alcoholis a depressant, that is, a substance that slows down all processes in the body. Small doses of alcohol give a feeling of relaxation and self-confidence. In large doses, it slows down the reaction and negatively affects, for example, the eyes and coordination. Driving while impaired is extremely dangerous. A person in a state of severe intoxication experiences nausea, dizziness and may lose consciousness, then above all else there is a risk of suffocation from his vomit.
The level of alcohol concentration in the blood depends on a number of factors.
- If you eat fatty foods, then intoxication will not be so fast.
- The high content of animal and vegetable fats slows down the absorption of alcohol and the digestion of the food itself.
- The fuller the stomach, the longer it will take for the alcohol to reach the bloodstream.
- The thicker your body fat, the slower alcohol is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream.
- Body weight: the heavier you are, the lesser the effects of alcohol on you.
- Your reaction to drinking 80 mg of alcohol may be completely different from someone else's. Typically, young people and women are more sensitive to alcohol.
The ability to consume alcohol and the effect it has on different people varies; however, a safe dose (from a health point of view) is believed to be somewhere around 5 liters of medium-strength beer or 10 large glasses of wine per week. for men and 2/3 of this dose for women, provided of course that this amount is lost evenly over a week and not in 1-2 times. If you can, try not to drink on an empty stomach.
Alcoholism - what is it?
Alcoholism– Regular and compulsive consumption of large amounts of alcohol over a long period of time. It is the most serious form of drug addiction in modern times, affecting between 1 and 5% of the population in most countries. An alcoholic drinks compulsively in response to a psychological or physical dependence on alcohol.
Anyone can become an alcoholic. However, studies have shown that for children of alcoholics, the risk of becoming addicted to alcohol is 4-6 times higher than for non-alcoholic children.
The study of alcohol consumption among young people in our country is mainly based on the experience of similar studies abroad, which at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were widely conducted in Western Europe and America. North and were carried out in different directions:
- The prevalence and patterns of alcohol consumption among students were studied.
- The effect of alcohol on the body of children and adolescents has been studied.
- The relationship between academic performance and alcohol consumption has been determined.
- Alcohol education programs have been developed and tested.
An important place among the studies of this period was occupied by works that illustrate the spread and nature of drinking habits, when children were given alcoholic beverages for:
- "Health Promotion"
- "appetite"
- "enhanced growth"
- "To facilitate teething"
- "warm up"
- "Satisfy Your Hunger"
- "quiet"
The six stages of alcoholism
Occasional drunkenness can lead to alcoholism: because the drinker begins to turn to alcohol to relieve stress, or because it is so strong that the initial stages of addiction go unnoticed.
Early alcoholism is characterized by the appearance of memory deficits. Alcoholism of the young generation is considered by most researchers as a significant indicator of the dysfunction of the microsocial environment. This determines the continuing interest in studying the problem of the prevalence and nature of early alcoholism.
Boys drink the main types of alcoholic beverages more often than girls, and as their strength increases, this difference becomes significant. Among students of urban schools, it is common to consume mainly weak alcoholic beverages - beer, wine, while students in rural schools are more familiar with the tastes of strong alcoholic beverages. In the 1920s and 1920s, a fairly widespread use of moonshine by schoolchildren could be found: 1. 0–32. 0% among boys and 0. 9–12% among girls. The frequency of vodka consumption increased with age.
Almost all socio-hygienic and clinical-social studies of youth alcoholism used the survey method in various modifications - from correspondence questionnaires to telephone interviews and clinical interviews.
Basic alcoholism– the drinker cannot stop until he reaches the stage of intoxication. He encourages himself with excuses and pompous promises, but all his promises and intentions remain unfulfilled. He begins to avoid family and friends and neglect food, past interests, work and money. Physical deterioration of health occurs. Alcohol resistance decreases.
Chronic alcoholism is characterized by further moral decline, irrational thinking, vague fears, fantasies and psychopathic behavior. Physical damage is mounting. The drunkard no longer has an alibi and can no longer take steps to get out of the current situation. A person can reach this stage in 5-25 years.
Treatment is usually carried out through special programs for alcoholics. Psychologically, the alcoholic's desire to get help is revived and he begins to think more rationally. Ideally, he also develops hope, moral responsibility, outside interests, self-esteem and satisfaction with abstinence from alcohol.
The final stage of alcoholism occurs if the alcoholic refuses treatment or breaks down again after treatment. Irreversible mental and physical damage usually ends in death.
If you write all of these down, this is what you get:
- Domestic intoxication
- Early alcoholism
- Basic alcoholism
- Chronic alcoholism
- treatment
- The last stage of alcoholism
What determines the degree of intoxication of a person?
The effect of alcohol on behavior depends on the amount of alcohol that reaches the brain through the blood. This "blood alcohol level" is determined by several factors other than how much you drink.
The size of the liver determines the rate of oxidation and elimination of alcohol.
A person's own weight determines the amount of blood in the body, since the volume of blood is proportional to it. The older the person, the more blood is diluted by the alcohol consumed and the more is needed to have the same effect.
The speed and manner of alcohol consumption are also important. The slower a person drinks a certain amount of alcohol, the weaker its effects.
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach has a stronger and faster effect than drinking it during or after a meal. Food acts as a buffer during absorption.
The process of intoxication.
When you drink alcohol, the transmission of impulses in the nervous system slows down. The higher levels of the brain are the first to be affected - inhibitions, excitement and anxiety disappear, giving way to feelings of pleasure and euphoria. As the lower levels of the brain are affected, coordination, vision and speech deteriorate. The small blood vessels in the skin dilate. Heat is radiated and the person gets hot. This means that the blood has been removed from the internal organs of the body, where the blood vessels have already narrowed due to the effects of alcohol on the nervous system. Therefore, the temperature of the internal organs drops at the same time. A possible increase in sexual desire is associated with the suppression of usual inhibitions. As blood alcohol levels rise, physical sexual performance becomes increasingly impaired. Eventually, the toxic effects of alcohol cause nausea and possibly vomiting.
Hangover
Hangover is bad. . . And now in more detail:
Hangoveris physical discomfort after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. Symptoms may include headache, upset stomach, thirst, dizziness and irritability. A hangover occurs as a result of three processes. First, the stomach mucosa is irritated by excessive alcohol and the functioning of the stomach is impaired. Second, cell dehydration occurs if the amount of alcohol consumed exceeds the capacity of the liver, resulting in alcohol remaining in the blood for a long time. Thirdly, the level of alcohol has a "shock" effect on the nervous system, from which it takes time to recover.
The best way to avoid a hangover is to not drink too much (or better yet, not drink at all). But the likelihood of a hangover is reduced if alcohol is mixed with a light snack (Havka): the intake and absorption of alcohol is prolonged for a longer period of time, and food serves as a barrier. Soft drinks taken at the same time or afterwards will dilute the alcohol. Harmful effects are also usually reduced if alcohol is consumed in a relaxed environment and smoking is kept to a minimum.
The effect of alcohol on the body
A characteristic manifestation of alcohol poisoning is repeated vomiting. Even a single consumption of small doses of alcoholic beverages in teenagers is associated with pronounced manifestations of intoxication, especially in the nervous system. The most severe poisonings are observed in people with a complicated medical history, against the background of organic cerebral insufficiency or accompanying somatic pathology.
It is much less clear to describe the nature of the influence of alcohol on the psyche of a teenager. In general, the clinical picture of severe intoxication of a teenager in most cases looks like this: short-term excitement is then replaced by general depression, stupidity, increasing drowsiness, lethargy, slow incoherent speech and loss of orientation.
When drinking alcohol for the first time, 53% of teenagers felt disgust. Over time, with an increase in the "experience" of drinking alcohol, the objective picture, however, changes dramatically. More than 90% of teenagers surveyed with two years or more of "experience" drinking believed that getting drunk is associated with a sense of increased energy, a sense of satisfaction, comfort and an increase in mood, that is, those attributes. of a state of mind which ordinary consciousness often attributes to action begin to appear in their statements. alcohol.
Diseases or simply PSYCHOSIS
Delirium tremens usually appears against the background of a hangover, with sudden cessation of drinking or during a period of abstinence, in cases of increased somatic diseases, injuries (especially fractures). The initial symptoms of psychosis are the deterioration of night sleep, the appearance of vegetative symptoms and tremors, as well as the patient's general liveliness, observed in movements, speech, facial expressions and especially his mood. During a short period of time, a variety of shades of mood can be observed, while during the hangover period the mood is monotonous, characterized by depression and anxiety. Unusual mood swings and general vitality intensify in the evening and at night, while during the day these disorders decrease significantly and may even disappear completely, which allows the patient to carry out his professional duties. As the symptoms of psychosis increase, complete insomnia appears, against which visual illusions first arise, and then various hallucinations and delusions.
Delirium tremens is characterized by a predominance of true visual hallucinations. They are characterized by a variety of images and mobility. Most often these are insects (bugs, cockroaches, beetles, flies) and small animals (cats, rats, mice). Less often, patients see large animals and people, in some cases having a fantastic appearance. Visions of snakes, devils, as well as dead relatives, the so-called wandering dead, are very typical. In some cases, visual illusions and hallucinations are single, in others they are multiple and scene-like, d. m. th. the patient sees complex pictures. There are often auditory, tactile, olfactory hallucinations, feelings of disturbance of the body's position in space. The mood of patients is extremely variable. In it, within a short time, one notices fear, complacency, bewilderment, surprise and despair. Patients usually move constantly, their facial expressions are expressive. Motor reactions correspond to the prevailing hallucinations and affect this moment - with fear and frightening visions, the patient hides, defends, gets excited; during periods of complacency - passive.
Patients are characterized by extreme distraction to external events; everything around them attracts their attention. Delirium in alcoholic delirium is fragmentary and reflects hallucinatory disorders. In terms of content, this is most often the delusion of persecution. Patients are usually misoriented in place (while in the hospital they say they are at home, in a restaurant, at work), but they are oriented in their personality. Alcoholic delirium is characterized by the periodic temporary disappearance of a significant part of mental disorders, the so-called lucid - mild intervals, as well as a marked natural increase in the symptoms of psychosis in the evening and at night.
Delirium tremens is constantly accompanied by a number of somatic disorders - tremors, sudden sweating, hyperemia of the skin, especially of the face. The temperature is often low. The pulse has increased. Protein often appears in the urine; in the blood - increased bilirubin content, a shift in the leukocyte formula to the left, acceleration of ROE. The course of the disease is usually short-term. Even without treatment, the symptoms of psychosis disappear within 3-5 days. Less often, the disease lasts 1-1, 5 weeks. Recovery is most often observed in the form of a crisis - after deep sleep. Sometimes healing is gradual, getting worse in the evening and at night and getting better during the day. Signs that indicate an unfavorable prognosis for delirium tremens are the development of symptoms of occupational delirium and delirium, high temperature and states of collapse.
Alcoholic hallucination develops either during a hangover or at the peak of excessive drinking. The main disorder is multiple auditory hallucinations combined with delusions of persecution. Auditory verbal hallucinations predominate, and the patient usually hears words "spoken" by a large number of people—a "chorus of voices, " as patients often describe it. Most often, the "voices" talk among themselves about the patient, less often they address the patient himself. The content of verbal hallucinations is threats, accusatory discussions of the patient's past actions, cynical abuse, insults. Hallucinations are often mocking and teasing in nature. Voices either intensify to a roar or fade to a whisper. Delusional ideas in content are closely related to auditory hallucinations - the so-called. hallucinatory delusions. They are fragmentary and unsystematic. The dominant influence is intense anxiety and fear. At the onset of psychosis, patients are motorically excited, but soon a delay appears or very regular behavior is observed, masking the psychosis. The latter creates a false and dangerous idea of improvement. As a rule, the symptoms of psychosis intensify in the evening and at night. Somatic disorders, common to hangover syndrome, are constant. The duration of alcoholic hallucinosis is from 2-3 days to several weeks, in rare cases, the disease lasts up to several months.
Alcoholic depression always appears against the background of a hangover syndrome. It is characterized by a depressed-anxious mood, ideas of self-deprecation, tears, as well as individual ideas of relationship and persecution. Duration - from several days to 1-2 weeks. It is in a state of alcoholic depression that alcoholics most often commit suicide.
Alcoholic epilepsy is symptomatic and associated with toxicosis. Convulsions most often occur at the height of intoxication during a hangover or during alcoholic delirium. As a rule, epileptiform seizures are observed. Minor seizures, twilight shocks, and auras do not occur in alcoholic epilepsy. With the cessation of alcohol abuse, seizures disappear.
Alcoholic paranoia is an alcoholic psychosis whose main symptom is delusion. It occurs in the state of hangover syndrome and at the peak of excessive drinking. The content of delusional ideas is limited to persecution or jealousy (ideas of adultery). In the first case, patients believe that there is a group of people who want to rob or kill them. They see confirmation of their thoughts in the gestures, actions and words of others. It is characterized by confusion, intense anxiety, often giving way to fear. Patients' actions are impulsive - they jump out of vehicles while driving, suddenly run away, turn to government authorities for help, and sometimes attack imaginary enemies. In some cases, delirium is accompanied by mild verbal illusions and hallucinations, as well as individual delirious symptoms that occur in the evening and at night. The course of this paranoid form is usually short-term - from a few days to a few weeks. Occasionally, psychosis lasts for months.
Alcoholic encephalopathies– alcoholic psychoses, developed in connection with metabolic disorders and, first of all, vitamins B and PP. Alcoholic encephalopathy occurs as a result of many years of alcoholism, accompanied by chronic gastritis or enteritis and as a result of the latter, with impaired absorption in the intestine. Alcoholic encephalopathies develop mainly in those individuals who drink too much but eat too little. Most often, alcoholic encephalopathies occur in the months of spring and early summer. Autonomic symptoms usually include heart rhythm disturbances, fever of central origin, respiratory problems, and sphincter weakness. You can constantly observe an increase in muscle tone. The general physical condition of patients is characterized by progressive weight loss to severe cachexia. The skin is pale or dark brown.
Chronic forms of alcoholic encephalopathy include Korsakoff psychosis and alcoholic pseudoparalysis. In some cases, they develop gradually, over several months, and then the nature of the onset corresponds to Gaye-Vorik encephalopathy, in others - acutely, after alcoholic psychoses, usually after delirium tremens.
Treatment of alcoholic psychoses. Patients with alcoholic psychosis should be urgently hospitalized in a special hospital. Some patients with hangover syndrome undergo hospitalization in cases where mental disorders, especially mood swings, are intense. Treatment of alcoholic psychosis in the hospital should be comprehensive - the use of multivitamins (B1, C, PP), cardiac and hypnotics with hypoglycemic and comatose doses of insulin or psychotronic drugs. The only effective treatment for alcoholic encephalonitis, especially acute, is therapy with large doses of vitamins: B1 - up to 600 mg, C - up to 1000 mg, PP - up to 300-400 mg per day for 2-4 weeks.
Alcohol poisoning.
People who abuse alcohol sometimes fall into a state of dizziness, leading to coma. In extremely severe cases, breathing may stop.
However, do not assume that a person who appears drunk has necessarily consumed alcohol. Similar symptoms are observed in other conditions (head injuries, stroke and diabetes, as well as overdose of certain drugs).
First aid.
If the victim is unconscious but still breathing, remove anything obstructing breathing (piece of snack, breakfast) from the mouth and pharynx with your finger, do not try to induce vomiting. Place the victim in the resuscitation position, free the neck and waist from tight clothing and ensure that the airway remains open.
If the victim does not regain consciousness, call an ambulance.
CONCLUSION
Alcoholism is a serious disease that in some cases develops over many years. So it is better not to drink too much and too often! And if you drink, then drink beer! ! ! : )