The effects of alcohol on the body
Prolonged alcohol consumption can cause liver cells to lose their regenerative abilities and can cause cirrhosis.
The effects of alcohol on the body are innumerable and depend above all on ethanol, a psychoactive drug that causes many side effects that seriously alter the body. In this case, the amount of alcohol ingested plays a very important role, as well as the circumstances. If you ingest alcohol on a full stomach, the effects on the body are less. Conversely, if taken on an empty stomach, the effects are far greater. How does alcohol affect the body? The effects of alcohol on the body are of various kinds, since at first it produces a great feeling of satisfaction and cheerfulness, but later it generates blurred vision and serious coordination problems. Cell membranes cannot hold back the passage of alcohol which, finding itself in the blood, spreads to most of the tissues that make up the body. Excessive alcohol consumption makes it easy to lose lucidity and, if consumed in really exaggerated quantities, alcohol poisoning could even lead to death.
This is because a high percentage of alcohol in the blood could cause cardiorespiratory arrest or death from asphyxiation caused by vomiting. After ingesting alcohol, it can take thirty to ninety minutes to reach the blood. At that moment the sugars found in the blood are reduced, causing severe weakness and fatigue. This happens because alcohol accelerates the transformation of glycogen into glucose, which is eliminated more quickly. The stages of ethyl poisoning The effects of alcohol are many and their severity depends on the quantities ingested. Ethyl poisoning is divided into phases: The first is characterized by euphoria, excitement, disinhibition and impulsiveness. The second is that of intoxication: when the body is not used to alcohol, the nervous system is affected, the ability to coordinate movements and balance is lost, often causing falls. Alcohol also causes depression and loss of heat by the body. The third is the hypnotic phase, characterized by much confusion, irritability, restlessness, sleep, nausea, vomiting and headache. The fourth phase is "anesthetic", characterized by strong amazement, meaningless words are said, lucidity is considerably reduced, muscle strength is lost, the urge to urinate is not controlled, it is difficult to breathe. The fifth phase is the one that leads to death: you go into cardiovascular shock, breathing stops and you die. The effects of alcohol on the body The effects of alcohol consumption on the body are many, in the short or long term, and damage many organs.
To the brain and nervous system Frequent alcohol consumption severely damages brain function. In the first place the emotions, causing sudden mood swings, motor skills are altered making it difficult to pronounce words and causing loss of balance and slowness in movements. It can alter the action of neurotransmitters, modifying their structure and function. This causes several consequences: limited ability to react, slow reflexes, inability to coordinate movements, tremors and hallucinations. Self-control is lost, memory, ability to concentrate and motor functions are severely impaired. All these effects of alcohol cause a great deal of behavioral disturbances and motor accidents that have caused the deaths of a considerable number of people around the world. Alcohol causes severe damage to brain cells, as well as to peripheral nerves; such damage can be permanent. Alcohol can also cause a reduction in vitamin B1, resulting in Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which causes the alteration of feelings, thoughts and memory.
Most people who drink alcohol frequently have difficulty sleeping. These people also tend to isolate themselves from the work and family environment, often abandoning the family, divorcing and losing their jobs; all this can degenerate into a deep depression which, in most cases, culminates in suicide. Most of these effects of alcohol occur based on the quantity and frequency with which it is ingested. In very high doses it is possible to go into a coma; in the event that alcohol consumption is exaggeratedly high, very serious mental alterations and permanent brain damage occur. There are periods of anemia, with memory changes for a few minutes or hours or even days. To the heart and respiratory system Increases cardiac activity. The consumption of very high doses can increase blood pressure and arterial pressure, causing damage to the heart muscle following the toxic effect of alcohol. The heart muscle becomes weak and, as a result, the ability to pump blood decreases. Peripheral vasodilation occurs, which causes redness in the skin and an increase in its surface temperature.
To the digestive system: stomach, pancreas, liver and esophagus All gastric disorders are due to the fact that ethanol erodes and irritates the gastric mucosa. This is heartburn, which can increase if you drink more alcohol together. Alcohol increases the production of gastric acid, causing irritation and inflammation in the stomach walls. This condition can cause ulcers and internal bleeding that can be fatal. High alcohol consumption can cause cancer of the stomach, larynx, esophagus and pancreas. It can cause esophagitis, or inflammation of the esophagus, as well as bleeding esophageal varices. Acute pancreatitis occurs, which is severe inflammation of the pancreas that can lead to death. Pancreatitis can also be chronic and cause permanent intense pain. The consumption of alcohol can lead the person to suffer from type II diabetes, with all the serious consequences that this disease causes to those who suffer from it. The organ in charge of metabolizing alcohol is the liver: liver enzymes transform alcohol first into acetaldehyde and then into acetate and other compounds. The process is very slow, so liver tissue damage occurs. Due to hepatic cellular irritation and inflammation, this condition can often degenerate into alcoholic hepatitis. The liver can be affected by first turning into fatty liver, later suffering from possible hepatitis, then again cirrhosis and finally the formation of liver cancer. Damage to this organ can also cause jaundice, or the yellow color of the skin, a yellowish color of the sclera (white part of the eye) and the accumulation of fluids in the limbs.
Renal function is severely impaired, as the levels of the antidiuretic hormone that causes dehydration are reduced. Alcohol provides a large amount of calories with a very low nutritional value, prevents the absorption of some minerals and vitamins, eliminates appetite and, therefore, causes malnutrition. To the blood It prevents the production of white and red blood cells. When there is not enough red blood cells to carry oxygen, megaloblastic anemia occurs. To the immune and reproductive system Lack of white blood cells damages the immune system, thus increasing the risk of contracting bacterial and viral infections. Decreases sexual desire. It can cause infertility and erectile dysfunction. To pregnancy and the fetus Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome in the fetus. The symptoms of this pathology concern growth retardation, alteration of the craniofacial features, cardiac, hepatic, renal and ocular malformations. The greatest damage occurs in the central nervous system of the fetus, which can present marked mental retardation. Alcohol dependence syndrome or alcoholism This, associated with the large amount of symptoms and diseases associated with it, is by far one of the most serious effects of alcohol.
The hope is that this list with all the serious damage and health problems that alcohol can cause will be of great help to those who cannot control the urge to drink; we hope that in this way these people are able to become aware of the gravity of the situation and that, at least, they ask for help from an expert. Alcoholism rather than a "vice", as it is defined by most people, is instead a serious health problem to pay attention to when you start to feel the desire to drink frequently. If you have a friend, family member or acquaintance with this problem, try to convince them to let themselves be helped and go to a rehabilitation center for alcoholics. In the future he will thank you for this: he will get rid of an innumerable amount of problems, both family and personal and, more importantly, he will solve serious health problems which, if not treated in time, can often be fatal.
