preview

How Does The Overuse Of Alcohol Affect The Body

Decent Essays
Open Document

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. …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

Get Access