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When Hazardous and Excessive Drinking Results in Serious Health Problems

September 26, 2009

For more than a few years alcohol dependency research has revealed the fact that there is strong correlation between alcohol dependency and serious health conditions.

For instance, in 2005, scientific research and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion annually. It can be emphasized that this massive alcohol-related expense was substantially more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is pertinent to underline these facts, it is also noteworthy to emphasize the point that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health conditions.

More explicitly, chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism are also highly associated with obesity and with cancer.

Indeed, substance abuse exploration has demonstrated the fact that alcohol dependency can amplify the risk for different kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the kidneys, rectum, colon, voice box (larynx), esophagus, throat, and the liver. Abusive and repetitive drinking can also lead to immune system problems and damage to the fetus during pregnancy.

Irresponsible and Abusive Drinking Destabilizes the Problem Drinker’s Systems and Organs

What is more, if alcohol addiction continues over a period of years, the person’s body organs will probably be affected in an unsafe manner. As an illustration, chronic, hazardous drinking is especially harmful to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Extreme amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and destroys the ability of liver cells to reproduce. This condition leads to a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in due course lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a serious and possibly fatal medical problem.Excessive, long-term drinking not only can lead to serious liver damage, but it can also lead to damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this serious may be irreversible and may, in turn, result in severe disease or an early death.

The Critical Nature of Alcohol Rehab

It is vital, therefore, to know how to recognize the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent person can be given the opportunity to get the professional alcohol rehabilitation he or she needs.

Alcohol Addiction and Sophisticated Brain Exploration

Fortuitously, medical investigation is relentlessly uncovering novel and significant information. Recent alcoholism research offers an excellent example. More to the point, for approximately the last ten years, complex brain-imaging scanning instruments have shown that repetitive and long-term abusive drinking modifies the structure of the brain to a significant extent, consequently resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or possibly as long as the individual lives.

More explicitly, medical investigation has shown that individuals who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for a substantial length of time increase their risk for developing long-term and significant transformations in the brain.

This type of damage may be directly related to severe liver disease, to the alcohol’s effects on the brain, or might be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health.

Malnutrition, Excessive Drinking, and Mental Disorders

As a final illustration of assorted health problems that are considerably related to alcohol dependency, take into account the fact that according to scientific examination, the hazardous and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a medical condition that lessens the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

This type of organ malfunctioning is linked to malnutrition and to an assortment of serious neurological and mental problems including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical condition is a long lasting debilitating condition that is epitomized by persistent memory and learning problems.

Summary

It is obvious that continued, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly related to numerous critical medical problems that can and do lead to dangerous diseases and premature death. Such information needs to be underlined and presented to everyone in our society so that most individuals will be able to refrain from excessive drinking while others who have a drinking problem will get the quality rehab they require.

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