Alcoholism is an extremely common disease and it affects more than just the person who has it. This disease is defined as a family disease in which the person and the family are affected economically, psychosocially, and developmentally. Alcoholism is seen as a family disease because it affects the person and the family as a unit while also having lasting damages. Once someone in the family is diagnosed with alcoholism, it is more likely for others to follow in the footsteps because they see it as normal.
The defining characteristics of alcoholism are; loss of control of drinking, denial of problems, alcohol abuse, impaired communication, rationalization, manipulation, dependency, refusal to get help and enabling behaviors. Roughly
…show more content…
The article concluded that the teaching of this topic is important in the culture we live in now because substance abuse is becoming more of an issue. To improve care for patients with substance abuse, it is important to start teaching the knowledge in nursing school and to continue the education throughout the nurses’ career to stay on top of ways to care and treat the patients with this disease. It is the responsibility of a nurse to be able to care for each individual patient no matter what their problems may be. The responsibility of a nurse is to treat and care for a patient and to provide the best care that they possibly can. With the enhanced education about substance abuse, the overall care for patients with this problem will improve drastically.
Patients Story: Patient XX is a 50-year-old female admitted to the acute care unit for a GI bleed and is being treated for alcohol withdrawal as well. Her vital signs are; Blood pressure of 117/62 taken in a lying position on the left arm with an automatic cuff, a temperature of 97.2 degrees Fahrenheit taken in the left ear with the tympanic thermometer, a pulse of 68 taken radially on the right arm while in the lying position, a respiration rate of 16 while the patient was lying down, and an oxygen saturation of 99% taken on the right index finger. She states that she feels much better today and she was happy she can finally eat normal food without it hurting her stomach.
When asked about how her alcohol
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, seventy six million Americans have been exposed to alcoholism in the family. That means one out of four families is affected by an alcoholic, making alcoholism responsible for more family problems than any other single cause (Parsons). Alcoholism is a disease that not only affects the individual, but also everyone around the alcoholic. Alcoholics can make irrational decisions that are harmful not only to themselves but also to the people around them. These irrational decisions can cause financial instability for the household which, in turn, contributes to neglect.
Alcoholism is a demon, a disease, something reached for out of desperation. It helps with a person 's problem by deadening their senses, and increasing his problems at the same time by destroying his character. When you drink, you don 't have to think about all your problems, you can just let the alcohol wash them away from your mind. But it can never take away all your problemsthey still remain, just your sense to care for them is gone. Alcoholism has a great chance to pass on to later generations, but sometimes growing up in an alcoholic family will make the children swear off the drink because they have seen what it can turn people into. It turns them into the basic raw human emotion of grief. They are miserable for alcohol is the only thing that can make them feel normal after awhile, their entire bodies ache for it. Even when they have given up drinking, their bodies can revert back after having just one drop again. Yes, alcoholism is truly a terrifying disease of the mind and bodynot just to the addict, but also to the loved ones
According to MedlinePlus, alcoholism is a disease in which a person has a physical or psychological dependence on drinks that contain alcohol. This can last for years or even last a whole life time. There are more than 3 million cases per year. Alcohol abuse can have many negative effects on family, friends, and the alcoholic. It can damage a person’s body, such as the heart, and the liver, health, and it can affect your life decisions.
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
It’s no secret that alcoholism is an epidemic. Anyone can fall prisoner to its call. Alcoholism knows no gender, no age, and no race. Alcoholism is an addiction to alcohol. This addiction is not a joke, or a reason to shame others. Its effects on people can be fatal.
One has created a teaching brochure to help identify three concepts, which may lead and assist in caring for the substance abuse patient. The concepts will help providers to be empathetic, trustworthy, and intelligent to the patient’s backgrounds and beliefs. The brochure speaks of the concepts and reasons it will aid in the patient success in recovery. If these patients are seen as a lost cause and providers do not listen or rectify the problem the population of the substance abuser will grow and increase the death rate and increase dangers to others as well. Substance abuse does not only endanger the patient but the people around him or her. For example, a person who is drinking and driving can hit a pedestrian walking and cause fatal danger to that person.
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.
Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. Alcoholism is a complex disease with physical, social and psychological consequences, but it can be treated through detoxification and anti-anxiety drugs. What will be explained in this essay is basically the history of alcohol, signs of one possibly being an alcoholic, possibilities to why one becomes an alcoholic, and treatments for it.
While working in the healthcare system nurses have many responsibilities. They must take their jobs into consideration while caring for patients. Nurses play a role that focuses on caring and educating the patients and their families about health problems, needs, and nursing care plans.
Alcoholism today is not considered as a moral failure, majority of the people view it as a disease. Alcoholism is a chronic primary and progressive disease and it can also be fatal in some instances. It is termed as a chemical disease as it breaks down in the stomach as well as bringing a different effect on the brain of the alcoholic as compared to a non-alcoholic. Alcoholism can be classified as a biological disease since the chemical predisposition of alcohol consumption is inheritable. Therefore, alcoholism should not be punished instead it should be treated. The reason behind classifying alcoholism as a disease is because the progression of alcohol dependence occurs through stages in a natural sequence .This progression is similar to that of the development of physical illnesses. In recent interpretations of alcoholism as a disease the focus is on the biological factors which differentiate alcoholics from nonalcoholics. This disease concept has led to development of the idea that those who abuse alcohol are often out of control and abstinence is the only method for treating this disease.
Definition of alcoholism: According to the American medical association alcoholism is a chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors influencing development and manifestations.
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
Signs of Alcoholism are spending a lot of money and time in consuming alcohol. People with Alcoholism choose to drink instead of dealing with responsibilities such as going to work, and dealing with family responsibilities. Alcoholics engage in risky behavior like driving a car while intoxicated, having unprotected sex and abusing drugs. A person who abuses alcohol often builds a tolerance which means they need a significant amount of alcohol to reach a level of intoxication. A person who consumes a lot of liquor often has severe withdrawals when they don’t have liquor in their
Alcoholism, chronic and usually progressive illness involving the excessive inappropriate ingestion of ethyl alcohol, whether in the form of familiar alcoholic beverages or as a constituent of other substances. Alcoholism is thought to arise from a combination of a wide range of physiological, psychological, social, and genetic factors. It is characterized by an emotional and often physical dependence on alcohol, and it frequently leads to brain damage or early death. Some 10 percent of the adult drinkers in the United States are considered alcoholics or at least they experience drinking problems to some degree. More males than females are affected, but drinking among the young and among women is increasing. Consumption of alcohol is
The four symptoms of alcoholism are loss of control, craving, physical dependence, and tolerance. Loss of control, which is the inability of an individual to limit his or her alcohol consumption, usually occurs when a person has experienced or entered an emotional segment of his or her