Alcoholic beverages are the most common product on the shelves of almost all stores. Certain doses of alcohol lead to serious changes and disorders in the human body. Awareness of the harmfulness of alcohol can help to completely reject or limit alcohol intake to acceptable levels.
What harm does alcohol do to people?
Abusers do not think about the consequences of drunkenness, which are:
- mental degradation;
- deterioration of physical and mental health;
- problems in society;
- poor heredity;
- financial problems;
- immoral behavior.
According to statistics, men drink more often. This happens for many reasons, for example, due to bad company or the delusion that alcohol can alleviate stress. But it also applies to women and, worst of all, teenagers.
Harmful substances contained in alcohol
By knowing which harmful substances the most common types of alcohol contain, you can understand how it affects the quality of our lives.
Popular intoxicating liquids contain substances dangerous to health and life:
- Ethanol. Regular and excessive use leads to addiction. In small amounts it does not harm the body, but an overdose can lead to sudden loss of consciousness or even death.
- Phytoestrogens. Female hormone (contained in beer) leads to disorders of the male and female reproductive systems.
- Fusel oil. They are toxic in large quantities. Constant intake increases the risk of stomach ulcers, causing blindness, impotence and liver disease.
- Cobalt. In small quantities, it is a useful trace element, but if it accumulates in the body, it becomes dangerous for the normal functioning of the heart and gastrointestinal tract.
- N-nitrosodimethylamine. Very toxic substance, especially destructive to the liver.
- Biogenic amines. Toxic chemical compound. It can be useful in small amounts, but if abused, it leads to convulsions, vomiting and diarrhea.
- sodium benzoate (E-211). When it enters the stomach, it causes a sharp oxidation of epithelial cells. This leads to gastritis, stomach ulcers, pancreatitis. Contributes to the exacerbation of chronic allergic diseases: asthma, urticaria, psoriasis.
- phosphoric acid (E-338). It has a destructive effect on bone tissue and tooth enamel. Provokes gastrointestinal disorders, leads to weight loss. High concentrations of the substance cause burns of the respiratory tract.
Adverse effect on adolescents
Alcohol has a detrimental effect on the processes of growing up and development of teenagers:
- Intellectual and emotional decline.
- Vitamins and useful microelements that enter 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 appearance of diseases that, as a rule, in people of mature age (for example, pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus) increases.
- The growth of bone and muscle tissue is stopped.
- The liver, kidneys and reproductive system are affected.
Female alcoholism
The difference between the development of 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: there are fewer enzymes that help break down products that contain alcohol. Therefore, toxins are not excreted from the body for a long time and quickly lead to harmful effects on organs.
- Women prefer low-alcohol drinks (wine, champagne, cocktails). Due to that, it is more difficult to control the level of intoxication, and the transition to strong drinks usually happens 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 for men.
Due to the influence of alcohol on the ovum, 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 from the egg. After the birth of such a fetus, there is a fundamental danger of giving birth to an heir with cerebral palsy syndrome (infantile cerebral palsy) or other disorders of external and internal organs. There is also a possibility that the placenta may peel off during gestation and the fetus may die.
Social Harm
Spouse, children, relatives, friends, colleagues, neighbors and bystanders may fall victim to the inappropriate behavior of a drunk person:
- Work. Employers do not want to accept or immediately dismiss a person who drinks because he misses shifts for no good reason or does a poor job.
- driving. Half of the accidents are caused by a drunk driver.
- Breaking the law. Most crimes are committed by those who are drunk or quite drunk, because they are more prone to aggression and even murder.
- immoral behavior. The first sexual experience, unplanned pregnancy and cases of rape most often occur when one or both partners are drunk.
- Unhealthy home atmosphere. Children grow up in an unfavorable environment and can inherit the negative example of their parents.
- Divorce. All innocent family members suffer. Mothers or fathers raise their own children who are affected by raising in an incomplete family.
How does alcohol affect health?
The table shows popular alcoholic beverages, their composition, as well as which organs are affected.
| Drinks | 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
Liver destruction is associated with a violation of protein metabolism and in the first stage is usually not accompanied by subjective feelings and changes in laboratory parameters.
There are five stages of liver destruction:
- adaptive hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver);
- alcoholic fatty steatosis;
- alcoholic hepatitis;
- alcoholic liver fibrosis;
- cirrhosis.
Common signs of these diseases:
- constant weakness;
- yellowish skin and eyeballs;
- the temperature is above normal;
- pain in the right hypochondrium.
The alcohol that enters the gut, in fact, leaves a chemical burn to its mucosa. Regular intoxication leads to problems with defecation (heavy stool or constipation, fecal stones), which are usually resolved exclusively surgically.
More possible:
- angioedema;
- diarrhea;
- hives;
- gastritis;
- ulcerative dyspepsia;
- pancreatitis;
- pancreatic tissue necrosis;
- bowel cancer.
Heart and blood vessels
After consuming alcohol, ethyl alcohol enters the bloodstream and stays in the blood vessels for about 7 hours, which causes them to dilate, disrupting the normal heart rhythm. Frequent alcohol intake, even in modest amounts, inevitably leads to blockage of cerebral vessels, which burst with increasing blood pressure. At best, the person survives but remains disabled, and at worst, fatal.
Minimal but constant doses of alcohol are dangerous and cause the following painful conditions:
- oxygen starvation;
- vessels thicken, shrink, crack;
- atrial fibrillation;
- extrasystole;
- cardiomyopathy;
- arterial hypertension;
- hypertension;
- heart attack;
- atherosclerosis.
The heart rate increases from 95 to 100 beats per minute. Fat accumulates in the heart muscle, that is, it increases and becomes flabby.
Brain and nervous system
The entry of ethyl alcohol into the bloodstream causes a devastating effect on red blood cells, which are responsible for transporting air to the brain. Oxygen stops entering the brain cells and as a result they die one by one.
This leads to poor performance:
- vestibular apparatus;
- "moral" center (feeling of shame disappears, ostentation appears);
- memory;
- attention.
The processes of excitation and inhibition in the nervous system are disturbed, which leads to the following signs of antisocial and painful behavior:
- manifestation of aggression;
- inability to control ourselves;
- illogicality in the presentation of thoughts;
- suicidal tendencies;
- violation of movement dynamics;
- seizures;
- hallucinations.
Respiratory system
The rough, hoarse voice of distinctive timbre is aptly called "drunk" bass. People who like abuse are more likely to get tuberculosis.
Addiction damages the following areas of the respiratory system:
- pharynx;
- whole nasopharynx;
- larynx.
People who drink regularly have such chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract as:
- laryngitis;
- tracheobronchitis;
- atrophic pharyngitis.
Shortness of breath occurs both during moderate physical exertion and during rest. There is also a characteristic unpleasant smell of fumes from the drinker, which is the cause of the decomposition of ethanol that is excreted through the lungs.
sexual dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction and even impotence are the consequences of alcoholism. Regular consumption of strong drinks negatively affects the ability to reproduce. Erection problems can lead to long-term depression.
The myth is that small doses of alcohol have a positive effect on male strength. Accumulated ethanol disrupts the normal functioning of nerve endings, so intimacy does not bring the expected pleasure.
Alcoholism negatively affects the quality of a woman's sex life. This disease is one of the main causes of frigidity, and in its most severe manifestations. This leads to emotional problems for both partners, and often to the breakup of the family.
Immunity
The advantages of high-quality (best red) wine from natural juice, in limited quantities, are really present: it removes toxins, strengthens the immune system. But a large amount, even the most expensive alcoholic beverage, will negatively affect health.
The fact is that the following defenders of the immune system are currently being suppressed:
- lymphocytes;
- macrophages;
- granulocytes.
Consequences of immunodeficiency:
- wounds do not heal for long;
- bones are not properly formed;
- higher likelihood of HIV transmission;
- poorly restored skin from burns and injuries.
Changing the look
The reason for the purple color of the skin is ethyl alcohol, which works by speeding up the pulse and raising blood pressure. Over time, the veins do not tolerate constant stress and blue and red bruises form.
Swelling is explained by the fact that the body tries with all its might to restore the balance of water after the toxins contained in vodka, beer and other intoxicating drinks enter it. And the female body makes it more active. The alcoholic is tormented by constant thirst, however, water is absorbed very slowly. He drinks, and fluid accumulates, resulting in swelling of the hands, feet, and also the face.
In addition to an unattractive appearance, after a fight there may be "obvious" complications (scratches, bruises, scratches, fractures), which often include chronic drunks.
During the development of chronic alcoholism, narcologists observe external symptoms in patients, such as:
- physical exhaustion;
- swollen face;
- crimson tongue;
- fever;
- dry, scaly or oily skin;
- heavy sweating;
- tachycardia, arrhythmia.
photo gallery
You can see the effect of alcohol on various organs in the following photos.
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Standards of use
It would be best to categorically refuse regular use of products 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 consumption rates.
The weekly norm (with two days of complete rejection) of alcohol with a low risk of harm to the stronger sex is less than 5 liters of beer of 4, 5 degrees or 50 grams of vodka or cognac for lunch and dinner (daily), or three glasses of dry wine. For women, this norm is 3 liters of beer a week, or 80 grams of vodka for dinner, or two glasses of wine.
It is worth considering that if you abstained from strong drinks on certain days, it does not mean that you can drink more on the second day without harmful consequences.
However, consumer budgets must be made individually, taking into account:
- weight;
- growth;
- Age;
- metabolism;
- heredity;
- first experience of alcohol consumption.
Attention!The information is presented for information purposes and is not a guide to action. Do not self-medicate, consult your doctor first.