Alcohol abuse that continues and becomes a habit can result in long-term effects on the body. If this abuse continues, it can result in physiological, psychological, and social consequences. As a person’s blood-alcohol level rises with continued consumption, the physiological effects of alcohol cause lowered self-consciousness and may damage a person. These individuals are incapable of consenting to any sexual act. A person that is under the influence can lose control of their body, allowing the alcohol to take over (Bliss 1). Abusing alcoholic beverages can result in long-term effects on an individuals’ health; for example, it can affect the liver, brain, and has a possibility of leading to death. Alcohol can cause many different health problems …show more content…
A hangover describes a group of symptoms experienced by a person after a heavy consumption of alcohol. Symptoms of a hangover often consist of nausea, fatigue, thirst, headache, diarrhea, and sensitivity to light and noise. The severity of a hangover depends on several factors; these factors include the amount of alcohol consumed, the level of hydration in the body at the time of alcohol consumption, and disease. Although hangovers are the most common short-term effect, blackouts are also a short-term result of alcohol abuse. Consuming large amounts of alcohol can lead to temporary amnesia where the person is unable to recall events that occurred after he or she began drinking. Blackouts can lead to serious repercussions, especially if the person is engaged in sexual activity during that time. “Blackouts are much more common among social drinkers than previously assumed and should be viewed as a potential consequence of acute intoxication regardless of age or whether the drinker is clinically dependent on alcohol” (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1). Drinkers who experience blackouts typically drink too much and too quickly, which causes their blood alcohol levels to rise very rapidly. Typically, college students are at risk for experiencing a blackout, as an alarming number of college students engage in binge drinking. Binge drinking, for a typical adult, is defined as consuming five or more drinks in about 2 hours for men, or four or more drinks for women (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1). Another short-term effect is alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning occurs when a person consumes large amounts of alcohol in a relatively short period of time. Ethanol is a depressant that affects the central nervous system when a person over-consumes a drink to the point where his or her body is unable to
“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health.” Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2010. Print.
Do we really know how much damage alcohol can do to a person? Alcohol becomes an addiction. Alcohol has its benefits but it also has its downsides. It’s known that alcohol has it’s benefits but if you drink “moderately”. Alcohol can destroy your life and ruin your family. People tend to abuse alcohol, people make bad choices when it comes to alcohol. Alcohol makes you act a certain way when you're intoxicated. Alcohol can cause liver damage and many other health problems. The background of this essay is that I can relate to alcohol usage. Alcohol creates emotional, physical, mental and family problem to a person that abuses alcohol usage.
Alcohol abuse can be very dangerous because it can come at a time when a person is going through the bad times in their life. The only thing drugs do is worsens people’s lives because the behavior of the victim can change dramatically. Many drink at social events, to celebrate or relax. The problem is that many of the drinkers end up drinking more than what the body can withstand. According to the National institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (2014), alcohol enters the blood as soon as the first sip and affect the body in as early as ten minutes. The amount then increase depending on the amount of drinks and the effects range from impairment, breathing problems, slurred speech, and coma. Some can even experience death as a result of becoming intoxicated because of having too much alcohol in the bloodstream. National institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (2014). A young adult is more likely to experience a change in their mood and behavior because they are goi...
Alcohol has direct toxic as well as sedative effects on the body, and failure to take care of nutritional and other physical needs during prolonged periods of excessive drinking may further complicate matters. Advanced cases often require hospitalization. The effects on major organ systems are cumulative and include a wide range of digestive-system disorders such as ulcers, inflammation of the pancreas, and cirrhosis of the liver. The central and peripheral nervous systems can be permanently damaged. Blackouts, hallucinations, and extreme tremors may occur. The latter symptoms are involved in the most serious alcohol withdrawal syndrome, delirium tremens, which can prove fatal despite prompt treatment.
Alcoholism is a major problem in today’s society it is considered a disease. The effects of this so called disease are a lot more serious than one might think, and can effect your life in a big way. Many of alcohols consumers drink frequently that they will eventually get used to it, and it becomes an everyday thing. That right there is where the problem starts. Some of the effects I found are economical, physiological, and physical, which are some of the negative effects alcohol, can have on someone’s life.
The ingestion of alcoholic beverages for their enjoyable effects is a custom which has been around for thousands of years, and alcohol continues to be a popular drug because of its short-term effects (Coleman, Butcher & Carson, 1984). An enormous amount of damage can be attributed directly to alcohol abuse as a result of lost jobs, accidents caused by drunk drivers, and so forth (Maltzman, 2000). Alcohol also compounds other problems--an estimated 25% to 40% of hospital patients have problems caused by, or recovery delayed by alcohol abuse (Maltzman, 2000). Clinical psychologists spend about one-fourth of their time dealing with people who are suffering in part from alcohol or other substance problems (Vaillant, 1995). Although alcohol problems have been around for so long, it is only recently that these problems have begun to be associated with medical or psychological difficulties.
Drinking alcohol is associated with many adverse health problems in the short and long-term. These include cancer, stroke, heart disease, miscarriage, premature birth and unintentional injuries. Despite the fact that alcohol brings many negative impacts, many people still choose to drink and do not overcome their drinking habit. They have been successfully seduced by alcohol until drinking has become their addiction. However, some of them try to quit drinking, but they still cannot break the addiction. Basically, quitting alcohol is difficult and almost impossible for them because of brain-craving, lack of belief and support, and weak willpower.
The risks of alcohol abuse are becoming more familiar to alcoholics throughout the nation. Alcohol breaks down the liver, which then becomes tremendously susceptible to cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded that over 15,000 deaths were related to liver diseases that resulted from alcohol abuse and over 24,000 died from other generic alcohol related deaths. Alcohol has also been known to increase blood pressure that can lead to a stroke or heart disease. Psychological dangers are serious cases of anxiety, depression, or insomnia, being unable to sleep. The abuse of alcohol may make the abuser become malnourished from lack of eating healthy or lack of eating at all. Overall, alcohol can diminish your social life, physical health, career, and mental health. (HealthCheck Systems 2012)
Alcoholism is a disease in which the drinking of alcohol becomes uncontrollable. Compulsion and craving of alcohol rules the life of the alcoholic. Many of us drink alcohol to socialize which is not alcoholism. An alcoholic is a frequent habitual user. Alcohol, a central nervous system depressant, dulls the senses especially vision and hearing. Signs of alcoholism are tremors, delirium, inability to concentrate and many others. “According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, more than 13 million Americans abuse alcohol”(Mayo Clinic Health Information 1). There are many causes leading an individual to alcoholism. Alcohol damaging effects are physically, psychologically, and socially devastating.
Health problem and drunk driving hit the list. Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. In addition, alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion [3]. Not only that, alcohol can also increase the risk of developing certain cancer. But almost every drinker knows these horrible diseases above, then why they never stop drinking? The point is, a short-term alcohol consumption does tiny harm to human’s body, only long-term alcohol consumption can impair the body badly. Nevertheless, the contradiction is apparent to find out: when a drinker finds that there is something wrong with their health, it is too late. And in a drinker’s early life, they can not completely realize which kind of damage that alcohol consumption can lead because they were healthy at that time——at least on the surface. Alcohol just like a chronic disease, making drinkers less vigilant, and brings on severe health consequences in the end.
Binge drinking or heavy drinking is a modern description for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide, and overlaps somewhat with social drinking since it is often done in groups. The degree of intoxication, however, varies between and within various cultures that engage in this practice. A binge on alcohol can occur over hours, last up to several days, or in the event of extended abuse, even weeks. Due to the long-term effects of alcohol misuse, binge drinking is considered to be a major public health issue. The more often a child or adolescent binge drinks and the younger they are the more likely they will develop an alcohol use disorder called alcoholism.
The pros and cons of an alcoholic beverage at lunch. Many times you may see on TV or different places around the world where the consumption of an alcoholic beverage at lunch is either accepted or frowned upon. Many times I've wondered why not be able to have at least one alcoholic drink at lunch. Depending on religion, culture, type of work, local laws, and health reasons there are different views and reasons of why or why not to have an alcoholic drink at lunch during your work day.
When alcohol is consumed in unhealthy amounts, it can lead to not only short-term effects, but long-term ones as well. Many people can tell you what alcohol will do to you. Blurred vision, memory loss, slurred speech, difficulty walking, and slow reaction times are all very common side effects depending on how much one consumes (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, 2004). To most, there is nothing wrong with this. Party all night, have a good time, find somewhere to sleep, pass out, and wake up in the morning.
According to the article The Deadly Drinking Mistakes Smart Girls Make by Nicole Blades, there are several risks an individual runs when consuming alcohol. For instance, if someone is not a frequent drinker or are a light drinker, they could be at an even greater risk of alcohol poisoning than the average consumer because they either don’t know their limits or are not able to tolerate alcohol in high doses. Genes, gender, and weight are all factors that affect how quickly your body processes alcohol and for most beginning drinkers, they are unaware of how much their body can handle. They also generally tend to misinterpret the signs of when enough drinks are enough due to their inexperience’s, causing for greater risk of alcohol poisoning. Drinking alcohol without time in between can also be deadly because your body doesn’t have enough time to metabolize the alcohol, causing it to circulate throughout your body at a rapid pace. This can lead to “loss of inhibitions and euphoria, followed by ...
The problem of alcohol use is very relevant nowadays. Today alcohol consumption characterized by vast numbers in the world. All of society is suffering from this, but primarily jeopardized the younger generation: children, teenagers, young people, and the health of future mothers. Because alcohol is particularly active effect on the body that are not formed, gradually destroying it. The harm of alcohol abuse is evident. It is proved that when alcohol is ingested inside the body, it is carried by blood to all organs and has harmful effect on them until destruction. Systematic use of alcohol develops a dangerous disease such as alcoholism. Alcoholism is dangerous to human health, but it is curable as other diseases. The big problem is that most of the alcohol products which are made in private places contain many toxic substances, defective products often leads to poisoning and even death. All this has negative impact on society and its cultural values.