Alcoholism
Introduction
Alcohol is a drug that ease of access and powerful advertising that receives, it has become a real social problem in almost all countries and all ages from adolescence. Alcohol is the drug most widely used by adolescents in the U.S. and Mexico, although we have no statistics, evidence of a high rate of alcoholism among the young.
But what are the problems caused by excessive alcohol use? Perhaps many people think that while alcohol does not become typical, the consequences of drinking frequently and in high doses are not so alarming. But the ravages of alcohol can be severe and many of them irreversible. Then we talked about some of the short-term effects caused by alcohol.
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive and often fatal, is a primary disorder and not a symptom of other diseases or emotional problems. . WHO defines alcoholism as the daily intake of alcohol exceeding 50 grams in women and 70 grams in man (a glass of liquor or a cocktail is about 40 grams, a quarter liter of wine 30 grams and fourth liter of beer 15 grams).
Alcoholism is thought to arise from a combination of several physiological factors, psychological and genetic factors. It is characterized by emotional and often physical dependence on alcohol, and produces a progressive brain damage and ultimately death.
Alcoholism affects more adult males, but their incidence is increasing among women and youth. Consumption and alcohol-related problems are increasing throughout the West since 1980, including the U.S., the European Union and former Eastern countries and in developing countries.
Alcoholism, as opposed to mere excessive or irresponsible consumption of alcohol has been in the past considered a symptom of social or psychological stress, or a learned behavior and misfit. Alcoholism has become a newly defined, and perhaps more accurately, as a complex disease itself, with all its consequences. It develops over years. The first symptoms, very subtle, include concerns about the availability of alcohol, which strongly influences the choice of the patient from friends or activities.
Alcohol is increasingly considered as a drug that modifies the state of mind, and less a part of the diet, a social custom or a religious rite. The chemistry of alcohol allows you to affect almost every type of cell in the body, including those in the central nervous system. In the brain, alcohol interacts with institutions responsible for pleasure and other undesirable sensations, after prolonged exposure to alcohol, the brain adapts to the changes produced by alcohol and become dependent on it.
For people with alcoholism, drinking becomes the primary means by which to deal with people, work and lives. Alcohol dominates their thoughts, emotions and actions. The severity of this disease is influenced by factors such as genetics, psychology, culture and physical pain.
Caused Alcoholic
* To feel good and have fun.
* To relax and forget the stress.
* To escape.
* Because they like the taste of alcohol.
* To be more comfortable in meetings.
* To be part of the group.
* To get drunk.
Effects
Physical Effects
Alcohol is not exposed to any process of digestion so that mostly goes first to the small intestine and then absorbed by the bloodstream. Only a small part reaches directly into the bloodstream through the stomach walls. In the blood alcohol is metabolized (broken down to be removed or used by the body) through the oxidation process.
That is, it merges with oxygen and breaks down so that its basic elements leave the body in the form of carbon dioxide and water. The first oxidation is the liver that breaks down about 50% of the ingested alcohol in an hour. The rest stays in the bloodstream to be cleared slowly.
Psychological Effects
Alcohol affects primarily the central nervous system and its excessive and prolonged interference can cause brain damage. Popular belief that alcohol increases the excitement, but actually depresses many brain centers.
The feeling of excitement is precisely because the depressed some brain centers are reduced tensions and inhibitions and the person experiences feelings of sociability expanded or euphoria. So it is said that alcohol “internal censorship anesthesia. However, if the alcohol concentration exceeds certain levels in the blood interferes with higher mental processes so that visual perception is distorted, motor coordination, balance, speech and vision are also suffering heavy damage.
Large amounts of alcohol reduce pain and bodily discomfort and induce sleep. But continuous use irritates the stomach lining even to develop ulcers. Additionally tends to accumulate fat in the liver, interfering with its operation. In chronic alcoholics are raised serious brain disorders, liver (cirrhosis) and cardiovascular (increased blood pressure and thereby the risk of a heart attack).
Even, there is evidence that alcohol increases the level of triglycerides (saturated fat or vegetable in the arteries) and thereby also the risk of a heart attack. Finally, as is well known, alcohol addiction causes physical and psychological dependence.