drink alcohol?
The World Health Organization, which establishes 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 pathological conditions from arising, it is recommended to take breaks. Experts advise consuming alcoholic beverages no more than 1 time in 3 days, and you should do so with a minimum 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 330 ml of beer, 150 ml of dry wine, 45 ml 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, which is 1-2 glasses of dry wine, 80 g of vodka, 1 bottle of beer.