Over the past two decades the incident of alcoholism has doubled and this is alarming. There are some of the western statistics which can be very well considered as universal. Some three million people suffer from catastrophic medical and social effects of alcohol abuse. One in six accidents and emergency cases treated in hospital is alcohol related. That is over two million people a year or one every fifteen seconds. Industry loses between eight million and fourteen million days a year because of absenteeism following heavy drinking.
Even light drinking may adversely interact with other medications, temporarily heavy drinking can exacerbate most medical illness for example alcoholism can masquerade as many different medical disorders and psychiatric conditions.
Alcohol (Ethanol): Ethanol is weakly charges molecule that moves easily through cell membranes, rapidly equilibrating between blood and tissues. The effect of the drinking depends in part or the amount of ethanol consumed for unit of body weight. Congeners found in alcohol beverages may contribute to body damage with heavy drinking. Congener is the minor chemical constituent that gives a wine or liquor its distinctive character , an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus) These include low molecular weight alcohols like that of methanol and butanol aldehydes, esters, histamine, phenols, tannins, iron, lead and cobalt .
Effects of Alcohol:
1. Alcoholic black out that is an episode of forgetting all or part of what occurred during drinking..
2. Decrease in sleep latency as it helps to people to fall asleep. Alternation in sleep cycle with bad dreams.
3. Peripheral neuropathy that is limb numbness, tingling and parasthesias.
4. Wernicke�s and Korsakoff syndromes.
5. Cerebellar degeneration.
6. Impairment in recent and remote memory.
7. Permanent CNS impairment which is otherwise known as alcoholic dementia.
8. Psychosis, hallucinations and delusions.
9. Agitations, confusion and violence in many situations.
On Gastrointestinal system:
1. Oesophagitis, vomiting of blood due to tear in the lining of oesophagus related to food type.
2. Interfaces with absorption of B-Vitamins
3. Hemorrhage from duodenum and diarrhoea
4. Chronic diarrhoea
5. Pancreatitis-acute and chronic
6. Liver metabolism is affected
7. Fatty accumulations of liver as alcohol induced hepatitis.
8. Increased cancer risk-oesophagus , stomach, liver pancreas ,breast.
On blood:
1. Anemia
2. Decreases production of white blood cells that risks of repeated infections.
3. Thrombocyctopenia, Hypersplenism
On heart:
1. Drop in blood pressure
2. Large bouts can increase blood pressure
3. Weakening of the heart � Cardiomyopathy
4. Rhythm disturbances
5. Heart failure
On sexual functioning:
1. Impotence
2. Irreversible atrophy of testes
3. Loss of sperm cells
On Fetus:
1. Spontaneous abortions
2. Fetal abnormalities like that of small teeth, deformed ears , heart defects , small heads and mental retardation.
Other effects:
1. Muscle wasting and weakness which is known as myopathy.
2. Increased risk of fractures.
Conclusion:
Cigarette smoking is the most powerful risk factor for arterial narrowing. This in turn can lead to high blood pressure, Nicotine and other poisonous substances contained in tobacco increase the heart rate and raise the blood pressure. If a person with high blood pressure smokes, there is the greater risk to develop malignant hypertension- a more serious form and can die from hypertension.
There is increased incidence of high blood pressure in alcoholics or paralysis, hemorrhage as a result of high blood pressure. Consumption of more than two ounces of alcohol in a day tends to raise blood pressure. Additionally, high calories provided by alcohol will increase the body weight and lead to obesity, does making one more prone to get high blood pressure. Avoid alcohol to reduce a person�s weight and thereby blood pressure.
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