The Physiological Effects on Alcohol

Physiological Effects peripheral circulation dilation of peripheral blood vessels #increases heat loss from the body but makes the drinker feel warm Fluid balance alcohol has a diuretic effects *increases urine flow * lowers blood pressure in some individuals hormonal effects Chronic alcohol abusers can develop a variety of hormone-related disorders *ex: testicular atropny and impotence in men and impaired reproducive functioning in women Alcohol Toxicity alcohol overdose is relatively common and dangerous. • two pieces of advice if someone drinks enough to pass out: * do not leave the person alone to sleep it off # place the person on their side and monitor the person's breathing ER immediately or take them to the if someone drinks enough to vomit, the individual Should Stop drinking * vomiting reflex is triggered by rapidly rising B.19.C., usually albove 0.12%, and is inhibited when B.A.C. reaches above 0.20 and con to drink quickly reach lethal if one continues What is a Hangover? hangovers are not well understood *symptoms upset stomach, fatigue, headache, thirst, depression, anxiery, and general malaise possible causes alcohol withdrawal, exposure to congeners, cellular dehydration, gastric irritation, or the accumulation of acetaldehyde Chronic Disease States • loss of brain tissue associated with: alcoholic brain dementia *wernicke-korsakoff syndrome: a chronic mental impairment produced by heavy alcohol use over a long period of time heart disease Cardiomyopamy, heart attack, hypertension, and Stroke moderate alcohol use may reduce heart attack risk liver disease prolonged and high levels of alcohol consumption can cause alcoholic hepatitis and ciernosis Cancer alcohol use is associated with cancers of the mouth, tongue, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, Stomach, liver, lung, pancreas.colon and rectum Interaction with cigarette smoking increases the incidence of cancers of the oral cavity, pharyne, and larynx immune system Observed increase in the frequency of vorious infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, pneumonia, yellow fever, cholera, and hepatitis B Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, or F.A.S. facial and developmental abnormalities associated with the mother's alcohol use use during pregnancy related to peak B.A.C. and to duration of alcohol exposure prevalent in about 2 of 1,000 births diagnostic criteria, with at least one present growth retardation before and slash or after birth pattern of abnormal features of the face and head or evidence of retarded formation of e midfacial area evidence of CNS abnormality or other evidence of abnormal neurobehavioral development Alcohol and Pregnancy. •Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD individual developmental abnormalities associated with the mother's alcohol use during pregnancy prevalence is about 80 to a few hundred per 1,000 births drinking during pregnancy increases the risk of Spontaneous abortion • it is unknown whether there is an acceptable level of alcohol consumpion for pregnant women neither do the data prove that low-level alcohol use is safe, nor do they indicate a safe level of use Withdrawal Syndrome physical dependence associated with prolonged heavy use of alcohol is revealed when alcohol intake is stopped abstinence Syndrome is medically more severe and more deadly than withdrawal from opiod drugs if untreated, mortality can be as high as lin7 •Stages of withdrawal - Stage 1: tremors, rapid heartbeat, hypertension, heavy Sweating, loss of appetite, and insomnia Stage 2: hallucinations, which are auditory, visual, tackle, or a combination of these; and, rarely, olfactory Signs Stage 3: delusions, disorientation, delirium, and amnesia Stage 4: Seizures detoxification Should be carried out in an impatient medical setting medical treatment is usually sought in stage I or 2, and rapid intervention with a sedative drug will prevent Stage 3 or 4 from occurring Alcohol Use Disorder •view of alcoholics anonymous -alcohol dependence is a progressive disease characterized by loss of control over drinking the only treatment is abstinence from alconol disease model: alcohol dependence is the primary disease and not the result of another underlying cause "alternative view the american psychiatric association's diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental disorders lists the criteria for alcohol use disorder cognitive and genetic factors are of current Scientific interest to understand which individuals will become alcohol abusers