The effects of alcohol do not end in an individual alone. The family, community, and even those who do not drink may also be affected by alcohol influences. Younger people are more at risk. Alcohol has immense effects on their growth and development.
"Are you aware of the dangerous effects of alcohol?"
Almost every part of the body is damaged when intoxicated with great quantities of alcohol. Alcohol is a leading cause of death.
- Nervous System - Alcohol intake damages parts of the nervous system destroying nerve cells and cause blackouts and seizures. Heavy drinking may develop dementia, a general decline in all mental functioning and can recover by discontinuing drinking.
- Digestive System - Driking alcohol increases risk of developing cancers of the mouth, esophagus and stomach. Ulcer, an open sore on the skin or on mucous membrane.
Liver diseases are also developed from drinking alcohol. As alcohol oxidizes it poisons the liver. Three stages of disease when liver is poisoned. The first stage enlarges the liver with fatty tissue. On the second stage, the liver swells causing alcohol hepatitis. People in this condition may have yellowish skin and eyes, abdominal pains and fever. It can cause illness and death. The third stage is when chronic damage happens to liver cells. This is called Cirrhosis. People with Cirrhosis can only be treated with liver transplant.
Heavy drinking also causes malnutrition and inflammation of the pancreas or pancreatitis. Persons who has pancreatitis are at risk of developing diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Malnutrition happens when the body does not receive nutrients required for optimum health. Individuals who usually drink eat less and has poor balanced diet. These individuals do not digest and absorb nutrients normally, making them deficient in thiamine, folate, Vitamin A, and zinc. It also can cause anemia.
- Immune System - Drinking alcohol reduces the function of the immune system, and increases risk of developing respiratory infections, tuberculosis, certain cancers and other illnesses. It reduces the number of infection-fighting cells in which also decreases the ability to fight pathogens.
- Cardiovascular System - Drinking alcohol damages cardiovascular syste, organs. It increases of developing cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, stroke, and cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is a disease where the heart muscles weaken and enlarge, and blood cannot pump normally. Drinking too much also makes blood vessels widen, giving a false feeling of warmth.
- Skeletal System - Drinking alcohol reduces calcium in the body which is necessary for proper development and maintenance of the skeletal system. It can make them thin and brittle resulting to osteoporosis. Individuals with osteoporosis are at risk of breaking their bones.
- Urinary System - Alcohol increases urine flow and continuous driking can cause kidney failure.
- Reproductive System - During the period of puberty, alcohol intake may produce significant effects on the reproductive system. Females may have delay on their first day of menstrual cycle, irregular periods and impaired breast development, and they may develop risk in having breast cancer in later ages. Males decrease in size of testes and development of muscle mass. Delay in the age when the voice deepens and reduce amount of body and facial hair can also happen.
On pregnant women, fetal alcohol syndrome of FAS may occur. When a pregnant women drink alcohol, the child gets permanent birth defects.
What are the effects of alcohol with drugs?
Types of Drug | Effects of Interaction with Alcohol |
Analgesics Narcotics- codeine, heroine, morphine Non Narcotics- aspirin, Excedrin | · Increase depression of central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory · Tolerance to depressant effects, enhanced sedation, respiratory arrest in large doses · Increase gastrointestinal blood loss and damage to stomach lining induced by aspirin |
Antidepressants - tricyclic ( doxepin, imipramine) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors ( isocarboxazid, parygline) | · Increase depression of CNS · Increase sedative effects · Nausea, vomiting and headache · Increase blood pressure; health palpitations |
Antihistamines - diphenylpyraline (Benadryl) | · weakens CNS, sharply increases alcohol effect · synergism of sedative effects |
Antihypertensive Agents | · increase sedation with initial treatment · dizziness or fainting |
Anti-Infective Agents - including antibiotics | · hinders metabolism of alcohol, dizziness, vomiting, headache, and hypotension |
Antipyretics - fever reducing drugs | · reduce drug effect |
Central Nervous System Stimulants | · antagonizes CNS depression |
Hallucinogens - Cannabis (marijuana), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) | · Mental and motor impairment · Additive effect, increase heart rate |
Sedative-Hynotics - Barbiturates (“downers”) and non-barbiturates | · Increase depressions of CNS and respiratory, nausea, vomiting · Non-breathing or coma |
Tranquilizers - Minor-valium, ativan, trankene - Major- thorazine, haldol, trilafon | · Increase sedation and CNS depressant effects · Impairment of muscle coordination and judgement |
Vitamins | · No reported drug interaction but malnutrition is often noted |
What are the effects of alcoholism on individual, family, and community?
INDIVIDUAL
Alcohol doesn't cause severe and permamnent effect on an individual if intake is moderated or even occasional drunkenness. But for an alcoholic, alcoholism causes serious effects in mental and physical health and includes orientation of being a family and community member.
Long term effect of alcoholism is a shortened life. Immediate effects of alcoholism include poor health and disease it brings, worsened illness, mental illness, malnutrition, and almost every part of the body.
The social aspect of an individual also is affected by alcoholism. An alcoholic individual:
- has low self-esteem and self-respect
- cannot be trusted and becomes useless to community
- loses jobs
- cannot provide material and emotional needs of family
- dos not trust own family's ability to help him
- sees family and friends as enemies
- loses respect from the community
- distances self from all friends and families
FAMILY
The problem of alcoholism has serious effects on wife, children and relatives of the alcoholic. It usually results from violence on wife and children, divorce or separation, abandonment of family and broken homes. Innocent members of the family are the ones affected and usually hurt with this problem of drinking
COMMUNITY
The effects of alcoholism to the community has the same effect it brings to family and the alcoholic individual. Most accidents, crimes and violence are instigated by intoxication of alcohol. Also affected is the ability in work and productiveness in community, and the interaction with colleagues. Alcoholism wastes an individual's potential.
WHAT IS ALCOHOLISM?
Alcoholism is generally defined as the habitual drinking of alcoholic liquors. Reasons for alcoholism may include feelings of loneliness or depression, forgetting problems, acceptance by peers, as a start of recreation then becomes a habit until it becomes a vice or addition, and as an outlet for anger, anxiety, and boredom.
