AlcoholIt is a depressant, that is, a substance that slows down all the body's processes. Small doses of alcohol give a feeling of relaxation and self-confidence. In large doses, it slows down the reaction and negatively affects, for example, eyesight and coordination. Driving while sober is extremely dangerous. A person in a state of severe intoxication experiences nausea, dizziness and may lose consciousness, in addition to everything else there is the danger of choking on his own vomit.
The level of alcohol concentration in the blood depends on several factors.
- If you eat fatty foods, poisoning will not be as quick.
- The high content of animal and vegetable fats slows down the absorption of alcohol and the digestion of the food itself.
- The fuller the stomach, the longer it will take for the alcohol to reach the circulatory system.
- The thicker the body fat, the slower the alcohol is digested and absorbed into the blood.
- Body weight: The heavier you are, the lesser the effects of alcohol will be on you.
- Your reaction to drinking 80 mg of alcohol may be completely different than someone else's. Typically, young people and women are more susceptible to alcohol.
The ability to consume alcohol and the effect it has on different people varies; However, it is believed that a safe dose (from a health point of view) is around 5 liters of medium strength BEER or 10 large glasses of wine per week. for men and 2/3 of this dose for women, provided, of course, that this amount is lost evenly over the course of a week and not in 1 or 2 times. If you can, try not to drink on an empty stomach.
Alcoholism: what is it?
Alcoholism– regular and compulsive consumption of large amounts of alcohol over a long period of time. It is the most serious form of drug addiction in modern times and affects between 1 and 5% of the population in most countries. An alcoholic drinks compulsively in response to a psychological or physical dependence on alcohol.
Anyone can become an alcoholic. However, studies have shown that for children of alcoholics, the risk of becoming dependent on alcohol is 4 to 6 times greater than for children of nonalcoholics.
The study of alcohol consumption among young people in our country is largely based on the experience of similar studies abroad, which in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were widely carried out in Western Europe and North America and were carried out in various directions:
- The prevalence and patterns of alcohol consumption among students were studied.
- The effect of alcohol on the body of children and adolescents was studied.
- The relationship between academic performance and alcohol consumption was determined.
- Anti-alcohol educational programs were developed and tested.
An important place among the studies of this period was occupied by works illustrating the prevalence and nature of drinking habits, when children were given alcoholic beverages to:
- "Health promotion"
- "appetite"
- "improved growth"
- "to relieve teething"
- "warming up"
- "satisfy hunger"
- "calm"
Six stages of alcoholism
Casual drunkenness can lead to alcoholism: because the drinker begins to turn to alcohol to relieve stress, or because it is so strong that the initial stages of addiction go unnoticed.
Early alcoholism is characterized by the appearance of memory lapses. Most researchers consider alcoholization of the younger generation to be an important indicator of dysfunction of the microsocial environment. This determines the constant interest in studying the problem of the prevalence and nature of early alcoholism.
Boys drink the main types of alcoholic beverages more often than girls, and as their potency increases, this difference becomes significant. Among urban schoolchildren, it is common to consume predominantly weak alcoholic beverages: beer, wine, while students in rural schools are more familiar with the flavors of strong alcoholic beverages. In the 1920s and 1920s, fairly widespread use of moonshine could be found among schoolchildren: between 1. 0% and 32. 0% among boys and between 0. 9% and 12% among girls. girls. The frequency of vodka consumption increased with age.
Almost all sociohygienic and clinical-social studies on youth alcoholism used the survey method with various modifications, from correspondence questionnaires to telephone interviews and clinical interviews.
basic alcoholism– the drinker cannot stop until he reaches a state of intoxication. He encourages himself with self-justifications and pompous promises, but all his promises and intentions remain unfulfilled. He begins to avoid family and friends and neglect food, past interests, work, and money. Physical deterioration of health occurs. Alcohol resistance decreases.
Chronic alcoholism is characterized by increased moral impairment, irrational thoughts, vague fears, fantasies, and psychopathic behavior. Physical damage is increasing. The drinker no longer has an alibi and can no longer take steps to get out of the current situation. A person can reach this stage in 5-25 years.
Treatment is usually carried out through special programs for alcoholics. Psychologically, the alcoholic's desire to receive help is rekindled and he begins to think more rationally. Ideally, it also develops hope, moral responsibility, outside interests, self-esteem, and satisfaction with alcohol abstinence.
The final stage of alcoholism occurs if the alcoholic refuses treatment or collapses again after treatment. Irreversible physical and mental damage usually ends in death.
If you write all this down briefly, this is what you get:
- domestic drunkenness
- Early alcoholism
- basic alcoholism
- chronic alcoholism
- Cure
- The final stage of alcoholism.
What determines the degree of intoxication of a person?
The effect of alcohol on behavior depends on the amount of alcohol that reaches the brain through the blood. This "blood alcohol level" is determined by several other factors besides how much you drink.
The size of the liver determines the rate of oxidation and elimination of alcohol.
The person's own weight determines the amount of blood in the body, since the volume of blood is proportional to it. The older the person, the more the blood is thinned by the alcohol consumed and the more it takes to have the same effect.
The speed and manner of alcohol consumption are also important. The slower a person drinks a given amount of alcohol, the weaker its effects.
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach has a stronger and faster effect than drinking it during or after a meal. Food acts as a buffer during absorption.
The poisoning process.
When drinking alcohol, the transmission of impulses in the nervous system slows down. The highest levels of the brain are the first to be affected: inhibitions, excitement and anxiety disappear, giving way to a feeling of satisfaction and euphoria. As lower levels of the brain are affected, coordination, vision and speech deteriorate. The small blood vessels in the skin dilate. Heat is radiated and the person becomes warm. This means that blood has been diverted from the body's internal organs, where blood vessels have already narrowed due to the effects of alcohol on the nervous system. Therefore, the temperature of the internal organs drops at the same time. A possible increase in sexual desire is associated with the removal of ordinary prohibitions. As blood alcohol levels increase, physical sexual performance deteriorates more and more. Over time, the toxic effects of alcohol cause nausea and possibly vomiting.
Hangover
The hangover is bad. . . And now in more detail:
HangoverIt is physical discomfort after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. Symptoms may include headache, upset stomach, thirst, dizziness, and irritability. A hangover occurs as a result of three processes. First of all, the gastric mucosa is irritated by excess alcohol and the functioning of the stomach is disturbed. Secondly, cellular dehydration occurs if the amount of alcohol consumed exceeds the capacity of the liver, causing the alcohol to remain in the blood for a long time. Thirdly, the level of alcohol has a "shock" effect on the nervous system, from which it needs time to recover.
The best way to avoid a hangover is to not drink too much (or better yet, not to drink at all). But the likelihood of getting a hangover is reduced if you mix alcohol with a snack (Havka): the intake and absorption of alcohol is prolonged over a longer period of time and the food acts as a barrier. Non-alcoholic drinks taken at the same time or afterward will dilute the alcohol. The harmful effects are also usually reduced if alcohol is consumed in a relaxed environment and smoking is kept to a minimum.
The effect of alcohol on the body
Blood.Alcohol inhibits the production of platelets, as well as white and red blood cells. Result: anemia, infections, bleeding.
Brain. Alcohol slows down blood circulation in the vessels of the brain, causing a constant lack of oxygen in its cells, which leads to a weakening of memory and slow mental degradation (or simply dullness). Early sclerotic changes develop in the vessels and the risk of cerebral hemorrhage increases. Alcohol destroys the connections between the nerve cells of the brain, developing the need for alcohol and alcohol dependence in them. Destruction of brain cells and degeneration of the nervous system sometimes lead to pneumonia, heart and kidney failure, or organic psychosis. Delirium tremens is a condition accompanied by extreme agitation, mental insanity, restlessness, fever, tremors, rapid and irregular pulse and hallucinations, which often occurs when drinking large amounts of alcohol after several days of abstinence.
Heart.Alcohol abuse causes increased blood cholesterol levels, persistent hypertension and myocardial dystrophy. Cardiovascular failure puts the patient on the brink of the grave. Alcoholic myopathy: muscle degeneration resulting from alcoholism. The reasons for this are lack of use of muscles, poor diet, and alcohol damage to the nervous system. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy affects the heart muscle.
Bowels.The constant effect of alcohol on the wall of the small intestine causes a change in the structure of the cells, which lose their ability to fully absorb nutrients and mineral components, which causes exhaustion of the alcoholic's body.
Diseases associated with poor nutrition and vitamin deficiency., such as scurvy, pellagra and beriberi, caused by neglecting food for drink. Persistent inflammation of the stomach and later the intestines with an increased risk of ulcers.
Liver.Taking into account that 95% of all alcohol that enters the body is neutralized in the liver, it is clear that this organ is the one that suffers the most from alcohol: an inflammatory process (hepatitis) and then scarring (cirrhosis) occurs. . The liver stops performing its function of disinfecting toxic metabolic products, producing blood proteins and other important functions, which leads to the inevitable death of the patient. Cirrhosis is an insidious disease: it slowly approaches a person, then attacks and immediately leads to death. Ten percent of chronic alcoholics have liver cirrhosis and 75 percent of people with cirrhosis are or have been alcoholics. Until cirrhosis develops sufficiently, there are almost no symptoms, then the alcoholic begins to complain of a general deterioration in health, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and digestive problems. The cause of the disease is the toxic effects of alcohol.
Pancreas.Alcoholics are ten times more likely to develop diabetes than non-drinkers: alcohol destroys the pancreas, the organ that produces insulin, and profoundly alters metabolism.
Leather.A person who drinks almost always looks older than his age: his skin soon loses its elasticity and ages prematurely.
Stomach. Alcohol suppresses the production of mucin, which plays a protective role in relation to the gastric mucosa, which leads to the appearance of peptic ulcers.
A characteristic manifestation of alcohol poisoning is repeated vomiting. Even a single consumption of small doses of alcoholic beverages is accompanied in adolescents by pronounced manifestations of intoxication, especially in the nervous system. More severe poisonings are observed in people with a complicated medical history, against the background of organic brain failure or concomitant somatic pathology.
It is much less clear to describe the nature of alcohol's influence on the psyche of a teenager. In general, the clinical picture of severe intoxication of a teenager in most cases looks like this: short-term excitement gives way to general depression, stupor, increasing drowsiness, lethargy, slow and incoherent speech and loss of orientation.
When drinking alcohol for the first time, 53% of adolescents felt disgust. However, over time, as the "experience" of drinking alcohol increases, the objective picture changes dramatically. More than 90% of surveyed adolescents with two or more years of "experience" in drinking believed that intoxication is accompanied by a feeling of increased energy, a feeling of satisfaction, comfort and an increase in mood, i. e. , those attributes. In his statements signs begin to appear of a state of mind that ordinary consciousness often attributes to action.
Diseases or simply PSYCHOSIS
Delirium tremens usually occurs against the background of a hangover, with a sudden cessation of drinking or during a period of withdrawal, in cases of the addition of somatic diseases, injuries (especially fractures). The initial symptoms of psychosis are worsening night sleep, the appearance of vegetative symptoms and tremors, as well as the general liveliness of the patient, which is noticeable in his movements, speech, facial expressions and especially in mood. For a short period of time, one may notice a variety of mood nuances, while during the hangover period the mood is monotonous, characterized by depression and anxiety. Unusual mood swings and general liveliness intensify in the afternoon and evening, while during the day these disorders decrease sharply and may even disappear completely, allowing the patient to perform his professional duties. As the symptoms of psychosis increase, complete insomnia appears, against the background of which visual illusions first arise, and then various hallucinations and delusions.
Delirium tremens is characterized by a predominance of true visual hallucinations. They are characterized by a multiplicity of images and mobility. In most cases these are insects (bedbugs, cockroaches, beetles, flies) and small animals (cats, rats, mice). Less frequently, patients see large animals and people, who in some cases have a fantastic appearance. Visions of snakes, demons and deceased relatives, the so-called wandering dead, are very typical. In some cases, visual illusions and hallucinations are single, in others they are multiple and scenic, that is, the patient sees complex images. Often there are auditory, tactile and olfactory hallucinations, sensations of disturbance in the position of the body in space. The mood of patients is extremely changeable. In him, after a short time, one notices fear, complacency, confusion, surprise and despair. Patients usually move continuously, their facial expressions are expressive. The motor reactions correspond to the hallucinations and predominant affects at the moment: with fear and terrifying visions, the patient hides, defends himself, becomes excited; during periods of complacency - passive.
Patients are characterized by extreme distraction from external events; Everything around them attracts their attention. Delirium in alcoholic delirium is fragmentary and reflects hallucinatory disorders. In terms of content, this is usually a delirium of persecution. Patients are often poorly oriented in the place (while in the hospital they say they are at home, in a restaurant, at work), but they are oriented in their own personality. Alcoholic delirium is characterized by the periodic temporary disappearance of a significant part of mental disorders, the so-called lucid - light intervals, as well as a naturally pronounced increase in the symptoms of psychosis in the afternoon and evening.
Delirium tremens is constantly accompanied by a variety of somatic disorders: tremors, sudden sweating, hyperemia of the skin, especially the face. The temperature is usually low. The pulse increases. Proteins often appear in the urine; in the blood: increased bilirubin content, shift in the leukocyte formula to the left, acceleration of ROE. The course of the disease is usually short-lived. Even without treatment, symptoms of psychosis disappear within 3 to 5 days. Less commonly, the disease lasts 1 to 1. 5 weeks. Recovery is most often observed in the form of crises, after deep sleep. Sometimes recovery is gradual, worsening in the evening and at night and improving during the day. Signs indicating an unfavorable prognosis for delirium tremens are the development of symptoms of occupational delirium and delirium, high fever, and collapse states.
Alcoholic hallucinations develop during a hangover or at the height of excessive alcohol consumption. The main disorder is abundant auditory hallucinations combined with delusions of persecution. Verbal auditory hallucinations predominate and the patient often hears words "spoken" by a large number of people: a "chorus of voices, " as patients often define it. Most often, the "voices" talk to each other about the patient, less often they address the patient himself. The content of verbal hallucinations are threats, accusations of discussions about the patient's past actions, cynical abuse, and insults. Often hallucinations are mocking and provocative in nature. Voices rise to a scream or weaken to a whisper. Delusions in content are closely related to auditory hallucinations, so-called. hallucinatory delirium. They are fragmentary and not systematic. The predominant affect is intense anxiety and fear. At the beginning of psychosis, patients are motor excited, but soon a certain delay appears or very orderly behavior is observed that masks the psychosis. The latter creates a false and dangerous idea of improvement. As a rule, the symptoms of psychosis intensify in the afternoon and evening. Somatic disorders, common in hangover syndrome, are constant. The duration of alcoholic hallucinosis is from 2-3 days to several weeks, in rare cases the disease lasts up to several months.
Alcohol depression always appears against the background of a hangover syndrome. It is characterized by a depressed and anxious mood, ideas of self-hatred, crying, as well as individual ideas of relationship and persecution. Duration: from several days to 1 or 2 weeks. It is in a state of alcoholic depression that alcoholics most often commit suicide.
Alcoholic epilepsy is symptomatic and is associated with toxicosis. Seizures occur most often at the height of intoxication, during a hangover, or during alcoholic delirium. As a rule, epileptiform seizures are observed. Minor seizures, twilight stupefactions, and auras do not occur in alcoholic epilepsy. With the cessation of alcohol abuse, the seizures disappear.
Alcoholic paranoia is an alcoholic psychosis, the main symptom of which is delirium. It occurs in a state of hangover syndrome and at the height of excessive alcohol consumption. The content of delusional ideas is limited to persecution or jealousy (ideas of adultery). In the first case, patients believe that there is a group of people who want to rob or kill them. They see confirmation of their thoughts in the gestures, actions and words of others. It is characterized by confusion, intense anxiety, which often gives way to fear. Patients' actions are impulsive: they jump out of vehicles while they are moving, suddenly flee, ask for help from government authorities, and sometimes attack imaginary enemies. In some cases, delirium is accompanied by mild verbal illusions and hallucinations, and individual delusional symptoms that appear in the afternoon and evening. The course of this form of paranoia is usually short-lived, from several days to several weeks. Sometimes psychosis lasts for months.
alcoholic encephalopathies– alcoholic psychosis, which develops in connection with metabolic disorders and, first of all, vitamins B and PP. Alcoholic encephalopathy arises as a result of many years of alcoholism, accompanied by chronic gastritis or enteritis and, as a consequence of the latter, impaired absorption in the intestine. Alcoholic encephalopathies develop mainly in those people who drink a lot but eat very little. Most often, alcoholic encephalopathies occur in the spring and early summer months. Autonomic symptoms usually include heart rhythm disturbances, fever of central origin, breathing problems, and sphincter weakness. You can constantly observe an increase in muscle tone. The general physical condition of the patients is characterized by progressive weight loss until reaching severe cachexia. The skin is pale or dark brown.
Chronic forms of alcoholic encephalopathy include Korsakoff psychosis and alcoholic pseudoparalysis. In some cases, they develop gradually, over several months, and then the nature of the onset corresponds to Gaye-Vorik encephalopathy, in others - acutely, after alcoholic psychosis, usually after delirium tremens.
Treatment of alcoholic psychoses. Patients with alcoholic psychosis must be urgently admitted to a special hospital. Some patients with hangover syndrome are also subject to hospitalization in cases where mental disorders, especially mood swings, are intense. Treatment of alcoholic psychosis in the hospital should be comprehensive: the use of multivitamins (B1, C, PP), cardiac and hypnotics with hypoglycemic and comatose doses of insulin or psychotronic drugs. The only effective treatment for alcoholic encephalonitis, especially acute, is therapy with large doses of vitamins: B1 - up to 600 mg, C - up to 1000 mg, PP - up to 300-400 mg per day for 2-4 weeks.
Alcohol poisoning.
People who abuse alcohol sometimes fall into a stupor that leads to a coma. In extremely severe cases, breathing may stop.
However, do not assume that a person who appears intoxicated has necessarily consumed alcohol. Similar symptoms are seen in other conditions (head injuries, strokes and diabetes, as well as overdoses of certain medications).
First aid.
If the victim is unconscious but still breathing, remove anything that hinders breathing (pieces of snack, breakfast) from the mouth and pharynx with your finger; do not try to induce vomiting. Place the victim in the resuscitation position, free the neck and waist from tight clothing, and ensure that the airway remains patent.
If the victim does not regain consciousness, call an ambulance.
Conclusion
Alcoholism is a serious illness that in some cases develops over many years. That's why it's best not to drink too much and often! And if you drink, then drink BEER! ! ! : )