Heavy and Hazardous Drinking Leads to Critical Health Problems
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by: DennyMitchell
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While these statistics and facts have enough merit to stand on their own, it is instructive to highlight the interlinking that exists between all three of these health issues. In other words, alcohol dependency and chronic alcohol abuse are also strongly interconnected with obesity and with cancer.
From a different vantage point, alcoholism and medical research has confirmed that chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction substantially increase an individuals risk for various kinds of cancer such as cancer of the voice box (larynx), kidneys, throat, rectum, liver, esophagus, and cancer of the colon. Furthermore, excessive and abusive drinking over an extended time period can also result in immune system issues and abnormalities of the fetus during pregnancy.
In a similar manner, the longer a person drinks in a hazardous and excessive manner the more likely it is that his or her organs will be adversely affected. As a case in point, heavy, long term drinking is especially dangerous to the liver because of the livers primary importance in processing the alcohol that has been consumed. In fact, a large amount of alcohol kills liver cells and inhibits the ability of the liver to regenerate. The upshot of this is a progressive inflammatory disease of the liver that can eventually result in cirrhosis of the liver, a serious and potentially lethal disease.
Long term, hazardous and excessive drinking not only can lead to critical liver damage, but it can also result in impairment to the individuals heart and to his or her brain. Physical damage this severe may be irreparable and may ultimately result in devastating health conditions or an untimely and premature death.
It is therefore essential to know how to identify the various signs and symptoms of alcoholism so that the problem drinker can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol rehab he or she requires.
It is indeed fortuitous that medical science is continuously seeking and finding novel and relevant alcohol-related facts and information. For example, for roughly the past nine or ten years, technologically advanced brain-imaging scanning instruments have demonstrated that heavy, chronic drinking modifies the inner functioning of the brain to such a significant degree that the resulting brain damage can last months, years, or maybe as long as the problem drinker exists.
Put another way, medical research has discovered that people who have been drinking in an abusive and irresponsible manner for a substantial period of time considerably increase their risk for developing severe brain damage. Damage this critical can be directly correlated to the effects of alcohol on the brain or to severe liver disease, or may be indirectly associated with the individuals poor overall health.
As a final illustration of various health issues that are highly correlated with alcoholism, it needs to be emphasized that heavy, excessive drinking can result in erosive gastritis, a medical condition that decreases the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients. Erosive gastritis, in turn, can lead to organ malfunctioning that is linked to malnutrition and to a number of serious neurological and mental disorders such as memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Korsakoff's syndrome and Wernicke's Encephalopathy.
It is plain to see that heavy, repeated drinking is directly or indirectly correlated with a number of acute medical issues that can and do lead to serious diseases and medical conditions and quite possibly to premature death. It is also obvious that these facts and statistics and this information needs to be stressed and taught to every person in our society so that a significant number of individuals will be able to abstain from abusive and excessive drinking while other individuals who already have a drinking problem can get the quality rehab they need.
About the Author
Denny Mitchell writes articles about teen alcoholism, treating alcoholism, alcoholism recovery, alcohol testing, sobriety, and alcohol and alcoholism info. For more information, please visit alcohol info and facts.
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