Alcohol Health Effects

Alcohol abuse can cause many problems.

One category of problems includes alcohol health effects.

There are both short and long-term risks associated with drinking alcohol.

You should be aware of these effects when consuming alcohol, as there are a number of effects that may cause you to think twice before consuming alcohol carelessly.

First – Alcohol abuse increases the risk of developing some forms of cancer. Colon, throat, liver, breast, esophagus, and mouth cancer have a higher chance of developing in a person who abuses alcohol. Second – Alcohol can affect the cardiovascular system. The person may develop a variety of heart problems, including having a heart attack.

Third – Alcohol abuse can affect the neurological system. A heavy drinker is more likely to experience a stroke, or develop dementia, than a person who does not drink. Fourth – The liver is affected by drinking alcohol. Someone who abuses alcohol can develop cirrhosis of the liver or alcoholic hepatitis.

Alcohol Effects During Pregnancy

While these effects may develop over time, there are other effects that do not require many years of drinking to develop. A number of serious problems can occur when a pregnant woman drinks alcohol. One is fetal alcohol syndrome. A child born to a mother who drinks during pregnancy can have a variety of problems that are not curable. From mental retardation to growth deficiency, fetal alcohol syndrome can affect the child for the rest of his life.

In addition to mental and medical problems, fetal alcohol syndrome can even affect a child’s physical appearance. His or her body size and facial features will look different from normal children. All of these problems can be the consequences of a mother drinking during her pregnancy. Alcohol use during pregnancy can also increase the risk of other birth defects, stillbirth, and miscarriage. Pregnant women should know it is not safe to drink any alcohol when they are pregnant.

How Alcohol Abuse Can Affect Your Health

An immediate risk from alcohol abuse is alcohol poisoning. When a person consumes a very large quantity of alcohol, it will affect his or her central nervous system. This in turn can cause him or her to lose consciousness, his or her temperature and blood pressure to drop, and he or she may become comatose. This type of binge drinking can result in death. While anyone can experience alcohol poisoning, it is especially common among young people who make binge drinking a part of their social lives.

There can be everyday alcohol health effects, too. When a person makes alcohol abuse a part of his or her life, he or she may experience headaches, nausea, hangovers, alcohol cravings, and insomnia. These problems can impact his or her everyday life. When he or she does not feel well, he or she is not likely to perform well at his or her job, school, or with family responsibilities. A general sense of unwellness can be a serious consequence of alcohol abuse.

Alcohol health effects also include mental health issues. He or she can experience severe depression and consider or attempt suicide. Personality changes and mood swings are also common effects of alcohol abuse. He or she may become very difficult to get along with, lose his or her motivation to meet his or her everyday obligations, and be below a normal functioning level.

An additional health risk involves people who are taking medications. Whether a person is using over-the-counter or prescription medication, it can interact with the alcohol and increase the effects of the alcohol. While many medications include warnings to not drink any alcohol, many people do not take these warnings seriously.

There are even people who do not notice the warnings on medication packages. Various factors affect a person’s risk of developing serious problems from drinking. Some of these factors include a person’s body size, general health, and age. However, this does not mean anyone should consider himself immune from alcohol health effects. Health problems will occur from alcohol abuse, even if they do not occur immediately.

Dealing with the Effects of Alcohol

The best approach to alcohol health effects is to not drink at all. While many people are capable of drinking in moderation, there is simply no reason to take unnecessary risks. The alcohol you put into your body today can have an immediate effect, have serious effects in the future, or make your daily life unmanageable. If you have already started drinking, now is a good time to quit.

If you find you cannot easily give up the habit, there are many resources available to help you. If drinking has become an addiction, you may want to consider a treatment program. There are many fine treatment programs, and you can easily find one to meet your needs. Alcohol does not have to control your life, or result in any of these unwanted alcohol health effects. You can start to put drinking behind you today, and have a safer, healthier life.

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