The Effects of Drinking Alcohol

The Effects of Drinking Alcohol

Throughout life people make many different decisions. People make decisions on what to wear, what to eat, what to think, what to do with their life and what will benefit them in the long run. These are decisions that may seem small but they ultimately affect the person in either a positive or a negative way later on in their life. Many decisions we make in life are not the right ones, and they can hurt us later on in life if we do not take into account the consequences of our actions. A decision that can negatively creep up on people is drinking alcohol. The negative effects of drinking alcohol outweigh the few positive health benefits that it presents.

Drinking alcohol can affect every single person in a different way depending on many different factors. Two people who drink the same amount can come out with different blood alcohol levels. Depending on how high a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is determines how the person’s judgment is affected. Having a BAC of .01%-.05% increases the heart rate and decreases judgment. An increase to .10%-.15% causes more dramatic effects. Slurred speech, vomiting, and immobilization are some of the many short-term effects of over drinking (Lang 45). People with drinking problems also frequently use illegal drugs that

negatively affect them also. Some main immediate problems that come about from drinking alcohol include blackouts and brain damage.

Alcohol damages the pathways that connect different parts of the brain and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These pathways, when affected, can change a person’s mood and behavior, and not only make them an entirely different person, but also make it harder for them to think clearly an...

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...sis. Alcoholic hepatitis is when the liver experiences inflammation caused by drinking alcohol. If a person is diagnosed by their doctor with alcoholic hepatitis, they must immediately stop drinking alcohol. People who continue to drink alcohol against the recommendation of their doctor face a high risk of developing serious liver damage that can eventually cause death. Each liver disease is different and can affect each person’s body in different ways. Another affect of alcohol abuse on the liver is Cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is when the liver begins to scare and is no longer able to perform its regular duties. Since the liver has no nerves that identify pain in it, the liver does not feel pain until it is affecting a different part of the body that does. Cirrhosis often has no signs or symptoms until the damage to the liver is extensive and in most cases beyond repair.