Alcohol and Your Health
The overuse of alcohol in teens and young adults has become an increasing, nationwide epidemic all across the United States. Alcohol can lead to mental illness, resulting in potential jail time and court-ordered rehabilitation. It has led to physical conditions and even handicaps including, but not limited to, blurred vision, decreased reaction times, and, in extreme cases, cirrhosis of the liver. Besides bodily injury, alcohol is a leading cause in divorce cases due to extreme effects of abuse to family members directly caused by the overuse of alcohol. While many believe alcoholic to be a beverage to help relax and make the body feel better, it is actually a main factor in creating mental, physical, and family issues.
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The overuse of alcohol also creates many long-term health issues such as: alcohol poisoning, high blood pressure, strokes, other heart related problems, liver diseases, nerve damage, permanent damage to the brain, Vitamin B deficiency, ulcers, gastritis, malnutrition, and mouth cancer. Overall, the effects of alcohol on the body are a great enough risk to advocate for more programs to allow more students and young adults to be better aware of the effects their alcohol use has on the human body.
Secondly the overuse of alcohol not only effects the human body, but also a person’s stance in society as well. Samarasinghe interprets the strategies in the article as “One common denominator in the lives of many poor families: problems related to harmful use of alcohol and other related drugs.” (1). Alcohol use is one of the most popular stereotypes among the poverty ridden. It is more prevalent among the poor, due to the lack of jobs leading to more depression and time to engage in activities such as drinking alcohol as a pastime. Alcohol use and domestic violence have a very complicated
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One article states, “Alcohol abuse can wreak havoc on a relationship, and could ultimately lead to divorce, but according to a recent study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a marriage is more likely to dissolve if only one spouse is a heavy drinker, as opposed to both” (Caba 1). Studies show that thirty percent of divorced couple’s marital problems stemmed directly from both heavy drinking and alcoholism problems. Most birth defects are caused by alcohol consumed during pregnancy. Alcohol can be an effect causing premature birth, brain damage, difficulty growing and developing, heart defects, hearing problems, vision problems, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. The nationally recognized March of Dimes foundation states, “Children with FASDs may have a range of problems, including intellectual and development disabilities” (1). Intellectual disabilities are problems with how the brain functions causing a person to have difficulty learning, communicating with others, and taking care of oneself. While pregnant women drink alcohol, little do they know, the alcohol passes from the blood stream to the fetus. There are three different kinds of FASDs, the leading type being Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in extreme cases, leads to the unexplained death of infants. The second type of FASDs is Alcohol- Related Neurodevelopmental
In my view I agree with Sandee LaMotte because alcohol does have many types of effects including gaining calories, getting heart disease and cancer, diabetes, loss of memory, and the type of mood your in. More specifically, alcohol can damage your body really horribly. For example, “Alcohol weakens our immune systems, making
Many people, including alcoholics, are not fully aware of the devastation caused by alcohol abuse. Not only does alcohol have an impact on physical health, it causes a host of problems from a mental and emotional standpoint. This addiction is not only harmful to the body, it tears families apart, leads to job loss, and often causes isolation for the person who drinks.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a concise, uniform definition for conditions caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. FASD is a broad term used to describe the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy (Caley, Kramer, & Robinson, 2005). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder can also cause growth retardation, birth defectscomma and deficits in cognitive, languagecomma and motor development (Coles et al., 2015). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a teratogenic effect, which is caused by daily, chronic, heavy and frequent alcohol use while in utero. Chances of an infant diagnosed with FASD are 0.5 to 3 in 1,000 live births (Cone-Wesson, 2005). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder has many different diagnoses. There is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), partial fetal alcohol syndrome (PFAS)comma and alcohol-related neuro-developmental disorder (ARND)comma all under the fetal alcohol spectrum disorder umbrella (Brown et al., 2015). Maternal alcohol use is correlated to the timing, frequencycomma and quantity of the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Drinking during the first trimester may not be as detrimental as drinking during the second or third trimester. The frequency of alcohol consumed is also a key factor in FASD, such as how often per day drinks are consumed, the quantity of alcohol consumed, and how many glasses or cans per day the mother consumes
Some of birth defects and development disabilities are caused by parental exposure to alcohol. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a group of terms that can provide the concept of the effects that may occur in a newborn baby whose mother was drinking alcohol during her pregnancy such as mental, physical, behavioral, and cognitive effects. FASD was first described in 1973 in the United State of America by Jones and Smith, it was defined at that time as a ‘tragic disorder’. For every 1,000 live births in certain areas of the United States there is about 0.2 to 1.5 infants with FASD. Although FASD is incurable disorder, understanding the nature of the disease, avoiding triggers, and getting an
While consumption of alcohol is a socially acceptable practice in our society, issues arise when abuse occurs. Donatelle and Thompson (2011) define alcohol abuse as the "excessive consumption or a level of consumption that interferes with work, school, or social and family relationships" (256). As with other drug addictions, this abuse is disruptive to the alcohol abusers life as well as to those close to them. Moreover, alcohol abuse is accompanied by many devastating effects for all demographics. The harms associated with the misuse and abuse of alcohol includes: harm to oneself, negative effects on friendships and social life, and negative affects to physical
The use of illicit drugs and abuse of alcohol exact a steep price from our society. Substance abuse is a factor in many serious ills such as crime. More upsetting, however, is the affects that it has on children born affected from their dependent mothers. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 60 percent of women of childbearing age consume alcoholic beverages despite the fact that alcohol consumption during pregnancy is implicated in a wide range of birth defects and developmental disabilities, including mental retardation, physical abnormalities, and visual and auditory impairments. (Nevitt, 1996)
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) refers to the physical and mental disabilities or abnormalities resulting from maternal alcohol use while fetal alcohol effects (FAE) or partial FAS refer to other abnormalities such as social, sensory, or behavioral. The uniformity of FASD is utilized to include those suffering from substantial impairment to include not only those with FAS but also comprising alcohol neuro-developmental disorder (ARND) and/or alcohol related birth defects (ARBD). Estimates suggest that individuals having the complete range of partial FAS or ARBD equates to “at least 10 in 1000…translating to 40,000 children born every year…and far more common than other more well known developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome and autism”
would not be able to live a normal life for the rest of its life. The
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a disorder that occurs when a mother consumes alcohol while pregnant. Individuals with FAS may face many problems such as, bad vision, hearing impairments, memory difficulty, communicative hurdles, and much more (Bergen & Yu, 2012). In began in 1981 when expecting mothers were advised not to drink while pregnant (Alcohol Policies Project, n.d). However, is 1995 4 times more mothers were consuming alcohol in comparison to a few years earlier in 1991 (Alcohol Policies Project, n.d). In addition, 52 percent of women ages 18-34 claimed to have been consuming alcohol while pregnant (Alcohol Policies Project, n.d). The reason for a mothers decision to drink is unknown, it could possibly be that mothers have read reports
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is characterized by women who continue to drink during pregnancy that give birth to babies with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) . FASD is an umbrella disorder in which many conditions can be a result from consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is classified by pre- and postnatal growth retardation, facial anomalies, and central nervous system dysfunction (Thomas et. al, 1998). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the most recognized condition in the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. It is estimated that 6 per 1,000 live births has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Coggins, Timler, & Olswang, 2007) and 2,000-12,000 of the 4 million estimated births each year in the United States are likely to have FASD
Exposure to alcohol during prenatal development is one of the leading causes of preventable birth defects and mental impairments (Bower, Szajer, Mattson, Riley, & Murphy, 2013; Nuñez, Roussotte, &Sowell, 2011; Sowell et al., 2008a). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the more severe form of PAE, affects two to seven out of every 1000 individuals in the United States (May et al., as cited in Simmons, Thomas, Levy & Riley, 2010). The term Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) describes an individual with varying levels of PAE. Sampson et al. (as cited in Simmons at al., 2010) estimated that one in every 100 individuals suffers from some form of FASD. With such a high prevalence in the population, numerous studies have been done showing the
Every year, about 40,000 babies are born with symptoms of prenatal alcohol exposure (Lupton, 2003). This number will only continue to grow if the risk of drinking alcohol while pregnant is not brought to the people’s attention. When the mother takes a drink of alcohol, so does the fetus, which will cause physical and behavioral problems after birth. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is completely preventable and irreversible. FAS awareness and prevention is important; expectant mothers need to know the background information about the syndrome, some common symptoms, signs, and treatments, and the mental and physical abnormalities that will occur because of this lifelong syndrome.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) refers to a group of physical and mental birth defects resulting from a women’s drinking alcohol heavily or at crucial stages during pregnancy. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was first named and treated in the late 1960's. This condition results from the toxic effect of alcohol and its chemical factors on the developing fetus. FAS is the leading cause of mental retardation occurring in 1 out of every 750 births. The frequency of FAS occurs about 1.9 times out of every 1000 births according to the latest figures, and minor effects can be seen in up to 20% of pregnancies per year. This number changes drastically for women who are clearly alcoholics. As high as 29 children out of every 1000 births will suffer from FAS
Alcohol is one of many dangerous substances that effects our bodies. The effects of this drug can be very harmful. Alcohol is a potent non-prescription drug sold to anyone over the national legal drinking age, 21. Unlike other deadly drugs it is easy to access. This makes it easy to over-consume and create a tragic accident, even death. It can damage a person not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. Many people each year become more and more addicted to alcohol and soon experience all of it?s dangerous effects. Even if alcohol use is discontinued, some of these damages can not be cured, because the scars have been left on those that drink and those that surround them. The only hope
While drinking might make you feel good now, if you abuse that alcohol it may lead to serious complications later. Heavy drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks in a day for women and five or more drinks in a day for men (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Alcohol is considered a depressant, so it is only seen fit that one of the chief effects of alcohol on the brain is to depress central nervous system functioning. In turn it may be why major depressive disorders occur in those who abuse alcohol. If the alcohol abuse continues over a period it intensifies into an alcohol dependency. Alcohol has effects on the body both mentally and physically. After a certain limit alcohol will slur your speech, increase your reaction time, and make you lose co-ordination. Alcohol consumption, particularly long-term alcohol dependence has many physiological ricks to consider, such as permanent damage to the brain, alcoholic liver disease, pancreatitis, alcohol poisoning