Alcoholic beverages are the most common product on the shelves of almost every grocery store. Certain doses of alcohol lead to serious changes and disorders in the human body. Awareness of the harmfulness of alcohol can help to reject it completely or limit alcohol consumption to acceptable levels.
What harm does alcohol do to humans?
Offenders do not think about the consequences of intoxication, and these are:
- mental degradation;
- deterioration in physical and mental health;
- problems in society;
- bad heredity;
- financial problems;
- amoral behavior.
According to statistics, men are more likely to drink. This happens for many reasons, such as bad company or the illusion that alcohol can relieve stress. But it also extends to women and, worst of all, to teenagers.
Harmful substances contained in alcohol
Knowing what pollutants are in the most common types of alcohol can help you understand how it affects our quality of life.
Popular intoxicants contain health and life-threatening substances:
- ethanol. Regular and excessive use leads to addiction. In small amounts, it does not harm the body, but an overdose can cause sudden unconsciousness or even death.
- phytoestrogen. The female hormone (found in beer) leads to disruption of male and female reproductive organs.
- fusel oils. In large quantities they are poisonous. With constant absorption into the body, they increase the risk of gastric ulcer, cause blindness, impotence and liver disease.
- cobalt. In small amounts, it is a useful trace element, but when it accumulates in the body, it becomes dangerous for the normal functioning of the heart and gastrointestinal tract.
- N-nitrosodimethylamine. Highly toxic substance, especially destructive effect on the liver.
- biogenic amines. Toxic chemical compound. In small amounts it can be useful, but when abused it leads to convulsions, vomiting and diarrhea.
- Sodium Benzoate (E-211). Once in the stomach, it causes severe oxidation of epithelial cells. This leads to gastritis, peptic ulcer, pancreatitis. Contributes to the aggravation of chronic allergic diseases: asthma, urticaria, psoriasis.
- Phosphoric acid (E-338). Has a destructive effect on bone tissue and tooth enamel. It provokes gastrointestinal disorders, leads to weight loss. A high concentration of the substance causes a burn of the respiratory tract.
Harmful effect on the body of adolescents
Alcohol adversely affects the processes of growing up and development of a teenager:
- Intellectual and emotional decline.
- Vitamins and useful microelements entering the body are poorly absorbed, which negatively affects the condition of teeth, nails, hair and skin.
- The risk of problems with the heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, the occurrence of diseases that usually occur in people with older age (eg, pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus).
- Bone and muscle tissue growth stops.
- Liver, kidneys, reproductive system suffer.
Female Alcoholism
The Difference Between Developing Male And Female Addiction:
- In women, addiction occurs faster, and treatment of this disease is ineffective. This is due to the characteristics of the female body: it has fewer enzymes that help break down alcohol-containing products. Therefore, toxins are not eliminated from the body for a long time and quickly lead to adverse effects on the organs.
- Women prefer low-alcohol drinks (wine, champagne, cocktails). Because of this, it is more difficult to control the level of intoxication, and the transition to strong drinks, as a rule, occurs already in the last stages of alcoholism.
- Embarrassed by addiction, women are more likely to drink alone and seek help when it is difficult enough to hide the changes. The rehabilitation process is more difficult and longer than in men.
Because of alcohol's effect on the egg, conceiving, carrying, and giving birth to a child can be a difficult or even impossible task.
Conception at the time of intoxication affects the genetic information of the oocyte. After the birth of such a fetus, in principle, there is a threat of the birth of an heir with cerebral palsy syndrome (infantile cerebral palsy) or with other diseases of external and internal organs. There is also a chance that the placenta will detach during pregnancy and the fetus will die.
social harm
Wife/husband, children, relatives, friends, co-workers, neighbors and bystanders can be victims of inappropriate behavior from a drunk person:
- work. Employers will not accept or immediately fire an alcoholic for missing shifts without good reason or doing the job poorly.
- Drive. Half of the accidents are due to a drunk driver.
- breaking the law. Most crimes are committed by drunks or fairly drunk people as they are more prone to aggression and even murder.
- immoral behavior. First sexual experiences, unwanted pregnancies and cases of rape occur most frequently when one or both partners are drunk.
- Unhealthy home atmosphere. Children grow up in an unfavorable environment and may inherit the negative example of their parents.
- Divorce. All innocent family members suffer. Mothers or fathers alone raise children affected by the upbringing in an incomplete family.
How does alcohol affect health?
The table shows popular alcoholic beverages, their composition and which organs they affect.
| Drink | composition | Organ damage and possible consequences |
|---|---|---|
| beer | Carbohydrates, ethyl alcohol, nitrogenous substances |
|
| vodka | Purified water, ethyl alcohol. The composition may include chemical additives and spices |
|
| cognac | Alcohols, organic acids, ethyl esters, tannins and tannins |
|
| Low alcohol cocktails | Ethanol, synthetic additives and chemical additives |
|
liver and digestive system
The destruction of the liver is associated with a violation of protein metabolism and at the first stage it is usually not accompanied by subjective sensations and changes in laboratory parameters.
There are five stages of liver destruction:
- adaptive hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver);
- alcoholic fatty steatosis;
- alcoholic hepatitis;
- alcoholic fibrosis of the liver;
- Cirrhosis.
Common signs of these diseases:
- constant weakness;
- yellowish skin and eyeballs;
- the temperature is above normal;
- Pain in the right hypochondrium.
In fact, alcohol, getting into the intestines, leaves a chemical burn on its mucous membrane. Regular intoxications lead to problems with bowel movements (soft stool or constipation, faecal stones), which can usually only be solved surgically.
More is possible:
- angioedema;
- Diarrhea;
- hives;
- Gastritis;
- ulcerative dyspepsia;
- pancreatitis;
- necrosis of pancreatic tissue;
- colon cancer.
heart and blood vessels
After drinking alcohol, ethyl alcohol enters the bloodstream and remains in the vessels for about 7 hours, causing them to expand and disrupting the normal rhythm of the heart. Frequent alcohol consumption, even in small amounts, inevitably leads to clogging of the cerebral vessels, which rupture when blood pressure rises. At best, a person survives but remains disabled and at worst, fatal.
Minimal but constant doses of alcohol are dangerous and provoke the following painful conditions:
- lack of oxygen;
- Vessels thicken, shrink, burst;
- atrial flutter;
- extrasystole;
- cardiomyopathy;
- arterial hypertension;
- Hypertension;
- heart attack;
- atherosclerosis.
The pulse increases from 95 to 100 beats per minute. Fat accumulates in the heart muscle, or it gains weight and becomes flabby.
brain and nervous system
The entry of ethyl alcohol into the bloodstream has a devastating effect on the red blood cells, which are responsible for air transport to the brain. The oxygen no longer penetrates the brain cells and as a result they die off one by one.
This leads to poor performance:
- vestibular apparatus;
- "moral" center (the sense of shame disappears, boasting appears);
- Reminder;
- Attention.
The excitation and inhibition processes in the nervous system are disturbed, which leads to the following signs of antisocial and painful behavior:
- manifestation of aggression;
- inability to control yourself;
- illogical representation of thoughts;
- suicidal tendencies;
- violation of the dynamics of movement;
- the occurrence of seizures;
- the appearance of hallucinations.
respiratory system
A rough, hoarse voice with a peculiar timbre is aptly referred to as a "drunk" bass. People who love to abuse are most likely to get TB.
Addiction damages the following areas of the respiratory system:
- Throat;
- the entire nasopharynx;
- Larynx.
People who drink regularly suffer from such chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract as:
- Laryngitis;
- tracheobronchitis;
- atrophic pharyngitis.
Shortness of breath occurs both with moderate physical exertion and at rest. There is also a characteristic unpleasant smell of smoke from the drinker, which is the cause of the breakdown of ethanol, which is excreted through the lungs.
sexual dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction and even impotence are consequences of alcoholism. Regular consumption of strong drinks impairs fertility. Erection problems can lead to ongoing depression.
The myth is the claim that small doses of alcohol have a positive effect on male power. The accumulated ethanol disrupts the normal functioning of nerve endings, so intimacy does not bring the expected pleasure.
Alcoholism negatively affects the quality of women's sex life. It is this disease that is one of the main causes of frigidity and in its most severe manifestations. This causes emotional problems for both partners and often breaks up the family.
immunity
The benefits of high-quality (preferably red) wine made from natural juice, in limited quantities, really come into play: it removes toxins, strengthens the immune system. But a large amount, even the most expensive alcoholic drink, will adversely affect health.
The thing is that at this moment the following defenders of the immune system are suppressed:
- lymphocytes;
- macrophages;
- granulocytes.
Consequences of an immune deficiency:
- Wounds don't heal for a long time;
- bones are not properly formed;
- greater likelihood of HIV transmission;
- poorly restored skin from burns and injuries.
change in appearance
The reason for the violet color of the skin is ethyl alcohol, which has the effect of increasing the pulse and blood pressure. Over time, the vessels cannot withstand the constant strain and blue and red bruises form.
Swelling is explained by the fact that the body is trying with all its might to restore water balance after the toxins contained in vodka, beer and other intoxicating drinks have got into it. And the female body does it more actively. An alcoholic is tormented by constant thirst, but absorbs water very slowly. He drinks and the fluid builds up, causing swelling of his hands, feet and face.
In addition to looking unattractive, there can be "obvious" post-fight complications (scratches, bruises, abrasions, broken bones) that chronic drinkers are often involved in.
During the development of chronic alcoholism, narcologists observe external symptoms in patients such as:
- physical exhaustion;
- swollen face;
- crimson tongue;
- high temperature;
- dry, scaly, or oily skin;
- heavy sweating;
- Tachycardia, arrhythmia.
photo gallery
The effects of alcohol on various organs can be seen in the photos below.
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standards of use
It is best to categorically refuse the regular use of any product containing alcohol. However, if a person has decided to just reduce its amount, then it will be interesting for him to know that there are acceptable rates of consumption.
The weekly norm (with two days of complete rejection) of low-risk alcohol for the stronger sex is less than 5 liters of beer with a strength of 4. 5 degrees or 50 grams of vodka or cognac for lunch and dinner (daily) , or threeglasses of dry wine. For women, this norm is 3 liters of beer per week, or 80 grams of vodka with dinner, or two glasses of wine.
It is worth remembering that if you have abstained from strong drinks on certain days, this does not mean that you can drink more on another day without negative consequences.
Nevertheless, calculations for the consumer must be made individually, taking into account:
- Weight;
- Growth;
- Age;
- Metabolism;
- heredity;
- first experiences with alcohol.
Attention!The information is for informational purposes and is not a guide to action. Do not treat yourself, consult your doctor first.