What Alcoholism Can Do

The central nervous system and the liver are the parts of the body most frequently damaged by alcohol. The nervous system can be affected by polyneuritis(inflammation of the nerves), and at a later stage dropfoot -- when the muscles of the front foot cannot support the toes which drop below the level of the heel, so that the sufferer looks as though he is waling on a feather mattress. The patient may also be striken by Wernicke's encephalopathy -- named after the German neurologist Karl Wernicke, in which he is confused, unsteady on his feet and has weakness in some eye muscles.

Alcoholism is a disease and its effects can end in death. Potential or actual alcoholism can affect four areas of people's lives: mental, physical, professional, and domestic and social. The effects of alcoholism were described in the previous post.

The most common mental ailments are anxiety, tension and depression. These may be caused by drinking itself, by financial worries, by feelings of guilt or insecurity or by a combination of all three. However, anxiety, tension and depression may themselves have been the cause of the alcoholism: it is often difficult to identify the root of the problem.

In 10% of sufferers, more serious complaints develop with the advance of alcoholism. The drinker may develop phobias, start hearing things and seeing things, and show signs of schizophrenia -- delusions and hallucinations -- marked disturbances of thinking and contact with reality. Some sufferers develop Korsakoff's syndrome, named after the 19th century Russian neurologist Sergei memory which he unwittingly tries to disguise by relating stories of non-existent experiences.

Alcoholic dementia may occur. This is an irreversible intellectual deterioration in which the drinker shows loss of memory, comprehension and judgment similar to senile dementia. If the drinker is deprived of alcohol, he suffers the withdrawal syndrome -- hallucinations, tremors, seizures, and worst of all, delirium tremens. The main features of this are restlessness, confusion, distortion of sense of time and place, and also frightening and vivid visual hallucinations.

The alcoholism of one member of a family can affect all others. The husbands or wives and the children of drinkers often suffer from anxiety and depression, and there may be physical effects too. Although most problem drinkers strive to be good marriage partners and parents, they may, in drunkenness, go from vocal abuse to actual physical violence against members of their families. That is why it is important for these people to seek drug and alcohol recovery as soon as possible. Some suffer from paranoid jealousy, in which the drinker is mistakenly convinced of his partner's infidelity and may become violent in attempting to justify his suspicious.

In addition to mental and physical injuries, the family may also be faced with financial hardship because the drinker has lost his job, or because he or she squanders money on alcohol. Sexual problems such as impotence and frigidity are also common.

The constant need for money to pay for their liquor drives many sufferers to crime, and the depressive effects of excessive drink lead others to take, or attempt to take, their own lives. These we can see how serious and deadly alcoholism can be. Recovery from alcoholism is a life-long process. If you are one of such drinker, go for alcohol detox now. Save yourself, save your family at drug rehab.

Effects of Alcholism

According to the NIAAA, about 14 million people in the United States abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. Statistics also showed that men are four times more likely than women to be heavy drinkers. Men are twice as likely to be alcohol abusing or alcohol dependant. Compulsive drinking causes major health problems and every year, more than 100,000 Americans die of alcohol-related causes. It is also estimated that $98 billion are spent annually in the health and welfare services, property damage and medical expenses, according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

The most common effect of alcohol after use is commonly referred to as a hangover. Hangovers usually occur after large amounts of alcohol are consumed, and usually comes with these symptoms -- dizziness, headache, nausea, thirst, and fatigue. Drink driving and getting in an accident are all effects of alcoholism.

Alcoholism effects can be short term or long term. After a while, many problem drinkers find that they cannot do their work as well as they could before, or that they are absent more frequently to recover from their drinking. As a result, they may lose their jobs and drink even more to compensate. The long term effects of alcoholism includes Impaired mental functioning, Liver disorders, Gastrointestinal problems, Heart disease and stroke, Lung disorders, Cancer, Skin, muscle, and bone disorders, Pregnancy and infant development complications and increased risk for other addictions. In addition, pregnant women who consume alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome. Infants with fetal alcohol syndrome may be afflicted with physical and mental abnormalities.

Alcoholism is a disease which brings with it many harmful effects. They all lead to death. The trip down the road of alcoholism can be stopped, and it must be done soon. Alcoholism effects aren't always physical. Many alcoholics end up in prison because of crimes committed under the influence. Driving under the influence is a common crime committed by alcoholics. This crime can lead to many legal problems. Alcoholism also affect those who care about the alcoholic. Broken relationships are common among alcoholics. Look for a treatment professional if you are suffering from alcoholism. Advice and help for the problem drinker are equally important. You can stop all the harmful effects of alcoholism through addiction recovery at ChillPharm.com. Those drinkers who sincerely want to end their addiction or dependence can also do so with qualified drug rehab. Find various drug treatment such as Drug Detox Programs and many more at ChillPharm.