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 that, apart from pleasant feelings, intoxicating liquid is harmful. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to irreversible consequences: in certain stages of alcohol dependence, severe pathologies of the nervous and other body systems are detected.
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 a drink, which includes ethanol in various concentrations.
What a harm from 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. Disorders in the work of the central nervous system contribute to the dysfunction of other organs. Large amounts of alcohol cause chronic, irreversible pathologies.
What happens if you drink
The consequences of alcohol consumption are related to the toxic effects of ethyl alcohol on the body of men and women. The severity of the side effects of drinks depends on their strength, amount and frequency of drinking. Drinking small amounts of alcohol at important events may not be harmful. Excessive use threatens the development of alcoholic encephalopathy, addiction, dysfunction of internal organs, social degradation and other negative consequences.
Moderate use
According to some experts, moderate consumption of alcohol in quantities allowed by the WHO does not cause great harm to the body, does not create addiction and does not lead to a state of intoxication. Alcohol in small doses can be useful for disease prevention because it makes the defense systems work. It should be borne in mind that this method of disease prevention 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 forbidden. Drinking every day, a person risks becoming addicted gradually. There is a risk of losing control, the desire to systematically increase the dose - this is a direct path to alcoholism, acquiring mental and physical health disorders. It is recommended to take breaks of a few days in order to remove toxins from the body.
Abuse
Increased doses of strong alcohol are experienced by the body as a poison, so you are harming yourself, even if you rarely drink. Large amounts of alcohol adversely affect the brain, liver, cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract. Constant alcohol abuse can cause permanent addiction, leading to irreversible consequences.
Alcohol addiction
When they enter the body, elevated alcohol concentrations can cause permanent dependence. This is explained by the toxic properties of ethanol. Alcoholism is a disease characterized by constant, uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, pathological attraction to a state of intoxication, and changes in alcohol tolerance. Experts identify the following signs of the disease:
- Presence of alcohol withdrawal syndrome - when a patient refuses to drink alcohol, the patient experiences negative physical and mental changes.
- The desire to drink occurs in every situation of emotional significance.
- Behavioral changes are observed: memory lapses, aggression, lack of desire to communicate with loved ones, etc.
- Lack of system, alcohol consumption can take more than a day (drinking).
- Increased tolerance to ethyl alcohol, increased alcohol rejection threshold.
- Constant hangover, desire 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 afford to drink systematically, however, the cessation of 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 is not able to control his desire to drink, the amount of alcohol consumed and he is prone to drinking.
Causes
Anyone can become addicted to alcohol if they stop controlling themselves, because some cultural characteristics provoke people to drink intoxicating drinks in the hours of joy, sorrow 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 get genetic material responsible for the high risk of alcohol dependence.
- Psychological factors. Emotional experiences (loss of job, unrequited love, death of loved ones) can cause alcohol dependence. A person tries to drink alcohol in order to relax, to avoid moral trauma. As a result, he gets a constant craving for ethanol.
How alcoholism developed
A dangerous factor in the development of alcoholism is that permanent addiction can develop unnoticed by the patient. A person starts drinking alcohol in companies on holidays or occasionally drinks to calm the nerves. Ethanol may not cause adverse reactions at this stage. The feeling of relaxation and fun leads to the fact that alcohol consumption is becoming more frequent. As a result, the person becomes addicted, begins to show symptoms of alcoholism. Gradually there is a decline in personality, there is a physical craving for alcohol.
Stages of alcoholism
Experts distinguish 3 degrees of alcoholism. Each phase is characterized by the following factors:
- First degree - at this stage of the disease, the patient often has a desire to drink alcohol. If he is not satisfied, he disappears after a while. When a 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 or another reason that the patient thinks to justify. The alcoholic stops evaluating 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, trembling hands and body, sleep disorders. Complications can occur with a sharp cessation of drunkenness.
- The third phase - the craving for alcohol increases. Mental disorders that lead to amnesia occur. Physical, social and personal degradation is on the rise. Heavy drinking causes severe exhaustion of the organism, if it is stopped without medical intervention, metal-alcohol psychosis can occur.
Life expectancy of alcoholics
It is impossible to give an unequivocal answer to the question of how long alcoholics live, because each person’s body reacts individually to ethyl alcohol. An important factor is the quality of drinks and the amount 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.
Using cheap drinks, the surrogate can cause not only damage to internal organs, but also acute intoxication. According to statistics, the average life expectancy of alcoholics is 48-55 years. At the same time, the period may be shorter for women, alcoholics and people who started drinking alcohol as teenagers. Patients in the third stage of addiction have the highest risk of mortality. They die from severe organ pathologies, living 6-7 years after such a diagnosis.
Consequences of alcohol consumption
Excessive alcohol consumption at any age increases the risk of diseases of the body's systems, disrupts the activity of the human brain. The consequences of such processes are irreversible changes in the psyche, reduction of social activity, physical damage to the patient. With regular use, a person experiences constant poisoning, which causes the deposition of harmful substances inside the body.
Social implications
Alcohol dependence directly affects not only the patient himself, but also his family, social circle and career. The patient faces economic difficulties, because a lot of money is spent on buying alcohol. In addition, addiction can cause problems at work, because the alcoholic cannot perform his functions properly, skips working days due to a hangover.
Constant drunkenness also has a detrimental effect on the patient's family. This happens because conflicts are becoming more frequent, the patient becomes aggressive. Drunk driving endangers the lives of alcoholics and others. Driving after consuming alcoholic beverages significantly increases the probability of an accident. People who are intoxicated are at greater risk of committing a crime.
Health consequences
Alcohol dependence has a significant impact on a 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 begins even when small doses of the substance enter the body. Experts note violations of the activities of control centers, failures in the regulatory mechanisms of the cortex. Such processes contribute to a rapid change of mood, partial loss of control over actions, irritability, aggression and the appearance of mental disorders.
- Pathological processes in neurons negatively affect the work of sensory organs, 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 disease.
- Cerebral vessels become fragile, aneurysms can form with later ruptures. The risk of blood clots, blood supply disorders, 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 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 arteries, veins, aneurysms, ischemia, myocardial infarction, blockages and arrhythmias.
- The negative impact of frequent alcohol consumption on the human reproductive system is impaired vitality and maturation of germ cells, the occurrence of infertility and a high risk of congenital fetal abnormalities. For men, the danger is a reduction in erections, which leads 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), lesions of the pancreas, followed by chronic pancreatitis and diabetes. Gradually, doctors notice whole-body exhaustion, associated with metabolic disorders and decreased appetite. Oncological diseases of the stomach and intestines are possible.
- Liver diseases are considered by experts to be the most dangerous consequences of systematic drunkenness. Organ cells cannot cope with chronic intoxication, so alcoholics often suffer from fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatitis.
How often can you drink alcohol?
The World Health Organization, by determining a certain safe dose of alcohol per day, warns that daily drinking poses a risk to the normal functioning of the body. In order to prevent the development of pathological conditions, breaks are recommended. Experts advise that alcoholic beverages should not be consumed more than once in 3 days, and in a minimal dose.
Safe dose of alcohol per day
The standard dose of alcoholic beverages, determined 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, the safe dose is 3 units, which is 1-2 glasses of dry wine, 80 g of vodka, 1 bottle of beer.