Multiple effects of alcohol

newsonjapan.com -- Oct 04

It can be said that for alcohol, some may have a high tolerance and others may need to control how much they consume.

This amount you can drink to have it remain on a decent level depends greatly from person to person.

The dangerous side effects of addiction can be induced by various factors including the number of drinks ingested, the medical history of the person, the alcohol tolerance of the person, as well as other drugs that are mixed with alcohol.

Understanding BAC

Firstly, we will be delving into Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). BAC can be defined by the amount of alcohol in your blood, which determines how your central nervous system will be affected, as well as to what degree.

You can experience a range of side effects ranging from minor to more life-threatening complications, depending on your BAC. In instances where there is a low BAC percentage, you might experience short-term side effects that will go away naturally within a few hours. Something to note is that the higher your BAC is, the more severe your symptoms can be, and the more your life can be put in danger.

For people with a BAC of 0.033 to 0.12 percent, they might experience a lift in their moods, higher self-esteem, and an apparent decrease in anxiety. In their physical appearance, they might appear more flushed and be distracted by their surroundings easily. These people may also have reduced hand-eye coordination skills and lousy judgment regarding their surroundings.

For people with a BAC of 0.09 to 0.25 percent, these individuals are prone to being fatigued, may encounter lapses in their memory, and have a hard time comprehending sentences or information. They are also highly likely to trip and fall with their slow motor skills and increased vertigo. Lastly, their vision will be blurry and sensations duller.

For those with a BAC of 0.25-0.40 percent, they are most likely staggering between consciousness and unconsciousness, and may even have no recollection of memories. They are also at higher risk of not being able to walk properly and have high chances of vomiting. They might also need help with breathing properly, as their heart rate would be slowed down.

Those with a BAC of 0.35 to 0.80 present would have the highest risk of being comatose, with their pupils being unresponsive to light movement. In some cases, there might be a fatal extent of respiratory issues, along with an extremely delayed heart rate. Death might even occur to some in this stage.

Alcohol Abuse and its Effects on the Body

Contrary to what people think, alcohol abuse will affect your body internally, as well as externally. Even if the damage to your internal organs are unseen, any warning signs of alcohol abuse should not be ignored or neglected. The older you are, the harder it is to reverse the harmful effects that have already impacted your body significantly. The best way to avoid having such health deterioration is to firstly, abstain from alcohol or secondly, quit drinking with the help of professionals and a proper treatment regime.

Brain

How the brain functions can be greatly controlled and determined depending on the amount of alcohol consumed. Damage can occur to various parts of the brain, especially in regions such as the cerebellum, and cerebral cortex, which can result in the body’s communication routes being compromised to a great extent. When alcohol affects the cerebellum, the individual will lose their sense of balance, motor functions, and may even have hindered reactions emotionally.

Heart

When there is constant consumption of alcohol, it will make the heart weaker and obstruct the way oxygen and essential nutrients are delivered to other parts of the body. Drinking excessively can also increase the level of triglyceride in your body. High amounts of such fats found in your blood will bring forth a risk of health conditions such as diabetes. The longer you consume alcohol heavily, the higher your blood pressure will be, which can lead to a battery of medical problems down the road. Permanent repercussions of excessive drinking include getting a stroke, and even sudden cardiac arrest followed by death.

Liver

Next, the liver is a common part of your body that absorbs the effects of heavy drinking most significantly. When an unusually high amount of alcohol is found in your blood, your liver can get overwhelmed by the short amount of time given to metabolize said alcohol content. Hence, fatty liver is a common chronic disease that occurs when there is an accumulated amount of such fats found in the liver. As a result, obesity and type two diabetes comes as no surprise for heavy drinkers.

Pancreas

Abusing alcohol consistently will cause swelling in the blood vessels that are found around the pancreas, which can lead to pancreatitis. This condition will increase the risks of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is extremely dangerous for the fact that it spreads very quickly. You may want to look out for symptoms of a pancreatic attack, such as pain in the abdomen, diarrhea, nausea, and a high heart rate. Although medicine and other treatment programs may help to manage the devastating effects, it is a condition that is difficult to reverse and defeat.

Short and Long-term side effects

There are, of course, multiple types of side effects that come with the territory of excessive and chronic drinking. This largely depends on the amount of alcohol that has been consumed, and the severity rises according to a higher amount that has been ingested.

Examples of short-term side effects are slurring of words, impaired vision, reduced hand-eye coordination skills, extreme mood swings, lapses in memory and judgment, as well as a delayed breathing rate.

The effects of alcohol abuse can be said to affect more than just the individual in question. The people around them that care for the person, especially friends, family, loved ones, will be indirectly impacted emotionally and mentally. Some dangerous effects of drinking can cause harm to others, such as driving under alcohol influence (DUI), and even self-harm that was not done on purpose.

Examples of long-term side effects are symptoms that will manifest over the course of months to years, such as cardiovascular-related diseases, respiratory complications, cancer, nerve damage, and even ulcers.

Long-term side effects can also negatively influence different aspects of life such as relationships, family, and even financial troubles.

Conclusion

To conclude, alcohol abuse can be the ruination of all your future dreams and goals. However, you should not give up and instead, seek help from programs that specifically target alcohol abuse cases. With help and determination, alcohol abuse and/or the path of destruction you have embarked on can be reversed.