Alcoholism
Brief description of the disease
Alcoholism is a serious social problem. Its origins are in the demoralization of society and in the personal problems of an individual: inability to take place in professional and family life, uncertainty about the future. And also chronic alcoholism is a serious illness. And even if its reasons are unseemly, and are expressed in systematic drunkenness, the cause of many troubles is the alcoholic's family, nevertheless, alcoholic patients, like patients with any other disease, need adequate treatment and prevention of alcoholism. The second point is no less important than the first, since you can continue to remain an alcoholic, even if the last glass of vodka was drunk 10 years ago.
Stages of alcoholism
According to the severity of the disease, there are 3 stages of alcoholism.
The first stage of alcoholism
It is often called domestic drunkenness. A patient with alcoholism of this type can consume alcohol every day without getting drunk and even be proud of his body's resistance to alcohol. The hangover syndrome is still absent, but mental dependence on alcohol is beginning to form. A person is irritated, angry if he cannot drink a glass or two right now. Patients with alcoholism at this stage rarely seek help from a doctor. They do not admit to themselves and those around them that they have a problem, but if the first stage of alcoholism lasts for several years, it will turn into a qualitatively different form of the disease.
The second stage of alcoholism
The symptoms of the previous form of the disease are joined by a hangover, or withdrawal symptoms. The disease manifests itself in a feeling of weakness, pain throughout the body, nightmares, and impaired appetite when sober. Drinking alcohol can help reduce some of these symptoms. In a patient with alcoholism of the second stage, personality and mental abilities gradually begin to change. Already at this phase of alcoholism, the first manifestations of complications of the disease are possible - alcoholic delirium or delirium tremens. The second stage of alcoholism can also last for several years.
Third or final stage of alcoholism
Serious pathologies of the pancreas and liver of a patient with alcoholism reduce his body's tolerance to alcohol. A person now drinks alcohol in frequent small portions, and irreversible changes accumulate in his body. Signs of the third stage of alcoholism are serious somatic and neurological pathologies: hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, pancreatic necrosis, stomach ulcer, polyneuritis, etc. The final stage of alcoholism lasts no more than 3 years and ends in death.
Beer alcoholism
One of the most acute problems of mass alcohol consumption is beer alcoholism. The beer fashion is cultivated by the producers of this low-alcohol drink. Beer as a way to quench your thirst, beer for mood in good company, beer for beauty of hair and strength of nails … Beer alcoholism is the cause of many serious health problems caused not only by the use of regular small doses of alcohol, but also by excessive use of liquid in the drink itself and after him. It's no secret that beer is often drunk with a bite of salted fish, chips, crackers and other foods that cause thirst.
In medical circles, there is a term "beer heart" to denote the pathology that accompanies beer alcoholism. The systematic overflow of the human circulatory system with fluid leads to increased blood pressure, increased load on the heart, expansion of the organ cavities and its hypertrophy.
Beer alcoholism is not a harmless phenomenon at all. In addition to heart pathologies, in a person who regularly drinks beer, inflammation of the esophagus and stomach caused by exposure to cobalt in the intoxicated drink is more common. Beer alcoholism leads to early wear and tear of the kidneys and pancreas, significantly reduces potency and fertility (the ability to fertilize) in men.
Female alcoholism
Female alcoholism is an even more acute social problem and a serious illness. To single out female alcoholism, as a separate type of disease, is forced by the congenital poor tolerance of alcohol by the woman's body. The clinic for female alcoholism and its complications is significantly different from male alcoholism.
So, for example, if a man needs up to 10 years of regular drunkenness to become an alcoholic, a woman's first stage of alcoholism lasts no more than 3 years. And then there is an accelerated increase in symptoms and the manifestation of complications accompanying female alcoholism: hepatitis, pancreatic necrosis, liver cirrhosis. Personal changes also occur quickly: resentment, malice, hysteria, sexual promiscuity develop. Female alcoholism is less common today than male alcoholism, but under unfavorable social circumstances, strong emotional upheavals, working in a drinking establishment or with relatives who abuse alcohol, a woman becomes an alcoholic earlier than a man.
Treatment and prevention of alcoholism
Like any other disease, alcoholism needs treatment. And the sooner it is started, the more effective the result will be. The problem of alcoholism therapy is often complicated by the reluctance of the patients themselves to get rid of the addiction. In such cases, the treatment of a patient with alcoholism occurs under pressure from the family or administrative services. It is carried out in a narcological hospital and consists of several stages.
At the very beginning of therapy, a patient with alcoholism is helped to get rid of the hangover syndrome with medication. Isolation in a narcological dispensary in this case is necessary to eliminate the minimum likelihood of patient contact with alcohol. The second stage in the treatment of alcoholism lasts months or even years and consists in the restoration of the general state of health, ruined by regular drunkenness. During this stage of alcoholism therapy, various coding methods are usually additionally used - implantation of drugs under the skin that cause an aversion to alcohol. And at the third stage, social rehabilitation of an alcoholic patient takes place with the help of a psychotherapist and a temperance society, as well as with the support of the family.
Unfortunately, successful recovery from alcoholism does not always give a 100% guarantee against relapse of the disease. The prevention of alcoholism in a person who has a history of alcohol dependence diagnosis continues throughout his life and involves a complete rejection of alcohol.
Prevention of alcoholism in healthy people, especially among young people, is the task of the state, public organizations, medical institutions, families, schools. In the fight against a dangerous disease, all methods of preventing alcoholism are good: explanatory conversations, promoting a healthy lifestyle, restrictions on the sale of alcohol, etc.
Drinking alcohol in Russia and the world
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The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!
