When Abusive and Hazardous Drinking Results in Serious Health Problems

Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 10:51 pm

For a number of years alcohol addiction research has revealed the fact that there is strong correlation between alcoholism and critical health conditions.

As an illustration, in 2005, scientific examination and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. Interestingly, this enormous alcohol-related expense was substantially more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is pertinent to give emphasis to these facts, it is also important to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.

More exactly, chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism are also highly correlated with obesity and with cancer.

Definitely, substance abuse examination has shown that alcoholism can boost the risk for various kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the liver, voice box (larynx), kidneys, colon, esophagus, rectum, and the throat. Hazardous and repetitive drinking can also lead to immune system issues and abnormality to the fetus during pregnancy.

Heavy and Hazardous Drinking Deteriorates the Person’s Systems and Organs

Furthermore, if alcohol dependency continues over a period of years, the person’s body organs will probably be affected in a harmful manner. For example, long-term, hazardous drinking is particularly dangerous to the liver since the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been ingested. Unwarranted amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and eradicates the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This medical circumstance leads to a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in the long run lead to cirrhosis of the liver, an acute and potentially lethal disease.Excessive, long-term drinking not only can lead to acute liver damage, but it can also lead to damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this critical may be unalterable and may, in turn, lead to serious disease or an early death.

The Relevance of Alcohol Rehabilitation

It is imperative, then, to know how to identify the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcoholic can be given the opportunity to get the quality alcohol rehab he or she requires.

Alcoholism and Technologically Advanced Brain Exploration

Fortuitously, medical examination is constantly finding unique and significant information. Recent alcoholism research provides a first-rate example. Stated differently, for approximately the past ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning instruments have demonstrated that repetitive and long lasting hazardous drinking transforms the constitution of the brain to a great extent, as a consequence resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or possibly as long as the individual exists.

More precisely, medical exploration has revealed that people who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for a considerable length of time increase their risk for developing long-term and severe changes in the brain.

This type of damage may be directly related to severe liver disease, to the alcohol’s effects on the brain, or might be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health.

Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Abusive Drinking

As a final example of diverse health problems that are significantly related to alcohol addiction, take into account the fact that according to scientific examination, the excessive and repeated abuse of alcohol can result in erosive gastritis, a medical condition that decreases the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

This form of organ failure is related to malnutrition and to a variety of severe mental and neurological problems including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is an enduring incapacitating health problem that is characterized by repetitive memory and learning complications.

Conclusion

It is obvious that repetitive, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly correlated with numerous critical medical conditions that can and do result in dangerous ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be underlined and presented to everyone in our society so that a massive amount of people will be able to abstain from abusive drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the quality treatment they need.

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