Today, alcohol habit is a social problem that affects more and more young and very young people. Alcohol hides in tasty and good-looking drinks, often linked to images of prestige and success (just look at one of the many spots on television), you drink to be together happily, with friends or colleagues, for celebrate a happy moment or to forget a sad one, all at your fingertips and at the price of a few dollars.
A magic potion difficult to control
Three quarters of people drink alcohol, not all of whom are alcoholics. Alcohol, however, appears as a magic potion capable, with a few sips, of sedating and exciting. Behind this magic, there is a toxic substance capable of inducing addiction, a molecule useless from a nutritional point of view (pure calories, without the intake of proteins, fats or carbohydrates) which, however, the body absorbs very easily and which reaches and quickly damages all organs. The victims of this invasion are the liver and pancreas, but also the central nervous system, the mouth and digestive tract, the reproductive system. Under the effect of alcohol, you become a danger for yourself and for others, driving, at work, in the family. There is talk of low-risk quantities, established by convention in a glass of wine a day for a woman and two for a man, while for the elderly, children and young people, future mothers, people who regularly take drugs, non-alcoholic drinking should be the rule.
Support from the doctor and family
Alcoholism is a monster with many heads, fed by physiological, psychological and social factors, intertwined differently in each individual. To get out of it, you have to face all these heads, one by one, including some serious treatments like alcohol detox. First of all, it must be recognized that there is a problem, and that that problem lies in the bottom of the glass, it must be clear what lies behind the need to drink and what is behind that of quitting. It is a first step, not infrequently taken by a family member or friend who is ill, followed by those directed to a doctor, a public service or a territorial association, such as those in which many former alcoholics are treated.
In this long journey towards rehabilitation, the doctor is an ally, because he can cure damage caused by abuse and provide pharmacological support, useful in the first months of treatment, such as the crutch that is given to those who leave the emergency room with a leg in plaster.
Medicines to resist abstinence
Medications are used, under strict medical supervision, to modulate mood, such as benzodiazepines, or to make it easier to resist abstinence, with substances that act on the brain structures involved in the mechanisms of pleasure and addiction. There are also substances that transform what was previously a pleasure into a frightening experience, such as disulfiram, which blocks the Adlh enzyme, necessary to metabolize acetaldehyde, a derivative of the absorption of ethanol, and which causes discomfort, redness, vomiting, dizziness, up to loss of consciousness at the first glass. This is what happens, without drugs, but for hereditary genetic traits, in some Asian populations, in Japan, Korea, Vietnam and part of China, who have a congenital deficiency of these enzymes and, needless to say, an alcoholism rate of up to six times lower than American or European standards.
From liver to sex
Rapidly transported by the circulatory system, alcohol damages the liver, which filters almost all the ethanol introduced into the body and is exposed to steatosis (accumulations of fat) and hepatitis, up to cirrhosis and liver cancer. The pancreas is also at risk of serious chronic inflammation. The central nervous system is an immediate target (as many victims of road accidents know well) and slowed reflexes, reduced speed of reaction to stimuli, drowsiness, poor balance and changes in vision are some of the most evident signs of the hangover. In the long term, inheritance becomes heavier and brain cells can be irreparably burned, up to memory disorders, confusional state, dementia, brain atrophy. Cardiovascular and reproductive, male and female, are also affected.
It can be concluded that alcoholism can be very dangerous. If you or your loved ones experience alcoholism, visiting www.rehabclinic.org.uk will be very helpful.