Alcohol's Health Impacts and Hazards

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Most people agree that alcoholism is tragic and destructive. They see the alcoholic’s decline, their loss of self-esteem and self-control. They see the suffering of those around the alcoholic. Very often the alcoholic is visibly depressed about an inability to stop drinking or about the problems—financial, familial and otherwise—that may be created by the alcoholism.

Alcohol is essentially a poison. The one thing that all types of alcohol have in common is that they are fermented—or more simply put—food that is rotten. When alcohol enters the body it has a toxic effect and begins to cause the body to burn up vitamins and minerals. This includes vitamin B1 which is important for proper function of the nervous system. Thus you have an array of physical effects and impairment on the body that are seen rather quickly, along with other long-term effects that may not become evident right away.

Alcohol may affect each person differently, whereas one person can build up a tolerance and appear to “handle” their alcohol well, while another may completely lose control after just a few drinks. This is due to a number of factors relating to a person’s physical and mental condition including how much nutrition is in their system at the time. Yet no matter how much a person tries to counteract the negative effects created by alcohol consumption, sooner or later it catches up with them, particularly if they build up tolerance and continue to increase the amount they drink. Over a period of time, the long-term effects can create some very serious conditions.

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Short And Long Term Effects of Alcohol

The following is a guideline to some of the short and long-term effects of alcohol:

Short-term effects of alcohol:

• Loss of motor control
• Impaired judgement
• Slurring of speech
• Drowsiness
• Headaches
• Upset Stomach
• Vomiting
• Blackouts
• Unconsciousness
• Coma

Long-term effects of alcohol:

• Alcohol poisoning
• Cirrhosis and other liver damage
• Pancreatitis
• Nerve damage
• Brain damage due to death of brain cells
• Malnutrition
• Loss of productivity
• Destroyed relationships

Many people however may not think about alcohol as a drug, but it is, in fact, one of the most destructive drugs in terms of health, posing serious risk to the liver and other organs.

Liver

It is appropriate to list the liver first because most people are aware that drinking excessively is very hard on the liver. The result of many years of heavy drinking is cirrhosis of the liver—a condition where the liver tissue changes from a dense but effective filter that blood flows through easily to a fibrous mass of scar tissue that can no longer do its job.

The liver is vital to one’s very survival. When the liver fails, a person dies. This organ eliminates toxins so it is the go-to organ to break down alcohol or drugs that are consumed. In all, it silently performs 500 different functions, including enabling us to digest food, control infections and absorb vital nutrients.

Before a liver reaches the point of being cirrhotic, it may be fatty or inflamed. The first stage of damage is a fatty liver, a build-up of extra fat in the cells. This can cause fatigue, weakness and weight loss. If a person stops drinking now, the condition can be reversed.

Inflammation resulting from drinking is called alcoholic hepatitis. The liver is enlarged and this can cause loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal pain and jaundice. A little more than a third of heavy drinkers develop this problem. If severe, this condition can result in liver failure and death.

Mixing alcohol and the over-the-counter pain reliever acetaminophen causes toxic stress to the liver and the kidneys. For a heavy drinker, just a little more than the recommended amount of acetaminophen for a few days can (and has many times) resulted in liver failure and death.

While liver damage is the most well-known effect of excessive alcohol consumption, there is much to understand about the way alcohol damages every organ in the body. Continue reading to learn more.

Heart

Not as many people know that excessive consumption of alcohol contributes greatly to heart disease. After years of drinking, a person’s heart becomes weak and stretched out. It’s impossible to pump enough blood through a heart like this and other organs suffer oxygen shortage. This condition is called cardiomyopathy.

Even too much alcohol drunk on one occasion can damage the heart’s function. Moderate to heavy drinking or too much alcohol all at once can result in an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (AF), which can last minutes or days. If brief, AF may not be serious. If it lasts, it can increase the risk of stroke or lead to heart failure.

Heavy alcohol consumption over a period of years is directly associated with congestive heart failure that is evidenced by shortness of breath, swollen extremities, heart enlargement and finally, fibrous damage to the heart that can lead to death.

While there is some evidence that low to moderate use of alcohol may have benefits to one’s heart health, overuse is associated with greater risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke due to damage to the heart muscle.

Lungs

While it might not occur to you that the lungs suffer stress from drinking alcohol, they do. Evidence has emerged that shows that alcohol can create changes in even a young person’s lungs that damage his health, long before other organ damage like hepatitis shows up. Recent studies show that chronic alcohol consumption results in a three- to four-fold increase in acute respiratory distress syndrome, a condition that has a 40% to 50% death rate.

If a person is unlucky enough to suffer a traffic accident or fall after drinking, the likelihood of damage to his lungs is much higher than usual.

A person who is unconscious from an overdose of alcohol may vomit and then inhale the vomited material into the lungs. The aspirated material often causes pneumonia. For a chronic drinker, pneumonia is more often a deadly disease. His (or her) lungs are less able to fight an infection like pneumonia, therefore the mortality rate is higher among alcoholics. Mortality can occur within 24 hours of admission to a hospital.

Stomach and esophagus 

It’s not hard to understand that alcohol would damage the stomach and digestive system. After all, this is the first system that first has to contain and absorb the alcohol. Excessive alcohol use can lead to chronic gastritis which occurs when your stomach lining becomes inflamed.  When gastritis becomes chronic, ulcers or stomach cancer may develop.

Alcohol use may also contribute to GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease, which allows stomach acids to splash into the esophagus, causing burning and pain. Cancer of the esophagus also becomes a risk.

Tissues where the esophagus meets the stomach can become so damaged that they tear and bleed. This tear may heal on its own but if severe, can bleed so much that surgery and transfusions are needed. 

Pancreas

The pancreas produces insulin and digestive enzymes that enable a person to break down food. Heavy alcohol consumption can cause acute (short-lasting) inflammation called pancreatitis which may resolve with adjustments to one’s diet and lifestyle, particularly stopping consumption of alcohol. Prolonged alcohol consumption can cause chronic pancreatitis which can be life-threatening.

During chronic pancreatitis, parts of the pancreas can die, leading to abscesses and infection that can spread throughout the abdomen. The death of pancreas tissues releases digestive enzymes into the abdomen that create a chain reaction of organ destruction. This organ collapse results in the death of the patient.

Less severe damage to the pancreas can also cause diabetes and malnutrition, a common problem among alcoholics.

Kidneys

In addition to the kind of organ collapse triggered by pancreatitis, kidney function is directly altered by the presence of alcohol. The consumption of alcohol throws off the correct balance of water and minerals in the body, which is particularly dangerous for a person with liver damage or disease. This imbalance can cause seizures or a severe drop in blood sugar. Long-term alcoholics tend to show signs of dehydration because of the derangement of kidney function.

The tendency of alcohol consumption to raise one’s blood pressure can damage the delicate tissues of the kidneys. This is a leading cause of kidney failure.

Even one’s lungs are damaged by heavy drinking, as new evidence shows. And when your brain is harmed by alcohol, not all the problems can be corrected by stopping consumption.

Brain

While anyone who drinks knows that alcohol has an immediate effect on one’s mood and emotions, they may not realize the lasting effects that the drug has on one’s mental capability. The damaging effects of heavy alcohol consumption on the brain and the mind are extensive and many are lasting.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about half of the 20 million alcoholics in the US suffer from impairments in their ability to learn, think, understand and solve problems. At the most severe end of the scale is an alcohol-induced amnesia and dementia that requires full-time care. On the less severe end of the scale, alcohol-induced damage can take these forms:

• Premature aging
• Brain atrophy and shrinkage accompanied by memory and cognitive losses
• Lack of response to environmental or emotional stimuli
• Depression
• Disturbed sleep
• Fatigue
• Difficulty solving problems or planning
• Ataxia - difficulty walking and keeping one’s balance
• Numbness or pins and needles in the extremities

Emotional or behavior damage from alcohol-related brain damage include:

• Aggression
• Moodiness
• Lack of motivation
• Poor hygiene
• Poor emotional control

Damage is particularly severe for young people whose brains have not yet finished developing (25 and under).

When a person suffers from alcohol-related liver disease, that condition can cause a potentially fatal brain disorder called hepatic encephalopathy. This condition changes a person’s personality, can cause anxiety, depression, flapping or shaking of hands, and even a coma which can be fatal.

When brain damage is not too far advanced, stopping drinking and living a healthier lifestyle may reverse some or many of the problems.

Pregnancy

Babies absorb alcohol that is drunk by the mother but they are unable to process it in their livers. They will have the same blood alcohol concentration as the mother.

Alcohol is so well known for causing birth defects that the condition of babies deformed by the drug has its own name: FAS or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Babies born with FAS are markedly smaller than other babies, have abnormal facial features and their brains may be smaller. When older, they often have behavior and learning problems. Their motor skills are impaired - they may lack muscle tone and have poor coordination. Heart defects are also likely. The condition can be mild or severe.

Pregnant women who drink also have more miscarriages and stillbirths than normal and are at higher risk for premature birth.

If you care for someone who is drinking heavily, you can now see that the problems go far deeper than just their drunkenness or bad behavior while drunk. There is real, physical harm being suffered that gets worse every day more alcohol is poured into the system.

Unfortunately, an alcoholic typically refuses to see his (or her) own problem and rejects offers of help. You now have the motivation to push past this refusal and get your loved one into rehab to end the heavy drinking.

If you are a parent of a young person who is drinking heavily, even occasionally, you are now armed with plenty of information to provide an education that can help bring this substance abuse to an end.

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Call us at 1-800-737-5250 to get help now. or learn more about the Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Program

Treatment Success Varies Depending on How it is Approached

There are several schools of treatment for alcoholism and the success rates vary.

One medical model is to have the alcoholic take a drug that is trade-named Antabuse. It is supposed to make an alcoholic sick if he or she drinks. But many people say it doesn’t work for them. Other drugs are supposed to block the intoxicating effects of alcohol.

Twelve-step programs have a strict outline of actions that may guide the addicted person back to sobriety. Frequent meetings are a mainstay of the program. Some people do not succeed in twelve-step programs simply because they lack the social skills to do so. When alcoholism started very young, before a person developed enough maturity to accept responsibility, or when alcoholism goes on for a long time so that social skills are obliterated, a person may not be able to win in this context.

A true holistic approach to alcoholism means that no drugs are used and the entire person’s life and health are considered when treating the condition. At Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs around the world, alcoholism is addressed with a combination of nutrition, thorough detoxification and life-skills training. Each recovering alcoholic is assisted and guided through the process of rebuilding his or her life, repairing damaged relationships, and preparing to take a place among those living sober, productive lives.

At Narconon alcohol recovery programs, each person repairs the damage at their own rate, while following a precise and closely monitored program of withdrawal, detoxification and life skills.