Alcohol is the most common product on almost all grocery store shelves. Certain doses of alcohol lead to severe lesions and disorders in the human body. Awareness of the dangers of alcohol can help in complete rejection or limiting alcohol consumption to acceptable levels.
What harm does alcohol do to humans?
Abusers don’t think about the consequences of drunkenness, these are:
- mental decline;
- deterioration of physical and mental health;
- problems in society;
- bad inheritance;
- financial problems;
- immoral behavior.
According to statistics, men are more likely to drink. There can be a number of reasons for this, such as bad company or the misconception that alcohol can relieve stress. But it also covers women and, worst of all, teenagers.
Harmful substances in alcohol
By knowing what harmful substances are contained in the most common types of alcohol, you can understand how it affects our quality of life.
Popular intoxicating liquids contain substances that are hazardous to health and life:
- Ethanol. Regular and excessive use leads to addiction. It does not harm the body in small amounts, but overdose can lead to sudden loss of consciousness or even death.
- Phytoestrogen. The female hormone (contained in beer) leads to disruption of the male and female reproductive systems.
- Fusel oils. They are toxic in large quantities. Once in the body, they increase the risk of stomach ulcers, causing blindness, impotence and liver disease.
- Cobalt. It is a useful trace element in small amounts, but if it accumulates in the body, it becomes dangerous for the normal functioning of the heart and gastrointestinal tract.
- N-nitrosodimethylamine. Highly toxic substance, especially harmful to the liver.
- Biogenic amines. Toxic chemical compound. It can be useful in small amounts, but in case of abuse it leads to cramps, vomiting and diarrhea.
- Sodium benzoate (E-211). Once in the stomach, it causes sharp oxidation of epithelial cells. This leads to gastritis, gastric ulcer, inflammation of the pancreas. Contributes to the exacerbation of chronic allergic diseases: asthma, urticaria, psoriasis.
- Phosphoric acid (E-338). It has a devastating effect on bone tissue and tooth enamel. It provokes gastrointestinal disorders and leads to weight loss. High concentrations of the substance cause burns in the respiratory tract.
Harmful to adolescents
Alcohol has a detrimental effect on the process of growing up and developing a teenager:
- Intellectual and emotional decline.
- Vitamins and beneficial trace elements that get into the body are poorly absorbed, which negatively affects the condition of the teeth, nails, hair and skin.
- The risk of problems with the heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, the appearance of diseases that usually grow in more mature people (such as inflammation of the pancreas, diabetes mellitus).
- The growth of bone and muscle tissue stops.
- The liver, kidneys and reproductive system suffer.
Female alcoholism
The difference between the development of male and female dependence:
- In women, addiction develops faster and the treatment of this disease is ineffective. This is due to the specifics of the female body: it contains fewer enzymes that help break down alcoholic products. Therefore, toxins are not excreted from the body for a long time and quickly lead to harmful effects on the organs.
- Women prefer low-alcohol drinks (wine, champagne, cocktails). This makes it more difficult to control the level of intoxication, and the transition to strong drinks usually takes place in the final stages of alcoholism.
- Women who are embarrassed by addiction are more likely to drink alone and seek help if it is difficult enough to hide the changes. The rehabilitation process is more difficult and longer than in men.
Due to the effect of alcohol on the ovum, conceiving, carrying and giving birth to a child can be a difficult or even impossible task.
Conception at the time of poisoning affects the genetic information from the egg. After the birth of such a fetus, there is a fundamental risk that an heir will be born with cerebral palsy syndrome (infantile cerebral palsy) or other external and internal organ abnormalities. And there is also the possibility that the placenta will peel off during pregnancy and the fetus will die.
Social harm
Wife / husband, children, relatives, friends, colleagues, neighbors and bystanders may become victims of inappropriate behavior by a drunk person:
- Work. Employers do not want to hire or fire a drinker immediately because they miss a shift or do a poor job for no good reason.
- management. Half of the accidents are caused by drunk drivers.
- Violation of the law. Most crimes are committed by drunk or rather drunk people, as they are more prone to aggression and even murder.
- immoral behavior. Cases of first sexual experience, unplanned pregnancy, and rape are most common when one or both partners are drunk.
- Unhealthy home atmosphere. Children grow up in an unfavorable environment and may inherit the negative example of their parents.
- Divorce. Every innocent member of the family suffers. Mothers or fathers raise their children alone who are affected by upbringing in a deficient family.
How does alcohol affect health?
The table shows the popular alcoholic beverages, their composition, and which organs are affected.
| Drink | Wording | Organs and possible consequences of damage |
|---|---|---|
| Row | Carbohydrates, ethyl alcohol, nitrogenous substances |
|
| Vodka | Purified water, ethyl alcohol. The composition may contain chemical additives and spices |
|
| Cognac | Alcohols, organic acids, ethyl esters, tannins and tannins |
|
| Low alcohol cocktails | Ethanol, synthetic additives and chemical additives |
|
Liver and digestive system
Death of the liver is associated with a violation of protein metabolism, and the first stage is usually not accompanied by changes in subjective feelings and laboratory parameters.
There are five stages of liver death:
- adaptive hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver);
- alcoholic fatty steatosis;
- alcoholic hepatitis;
- alcoholic fibrosis of the liver;
- cirrhosis.
Common signs of these diseases are:
- permanent weakness;
- yellowish skin and eyeballs;
- the temperature is above normal;
- pain in the right hypochondria.
Alcohol that gets into the gut actually causes chemical burns on its mucous membranes. Regular poisoning leads to bowel problems (loose stools or constipation, stool stones), which are usually resolved solely by surgery.
Several possible:
- angioedema;
- diarrhea;
- hives;
- gastritis;
- ulcerative dyspepsia;
- pancreatitis;
- necrosis of pancreatic tissues;
- bowel cancer.
Heart and blood vessels
After drinking alcohol, ethyl alcohol enters the bloodstream and stays in the blood vessels for about 7 hours, causing them to dilate, disrupting the normal rhythm of the heart. Frequent consumption of alcohol, even in modest amounts, inevitably leads to blockage of cerebral blood vessels, which break as blood pressure rises. At best, a person survives, but remains disabled, and at worst, fatal.
Minimal but constant doses of alcohol are dangerous and cause the following painful conditions:
- oxygen starvation;
- the vessels thicken, shrink, crack;
- atrial flutter;
- extrasystole;
- cardiomyopathy;
- arterial hypertension;
- hypertension;
- heart attack;
- arteriosclerosis.
Your heart rate rises from 95 to 100 beats per minute. Fat accumulates in the heart muscle, growing and becoming flabby.
The brain and nervous system
The entry of ethyl alcohol into the bloodstream has a devastating effect on the red blood cells, which are responsible for transporting air to the brain. Oxygen does not enter the brain cells and they die one by one.
This leads to poor performance:
- vestibular devices;
- "moral" center (shame disappears, swagger appears);
- memory;
- Attention.
In the nervous system, excitation and inhibition processes are disrupted, showing the following signs of antisocial and painful behavior:
- manifestation of aggression;
- inability to control oneself;
- illogicality in the presentation of thoughts;
- suicidal tendencies;
- violation of the dynamics of movements;
- occurrence of seizures;
- appearance of hallucinations.
Respiratory system
A rough, hoarse sound with a peculiar tone is aptly called "drunk" bass. Those who like to abuse are more likely to get TB.
The addiction damages the following areas of the respiratory system:
- garat;
- the whole nasopharynx;
- larynx.
Those who drink regularly experience chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract such as:
- laryngitis;
- tracheobronchitis;
- atrophic pharyngitis.
Shortness of breath also occurs during moderate exercise and rest. The drinker also has a characteristic unpleasant smoke odor, which is the reason for the breakdown of ethanol, which is excreted through the lungs.
sexual dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction and even impotence are a consequence of alcoholism. Regular consumption of strong drinks adversely affects the ability to reproduce. Erection problems can lead to long-term depression.
The myth is that a small dose of alcohol has a positive effect on men’s strength. The accumulated ethanol disrupts the normal functioning of the nerve endings, so intimacy does not bring the expected pleasure.
Alcoholism has a negative impact on women’s quality of sex life. This disease is one of the main causes of frigidity and its most severe manifestations. This leads to emotional problems for both partners and often family breakdown.
Immunity
The benefits of a limited amount of wine made from good quality (preferably red) natural juice are really clear: it removes toxins, strengthens the immune system. But large quantities, even the most expensive alcoholic beverages, are detrimental to health.
The situation is that at this moment the following defenders of the immune system are suppressed:
- lymphocytes;
- macrophages;
- granulocytes.
Consequences of immunodeficiency:
- wounds do not heal for a long time;
- the bones do not form properly;
- more likely to become infected with HIV;
- poorly repaired skin from burns and injuries.
Appearance change
The cause of the purple color of the skin is ethyl alcohol, which has the effect of speeding up the pulse and raising blood pressure. Over time, the pots will not withstand the constant stress and blue and red bruises will form.
The bloating is explained by the fact that the body tries its best to restore water balance after the toxins in vodka, beer and other intoxicating drinks get in. And the female body does it more actively. The alcoholic is tormented by constant thirst, but the water is absorbed very slowly. It drinks and fluid accumulates, causing swelling of the hands, feet, and face.
In addition to the unattractive appearance, there may be "obvious" complications (scratches, bruises, abrasions, fractures) after battles, often involving chronic alcohol users.
During the development of chronic alcoholism, narcologists observe external symptoms in patients, such as:
- physical exhaustion;
- puffy face;
- purple tongue;
- elevated temperature;
- dry, flaky or oily skin;
- heavy sweating;
- tachycardia, arrhythmia.
Picture gallery
The effects of alcohol on various organs are shown in the following photos.
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Standards of use
It would be best to categorically refuse the regular use of alcoholic products. However, if someone has decided to reduce the amount, it will be interesting to know that there are acceptable consumption rates.
The weekly norm for alcohol with low harm to the stronger sex (with two days of complete rejection) is less than 5 liters of 4, 5 degree beer or 50 grams of vodka or cognac for lunch and dinner (daily), or three glasses of dry wine. For women, this norm is 3 liters of beer a week, or 80 grams of vodka for dinner, or two glasses of wine.
It’s worth considering that if you’ve been away from strong drinks on certain days, that doesn’t mean you can drink more the next day without any harmful consequences.
However, the calculations for the consumer must be made on an individual basis, taking into account:
- weight;
- growth;
- disease;
- metabolism;
- heredity;
- first experience of alcohol consumption.
Attention!The information is for informational purposes only and is not a guide to action. Do not self-medicate, consult your doctor first.