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, the intoxicating liquid is harmful. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to irreversible consequences: at certain stages of alcohol dependence, severe pathologies of the nervous 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 erythrocytes. 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. Malfunctions of the central nervous system contribute to the disruption of the functioning of other organs. A large amount of alcohol causes chronic, irreversible pathologies.
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 drinking. Drinking small amounts of alcohol at important events may not be harmful. Excessive use threatens the development of alcoholic encephalopathy, the formation of dependence, disruption of the functioning of internal organs, social degradation and other negative consequences.
Moderate use
According to some experts, moderate consumption of alcohol in quantities permitted by the WHO does not cause much harm to the body, does not form dependence 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 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 use of ethanol on a daily basis is strictly prohibited. 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. 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 harm yourself, even if you rarely drink. A large amount of alcohol has a negative effect on the brain, liver, cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract. The constant abuse of alcohol can cause persistent dependence, which leads to irreversible consequences.
Alcohol addiction
Once inside the body, elevated alcohol concentrations can cause persistent addiction. This is explained by the toxic properties of ethanol. Alcoholism is a disease characterized by constant, 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 refusing 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, aggressiveness, lack of desire to communicate with loved ones, etc.
- Lack of a system, alcohol consumption can last more than a day (binges).
- Increased tolerance to ethyl alcohol, increased alcohol rejection threshold.
- Constant hangover, desire to drink to relieve its 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 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 not able to control his desire to drink, the amount of alcohol consumed, and is prone to binge drinking.
Causes of occurrence
Anyone can get addicted to alcohol if he ceases to control himself, since some cultural characteristics provoke people to drink intoxicating drinks during the hours of joy, sadness, and holidays. 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 get 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 addiction to alcohol. A person tries to drink alcohol in order to relax, to avoid moral trauma. As a result, it 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 begins to drink alcohol in companies on holidays or occasionally drink to calm the nerves. Ethanol may not 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 decay of personality occurs, physical craving for alcohol sets in.
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 has a desire to drink alcohol. If it is not satisfied, it disappears after a while. When the patient drinks, there is a sharp 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 ceases to evaluate it as a negative phenomenon.
- The second stage is characterized by an increase in tolerance to alcoholic beverages. At this stage, physical dependence is formed: withdrawal symptoms, headache, thirst, irritability, tremors of the hands and body, sleep disturbances. With a sharp interruption of binge, complications may occur.
- The third stage - the craving for alcohol increases. Mental disorders occur, leading to amnesia. Physical, social and personal degradation is on the rise. Binge drinking provokes severe depletion of the body, if it is interrupted without medical intervention, metal-alcohol psychosis may occur.
Life expectancy of an alcoholic
It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of how long alcoholics live, since the body of each person individually reacts 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, happy life. According to many scientists, some people may even benefit from this.
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 alcohol as teenagers. Patients at stage 3 of addiction have the highest risk of mortality. They die from severe organ pathologies, living 6-7 years after such a 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, career. The patient faces economic difficulties, since a lot of money is spent on buying alcohol. In addition, due to addiction, problems can arise at work, since the alcoholic is not able to perform his functions properly, 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 significantly increases the likelihood of an accident. People who are intoxicated are at greater risk of committing a crime.
Health implications
Alcohol dependence has a significant impact on the physical and mental health of the patient. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages can cause 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 the 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 occurrence of mental disorders.
- Pathological processes in neurons adversely affect the functioning of the sense organs, the patient's intellectual abilities, and his memory. With the systematic consumption of alcohol, chronic encephalopathy is observed, and cerebral infarction is possible. Prolonged exposure to alcohol provokes Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease.
- Cerebral vessels become brittle, aneurysms can form with subsequent ruptures. The risk of blood clots, blood supply disturbances, atrophic phenomena of the auditory and optic nerves, ischemic strokes of the spinal cord and brain increases. Gradually, chronic alcoholism leads to irreversible mental illness, complete degradation of the personality.
- The 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 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 fetal abnormalities. For men, the danger lies in a decrease in erection, leading to the gradual development of impotence. Also, with prolonged use, persistent hormonal disorders 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 as 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 pathological conditions from arising, it is recommended to take breaks. Experts advise to consume alcoholic beverages no more than 1 time in 3 days, and you need to do it with a minimum dose.
Safe Alcohol Dose 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, which is 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.