Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

Alcoholism (sometimes called Alcohol Use Disorder in the technical literature) is, essentially, defined as a dependency on alcohol for an individual to function in his/her daily life. The condition is related to but distinct from "alcohol abuse". In the latter case, an individual may be said to have a drinking problem, but s/he is not dependent on alcohol, i.e. alcohol is not a required part of that person 's life. This is an important distinction to make as often

Preview of Main Points: Today I will share with you why Alcoholism is a disease as well as solutions to help suffering alcoholics who you may come across in your life. Problem Step Simple Statement of Problem: Alcoholism is a disease that is very detrimental to one’s health.

Alcoholism has many differing meanings. If often means continuing to drink heavily in the face of significant social and health issues. Some view alcoholism as a social problem, others as a medical disease. The term can refer to feeling compelled to drink alcohol, and also an inability to see the negative influence heavy drinking has. Most indicate that current alcohol consumption is necessary for alcoholism, and others mention the long-term issues of heavy drinking such as dependence on alcohol resulting in symptoms of withdrawal.

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome: A group of symptoms which may range from mild to severe, usually occurring 6-24 hours after the last alcohol intake. The health issues involved in this syndrome are delirium tremens, seizures, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, depression, liver disease, and electrolytes disturbances. The mild symptoms may be managed at the outpatient setting and there severe symptom in the hospital under close supervision and benzodiazepine therapy (McKeon, Frye & Delanty, 2008)

Alcoholism is considered an alcohol dependency and alcohol use disorder, pretty much meaning people are addicted to alcohol. Many causes of alcoholism would be a traumatic event

Alcoholism is a major social issue around the world today. The ProQuest Staff of SIRS Researcher defines alcoholism as excessive use of alcohol that eventually results in dependence, or addiction where the body craves a drug. There are roughly 140 million alcoholics currently in the world, which results in higher rates of crime, abuse, illness, car crashes, and lower productivity in work (ProQuest Staff). According to Dr. Mark Willenbring, most

“Each year in the U.S., nearly 80,000 people die from alcohol-related causes, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in our country” (Alcohol Facts 1). Alcoholism is a major controversy in the United States, and many debate whether alcoholism is a disease or choice. Accordingly, based on scientific evidence, alcoholism is a disease because it has major long-term effects on the brain, it is an addiction, and it is treated medically.

Fingarette’s (1988) position is that no leading research authorities accept the disease concept of alcoholism (p.4). The experts say the disease concept is “old and biased”, a model whose suggestions are invalid. But, the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous (2001) states that not only does alcoholism affect the mind, but the body as well (xxvi). In a letter written to Alcoholics Anonymous, Dr.William D.Silkworth, a well known chief physician at a nationally prominent hospital that specialized in treating alcoholism and drug addiction, state that “the action of alcohol on chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy called “the phenomenon of craving” (Alcoholics Anonymous,2001,p.xxviii). Some may believe that alcoholism is just a matter of self control or self will, but we have shown that it takes much more than the unaided will to arrest this sometimes fatal disease Many have suffered the effects of alcoholism and can attest to the fact that it is a disease. Some can remember drinking until passed out, the trouble they caused themselves and others while

• Alcoholism is an addictive disease process characterized by: Craving and compulsions Loss of control Continued use despite adverse consequences

Most alcoholics won’t admit to having a dependence on alcohol. Due to their reluctance to acknowledge they may have a problem, it could be tricky to diagnose and treat them. So it’s usually up to the people around them to be able to see the signs of alcoholism. Even the most heavily addicted drinker is unlikely to show every sign and symptom, and not every alcoholic will display the same ones.

Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that results in harm to one’s health, interpersonal relationships, or ability to work. In 2013, it was reclassified as alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) along with alcohol dependence. Binge drinking is another form of alcohol abuse. The NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL. This typically occurs after consuming more than five drinks for men and four drinks for women within two hours. Binge drinking can increase the chances of vandalism, fights, violent behaviors, injuries, drunk driving, trouble with police, negative health, social, economic, or legal consequences to occur. Binge drinking is also associated with neurocognitive deficits of frontal lobe processing and impaired working memory as well as delayed auditory and verbal memory deficits. The chances of becoming dependent on alcohol are increased greatly in men who have 15 or more drinks each week or women who have 12 or more drinks each week. This is known as alcohol dependency.

Many areas are assessed when it comes to alcohol withdrawal. According to Carolyn Jarvis (2016) the most common assessment tool used, is the CIWA (clinical institute withdrawal assessment of alcohol scale) (pg. 96). The CIWA assess both objective and subjective data. The objective data includes agitation, tremors, and paroxysmal sweats. The subjective data incudes nausea/vomiting, tactile disturbances, auditory disturbances, anxiety, visual disturbances, orientation/clouding of sensorium, and headache (often described as fullness in head). Each of these areas has a rating scale from 1-7 (with the exception of the orientation which is still 1-4). If a patient gets a score of 0-9 it means that withdrawal is absent or minimal, if it is 10-19

Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological harm, impaired social, and vocational functioning (dictionary.com). Alcohol is the number one drug problem in the

Alcohol withdrawal is a group of symptoms that can occur if you suddenly stop or greatly reduce how much alcohol you drink after using alcohol routinely and heavily.

Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive and potentially fatal disorder which leads to physical and psychological harm, and impaired social and vocational functioning. It is characterized by tolerance, physical dependence and/or pathological organ changes, all of which are the direct/indirect consequence of the alcohol ingested (Light 5). Alcoholism, also known as "alcohol dependence," can be recognized by four obvious symptoms.