The foundation for a Drug Free World (2017) outlines the effects of binge drinking for an individual, including drowsiness, vomiting, and liver disease. Valley Sleep Centre (2016) suggests that alcohol causes drowsiness, due to alcohol’s sedative effect (substance that relieves anxiety and helps you fall asleep). On the other hand, New Health Advisor (2014) exclaims that vomiting is caused by the excessive consumption of alcohol, and it is the reaction to get rid of the extreme amount of alcohol in the body’s system. Alcoholic cirrhosis, a type of liver disease is considered by Patient (2015) to be when the liver loses its capability to function efficiently, and is caused by around 10 years of heavy
Alcohol consumption affects every aspect of the human body, specifically the brain, liver, central nervous system, pancreas, stomach, and increased cancer risks.
Over 2.5million people die every year to excessive alcohol use. Furthermore, alcohol is responsible for one in ten deaths of working age adults aged twenty to sixty four. Excessive drinking by the CDC is more than one glass a day for a woman and more than two glasses a day for a man. Also, drinking any while under the age or pregnant is classified as excessive drinking(“Alcohol Use and Your Health”). On top of the benefits becoming negative effects quickly, excessive drinking also comes with many more side effects. Excessive drinking damages the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and the immune system. Brain cells are lost along with loss of thinking and coordination. Heart beat, heart muscles, and blood pressure can be effected. A variety of liver problems and inflammations. The Pancreas produces unwanted toxins eventually leading to pancreatitis. Lastly the immune system is weakened, making the body a much easier target for disease and slowing the body’s ability to ward off infections – even up to 24 hours after getting drunk(“Alcohol's Effects on the
Abuse of a substance leads to a wide range of physical health problems, some of which can be severe while others aren 't too serious. Some of the mild physical effects include changes in sleeping patterns, appetite and one 's physical appearance. Clinical studies show that "the most common health problems were gastrointestinal and liver disorders, but about a quarter of the sample had cardiovascular or neurological problems. With regard to other diseases (e.g. liver disease, pancreatitis, hypertension, central nervous system impairment) the effects of alcohol are well-established" (Gossop, 194). These health problems are associated with the abuse of a substance, particularly alcohol. They
As a result of extreme alcohol usage, the body becomes impaired. The physical effects come in a wide variety of types, but all shorten the life of the user considerably. Internally, alcohol mutilates organs such as the heart and liver while externally, alcohol causes weight gain and the dehydration of your skin causing it to look blotchy. In the heart, alcohol weakens the muscles which can cause heart failure. Additionally, high blood pressure or hypertension often occurs which increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Because of long term alcohol use, arrhythmia or an irregular heartbeat can occur. Sudden deaths are often the result of an arrhythmia. Another organ affected is the lungs. Oftenly, alcoholics are more likely to get pneumonia because of the increased amount of
These effects lead to the familiar signs of drunkenness: difficulty walking, slurred speech, memory lapses, and impulsive behavior. Long-term heavy drinking can shrink the frontal lobes of the brain, which impairs thinking skills” (NIH Senior Health, 2012). Additionally, Alcohol has a detrimental affect one the liver, another vital organ in the body. It causes an infectious death upon the liver, especially if consumption is taking place for a long period time. Interestingly enough, statistics show that drinking alcohol can affect the heart in good and bad ways. On one hand, studies show that moderate drinking -- up to two drinks a day for men and one drink for women -- can lower the chances of developing heart disease. On the other hand; however, heavy drinking -- either all at once or over time -- can damage the heart. Long-term alcohol use can also result in high blood pressure, which increases a person's risk of heart disease (NIH Senior Health, 2012).
Alcoholism can take a toll on a person’s body, it can affect the mind, heart and most well known the liver. Alcohol can interfere with the brain’s ability to function, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a long term effect on the brain that can cause lack of coordination as well as learning and memory problems. Alcohol also effects the heart, it can cause cardiomyopathy which is the stretching and drooping of the heart muscles, stroke, irregular heart beat and even high blood pressure. The liver is the most known organ to be affected, cirrhosis of the liver is when the alcohol consumed over time leads to the healthy liver
The abuse of alcohol over long periods of time may also cause diseases such as cirrhosis, acute alcohol hepatitis, and the most severe liver disease. Cirrhosis is a disease in which the liver becomes so scarred that the patient lacks sufficient healthy tissue to perform the organ?s functions. Once you?ve got it, you are stuck with it. (Gross, 6) The worst thing about these diseases is that you will not know you have them unless you are medically examined on a regular basis. Alcohol consumption is a large contributor to the development of several types of cancer- mostly dealing with the neck and brain. We know that cancer kills and therefore it is safe to say that in some cases, alcohol can be deadly. It is important to realize that alcoholism is a disease. A heavy drinker will experience the effects of withdrawal syndrome (which include hypertension, anxiety, disorientation, hallucinations, and seizures) if he decides to stop drinking. Being addicted to alcohol is similar to being addicted to any other drug in that once one starts using, it is tough to live without. It is also a ?gateway drug? just as marijuana and other sedatives. (Bennett, Woolf, 13-23)
As part of that process, the pancreas gives off these digestive enzymes that combine with waste from the gallbladder to help break down your food. Drinking too much alcohol can cause the pancreas to produce toxic substances that are very bad for your body and can interfere with proper functioning such as the breaking down your food. The resulting swelling of the pancreas is called pancreatitis, a very serious problem that can case the pancreas to be destroyed. One of the most common causes of chronic pancreatitis is linked to alcohol abuse.The liver’s job is to break down all the bad stuff you put in your body, including alcohol. Excessive drinking can cause alcoholic can lead to the development of jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes). Chronic liver inflammation can lead to severe scarring.. This buildup of scar tissue can totally destroy the liver. When the liver fails to perform, the really bad toxic stuff will remain in your body. Liver disease is extremely life threatening. Women are at a higher risk for getting alcoholic liver disease than men, because women’s bodies tend to absorb more alcohol and take longer to burn it off. When the pancreas and liver won't function properly, the risk of low blood sugar rises. A damaged pancreas can cause the body to be unable to use the sugar you put in your body due to a lack of insulin, which can lead to
Liver disease resulting from alcohol affects more than two million Americans and is one of the primary causes of illness and death. The liver frees the body of harmful substances, such as alcohol. While the liver breaks down alcohol, it produces toxins that can be even more dangerous than the alcohol consumed (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). “These by-products damage liver cells, promote inflammation, and weaken the body’s natural defenses. Eventually, these problems can disrupt the body’s metabolism and impair the function of other organs” (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). A condition called steatosis is the result of fat build up in the liver and is the
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
Excess alcohol is damaging to anyone, “It can damage nearly every organ and system in the body”. In 2002 about 2.3 million people, throughout the world, suffered an early death due to using alcohol to excess. “It contributes to more than 60 diseases and conditions” including liver disease and heart disease. The use of excess alcohol is the main cause of cirrhosis of the liver, a disease which is responsible for 10% of all the diseases associated with damaging alcohol use (World Health Organisation 2009). Liver cirrhosis is irreversible scarring of the liver which stops the organ from working as it should and can eventually lead to liver failure and death. (NHS choices 2015)
"Many alcoholics exhibit swollen and tender livers. The prolonged use of large amounts of alcoholism without adequate diet may cause serious liver damage, such as
Alcohol is a very serious and dangerous drug, although it is not treated this way anymore. College students have taken drinking to a new level in which, for many, is very scary. Alcohol is much more dangerous than many would think. Kids see a night of drinking as a great way to have fun and party but do not see the consequences. Getting drunk and even blacking out can lead to many problems. When alcohol is consumed in unhealthy amounts, it can lead to not only short-term effects, but long-term ones as well.
One of the main organs that gets affected is the liver. The liver is essential when it comes to the food we digest, the absorption of nutrients, controls infections, and it helps get rid of the toxins in the body. There are over 2 million people who suffer from liver disease all which is contracted from the large quantities of alcohol. Heavy drinking takes a humongous toll on the liver. It can lead to a variety of problems and the liver inflammations such as Steatosis or Fatty liver disease (when your liver gets fat, and can reversed with lifestyle modifications.). Alcoholic hepatitis (swelling of the liver, causes many other risks, and there is only one-way to stop it, which is to stop drinking alcohol period.). Fibrosis (An alcoholic liver disease, term that encompasses the liver manifestations of alcohol overconsumption.), and Cirrhosis (a late stage of scarring of the liver, result of the liver disease and other conditions.). If scar tissue keeps blood from flowing through the liver, the blood cannot filter, leaving many toxins and waste to build up in the body. This can lead to confusion, agitation, tremors, and sometimes comas. Once scaring has progressed, nothing can repair the liver or to cure