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One out of thirteen adults are considered to be an alcoholic or
suffer from a drinking problem. Today, fourteen million Americans
suffer from a disease that is caused by a combination of physiological,
psychological, social, and genetic factors. Alcoholism is a
developmental disease that progresses slowly over a number of years and
is based on both the physical and emotional dependency on alcohol. In
many cases it leads to brain damage and/or early death.
Early symptoms include putting excessive importance on the
availability of alcohol, which influences a person's choice pastimes
and friends. Alcoholics use alcohol more as a personality changing drug
rather than a beverage served with food or as a social custom. An
alcoholic usually has a high tolerance to alcohol, which means being
able to drink more and show fewer side effects than others. The person
begins to drink even though it may not be in her/his best interest.
Alcohol comes to be more important than personal relationships, family,
work, or even health. People are unable to predict how much an
alcoholic will drink at a certain occasion or if the alcoholic is
practicing abstaining from alcohol, when the drinking will resume
again. Physical addiction will lead to drinking around the clock to
avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Ethyl alcohol, the alcohol used in alcoholic beverages, consists of
C2H5OH. It is a clear liquid with a burning taste and a pleasant smell.
It has toxic and sedative effects on the body. Alcohol can have major
effects on major organ systems. For example, it can cause ulcers,
inflammation or the pancreas, and cirrohosis of the liver. It can
permanently damage the central nervous system and the peripheral
nervous system. Withdrawal from alcohol, in severe cases, can cause
shaking limbs, hallucinations, and blackouts: which can be fatal if not
properly treated. Even withdrawal from hard drugs such as heroin rarely
results in death.
The liver is the largest internal organ in the body. In a healthy
adult, it weighs about 3 pounds and holds about thirteen percent of the
body's blood supply. Blood flowing from the stomach and intestines goes
into the liver where it extracts nutrients and toxins. The blood is
then pumped back to the heart. The liver performs over 500 vital
functions. It processes all of the nutrients that the body requires,
including proteins, glucose, vitamins, cholesterol, and fats. It also
makes potentially toxic substances, including alcohol, ammonia,
nicotine, drugs, and harmful by-products of digestion non-toxic.
The liver is particularly harmed by alcohol. In the body, alcohol
breaks down into various chemicals which are very toxic in the liver.
Alcoholic cirrhosis is the most common cause of cirrhosis in the U.S.
and is estimated to be responsible for 44% of deaths from cirrhosis in
North America. However, one Canadian study found alcohol to be the
major contributor to 80% of all cirrhosis deaths. About 10% to 35% of
heavy drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis. After years of drinking,
liver damage can be very severe, leading to cirrhosis in about 10% to
20% of cases. Not eating when drinking and consuming a variety of
alcoholic beverages are also factors that increase the risk for liver
damage. People with alcoholism are also at higher risk for hepatitis B
and C. People with alcoholism should be immunized against hepatitis
Band they may need a larger dose of the vaccine for it to be effective.
Recent evidence shows that even moderate drinking in women during
pregnancy can result in serious damage to the child. For example, it
may cause physical or mental retardation, and in some cases, fetal
alcohol syndrome.
Fetal alcohol syndrome is caused by alcohol consumption of pregnant
women. The consumption of alcohol greatly increases the risk of
abnormalities for the unborn child. Some of these abnormalities
include: growth deficiencies (head, weight, length etc.), facial
abnormalities (small head, small jaw, small, narrow unusual-looking
eyes), heart disease, and limb abnormalities.
Recognizing that one has a problem is the first step in treatment.
For most alcoholics, the next step is detoxification, which is the
medical management of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Patients
undergoing detox (detoxification), which usually requires less than a
week, usually stay in a specialized residential treatment facility or a
special unit of a hospital.
Alcoholics also have the option of involving themselves in a
treatment group, which may consist of individual counseling and group
therapy. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is one of these support groups. "AA
is a worldwide fellowhip of man and women who meet together to attain
and maintain sobriety (AA webpage)." There are no requirements for
joining AA, only the need to stop drinking. AA was started in 1935 when
two men, Bill W. and Dr. Bob S. met in Akron, Ohio to help each other
stay sober. Today, AA has grown to over 87,000 groups in more than 130
countries, with more than two million members. Their motto is to stay
away from "one drink at a time, one day at a time."
A board of trustees, seven whom are not alcoholics and fourteen who
AA members organize activities in the US and Canada and an
international conference is held every five years.
AA uses the twelve step method in approaching sobriety:
Step 1 We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had became unmanageable.
Step 2 Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of Gad as we understood him.
Step 4 Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 Admitted to God, to ourselves and to other human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Step 6 Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Step 7 Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Step 8 Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all.
Step 9 Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so we would injure them or others.
Step 10 Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Step 11 Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our
conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for
knowledge or His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Step 12 Having had a spiritual awakenings as the result of these
steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice
these principals in all our affairs.
New comers are not forced to follow all of these steps in they are
unwilling or unable to do so because of religious or personal beliefs.
They will however be asked to keep an open mind, to attend meetings,
and to read AA literature describing the AA program.
Other treatments involve doctor prescribed medication that may help
some alcoholics lessen their craving for alcohol. These medications,
when taken with alcoholic beverages, cause vomiting, nausea, and severe
headaches. Through classical conditioning the alcoholics begin to
subconsciously relate the side effects to the alcohol therefore, making
their drinking seem extremely unpleasant. Such drugs are antabase,
naltrexone, and acamprosate.
Although there have been many advances in the treatment of
alcoholism, there are still many deaths, more than 100,000 in the US,
resulting from the excess abuse of alcohol.
Levels of Drinking
Moderate drinking: equal to or less than two drinks a day for men and equal to or less than one drink a day for women.
At-risk drinking: more than 14 drinks per week or 4 drinks at one
sitting for men and more than seven drinks a week or three drinks at
one sitting for women.
Alcohol abuse: one or more of the following alcohol-related problems
over a period of one year: failure to fulfill work or personal
obligations; recurrent use in potentially dangerous situations;
problems with the law; and continued use in spite of harm being done to
social or personal relationships.
Alcohol dependence: The individual experiences three or more of the
following alcohol-related problems over a period of one year: increased
amounts of alcohol needed to produce an effect; withdrawal symptoms;
drinking more over a given period than intended; unsuccessful attempts
to quit or cut down; giving up significant leisure or work activities;
continuing drinking in spite of the knowledge of its physical or
psychological harm to oneself or others.
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