Alcohol (0)

ALCOHOL
Alcohol is a widely used substance for both science and in technology . Its name
comes from an Arabic word al-kuhl meaning " a powder for painting the eyes ". The term
was later applied to all compounds that contain alcoholic spirits.
To most people alcohol is considerd a downer that reduces activity in the nervous
system. Some of the things alcohol effects you is, the alcohol intoxicated person exhibits
lose muscle tone , loss of fine moter coordination,and often has a staggering "drunken"
gait. The eyes may appear somewhat " glossy " and pupils may be slow to respond to
stimulus. At high doses pupils may become constricted. At intoxing doses, alcohol can
decrease heart rate , lower blood pressure and respiration rate, and result in decreased
reflex and slower reaction times . Skin may be cool to touch but to the user may feel
warm or normal, profuse sweating may accompany alcohol use. Loose muscle tone, lose
of fine motor coordination,odor of alcohol on the breath,and a stagging "drunken"gait.
The effects of alcohol intoxication are greatly influenced by individual variations
among users. Some users may become intoxicated at a much lower Blood Alcohol
Concentration (BAC) level that I am about to show you. Along with drinking their are
different levels to it:
0.02-0.03 BAC: No loss of coorination,slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant
effects are not apparent.
0.04-0.06 BAC: Feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, sensation of warmth.
Some minor impairment of reasoning and memory , lowering of caution.
0.07-0.09 BAC: Slight impairment of balance , speech, vision , reaction time, and hearing.
Judgement and self- control are reduced, and caution, reason and memory are impaired .
0.10-1.125 BAC: Signficant impairment of moter coordination and loss of good
judgement. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision,reaction time and hearing will be
impaired. (It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle at this level of intoxication.)
0.13-0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. BLurred vision
and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria beginning to appear.
0.16-0.20 BAC: Dysphoria (anxiety,restlessness) predominates, nausea may appear. The
drinker has the appearance of a "sloppy drunk."
0.25 BAC: Needs assistance in walking ; total mental confusion. Dysphoia with nausea
and some vomiting.
0.30 BAC: Loss of consciousness.
0.40 BAC and up: Onset of coma,possible death due to respiratory arrest.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED A DRINK :
A drink that contains a half -ounce of alcohol or more. The amount you would
problibly find in a 12 ounce can of beer , 4 ounce glass of table wine , 1 ounce shot of
100% destilled spirits such as whiskey or vodka . Generally this is the amount of alcohol a
person can metabolize in about an hour . But of course it also depends on other stuff .
The way to see the amount of alcohol in someone is the Blood Alcohol Content.
The Blood Alcohol Content is measured in milligrams percent .
For example, a BAC of 10 means that one- tenth of 1% of your total blood content is
alcohol.This means that a BAC of 0.5 and below may give you a little buzz;a BAC of .50
or greater may cause death.
Blood Alcohol Content depends on two things size ,the bigger you are the more
blood you have to delute the alcohol, and it also depends on how fast you drink it, the
faster you drink the more your BAC goes up because your body doesn't have as long to
delute the alcohol.
BINGE DRINKING
Drinking a lot of something at one time is not really good for your system, no
matter what it is. Bringe drinking is drinking to get drunk, it is what a lot of college
people do. Drinking at least five drinks all in one sitting. When they do this the side
effects become more serious : vomiting, dizziness, impaired mental capabilities,and
hangovers. Those are only short term reactions, others things that binge drinking
influence are: athletic performence, poor grades, sexual assault, fights, accidents,
drinking and driving , and other health risks. If you think that not a lot of people do this ,
it is about 50% of collage men and 37% of collage women are classified as binge
drinkers. A recent study show that studnts spend about $5.5 billion dollare on alcohol
each year . That is more than they spend on soda pop, tea, milk , juice, coffee , and books
combined.
Some of the things that go along with drink are you are more open to getting
diseases like sexually transmitted deseases, cancer and a lot more. But one that a lot die
from is alcohol poisoning.
Most people think that you cant overdose on alcohol, but you can. Binge drinking
may result in an overdose of alcohol, or alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning is a
medical emergancy that requires immediate attention . It's sometimes hard to tell if
someone has passed out or is in a serious medical danger . Here are some of the
symptoms:
-Does not respond to being talked to or shouted at
-Does not respond to being pinched,prodded or poked.
-Cannot stand up
-Will not wake up
-Slow labored or adnormal breathing
-Skin has a purple color
-Skin feels clammy
-Rapid pulse rate
- Irregular heart rythem
-Lowered blood pressure
Another common thing is choking to death on your own vomit after an alcohol overdose.
Death by asphyxiation occurs when alcohol depresses the body's reflexes to the point that
you cant vomit right.
Another thing that comes along with binge drinking is depression and suicide .
You get depressed so you drink and since alcohol is a depressant it brings you down even
more it brings you to the state of hopelessness. The toxic effects of alcohol can
manipulate you brains neuro-transmitters, which are responsible for mood and
judgement. This can plung you into deeper depression and bring thought about suicide.
It can also bring a cycle of drinking: the more you drink the more depressed you become,
and that makes you want to drink more.
Alcohol induced depression and hopelessness are characterized by self-pity, social
withdrawal, self reproah,a sence of guilt,and a retardation of normal mental processes.
FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME
FETAL ALCOHOL EFFECTS
Fetal alcohol syndrome is a group of symptoms that can effect an infant born to a
mother who drinks during her pregnancy. The most serious is severe mental retardation.
Other effects are:
- mild to moderate mental retardation
-central nervous system problems
-small size,low birth weight or growth retardation
- facial or skull adnormalities such as: small head size, small eyes and/or short eye
openings, under- development of the upper lip with flat upper lip ridges, thin upper lip
and flat maxillary jaw area.
Fetal alcohol effects are thought to be not as bad as Fetal syndrome. It may be something
like a history of prenatal alcohol exposure . Learning and behavior difficulties can be a
severe as FAs. In both FAS and FAE, studies show a positive relationship between
degree of prenatal alcohol exposure and physical birth defects, growth, brain and
behavioral deficiencies. Some other things show that in not as severe cases of FAS may
deal with maturity, abnormalities of the upper lip and small eye openings, short
stuture,and small head continue . Brain and behavioral deficits also continue including
lower IQ and a number of behavioral disorders .
Children with FAS and FAE are often described as hyperactive, disstactible, or
impulsive. they often have short attention spans similar to attention deficit dirorder, but
with lower IQ's particularly in the FAS child . In addition to attention deficits, problems
with judgement, comprehension, and abstract think are common. Some new research
says that kids with FAS and FAE are more vulerable to alcohol exposure.
Another thing is newborns exposed to alcohol before birth may have a weak sucking
responce and irregular sucking patterns early in life. Some describe them as easily
distracted and fatigued when sucking. Sleep disturbance, and jitteriness have also been
reported in infants exposed to alcohol before birth. Some studies also show that a higher
incidence of impaired vision and hearing, motor incoordination, and problem with
balance are possible attibuted to alcohol use by the mother before birth of the infant.
Fetal exposure to alcohol can also result in adnormal thyroid function and some decrease
in the immune system effectiveness.
No one is sure the role alcohol plays on the fetus, some of the possiblities are:
-Acetaldehyde which is the primary product when alcohol is metabolized ;
-fetal malnutrition especially if the mother is undernourished. Even when she haseaten
the proper foods, the placenta may not beable to carry yhese vitamins, minerals and other
nutrients which are so important to the developing fetus;
-lack of oxygen due to less blood flow to the fetus through the placenta; and
-disturbance of prostaglandins which control normal blood flow to the placenta.
LIVER DISEASE
You can not live with out your liver, it is the biggest organ in you body. Although
your organ is tough and meant for life it can easily be damaged by alcohol.
There are many types of liver disease shuch as:
-Viral hepatitis
-Cirrhosis
-Gallstones
-Alcohol- related liver disorders
-Cancer of the liver
But there are three types of diseases of the liver you can get from alcohol:
- Fatty Liver
-Alcoholic Hepatitis
-Alcoholic Cirrhosis
Fatty liver this is the most common alcoholic-related liver disorder, causing enlargment
of the liver, abdominal discomfort and sometimes temporary jaundice and liver
malfunction. Abinence from alcohol can bring complete reversal and cure without
leaving residual cirrhosis.
Alcoholic hepatitis is an acute illness often characterized by nausea, vomiting,abdominal
pain, fever, jaundice, enlarged and tender liver, and an elevation of the white blood cell
count. Sometimes alcoholic hepatitis may be present without symptoms. Once it
develops, it progresses to cirrhosis if alcohol comsumption continnues.
Alcoholic cirrhosis is permanent scar tissue, called cirrhosis, forms when the liver cells
are damaged by alcohol or drugs. Continued use of alcohol will cause additional scarring
and serious health problems. Some people are more culnerable than others to this
disease, which occurs in 10% to 15% of prople who consume large amounts of alcohol
over a long period of time.
CANCER
UPPER DIGESTIVE TRACT
The strongest link with alcohol involves cancers of the upper digestive tract,
including:
-esophagus
-mouth
- pharynx
-larynx.
An estimated 75% of esophageal cancers in the United States are attributable to chronic,
exessive alcohol comsumption. Nearly 50% of cancers of the mounth, pharynx and
larynx are associated with heavy drinking. People who drink large amounts of alcohol
over time have an increased rick of these cancers, compared with abstainers. If they
drink and smoke , the risk is even higher.
BREAST CANCER
They say that woman's risk of developing breast cancer increases with alcohol
consumtion, as well as age. Particularly vulnerable are women over 50 who have been
heavy drinkers over a period of years , their chances of developing breast cancer are up to
18 times greater than non-drinkers. Research indicates that alcohol may play an indirect
role in this disease by increasing estrogen levels in premenopausal women, whinh in turn
may promote breast cancer. Thus, for younger women to lessen their risk of breast
cancer, dont drink, or at least limit yourself to no more than one a day.
SKIN CANCER
Reserchers say that women who average only two drinks a day, four days a week,
are 2 1/2 times more likelt to develop melanomia than women who dont drink. Experts
recommend that women limit themselves to one drink a day, and men two drinks a day.
OTHER CANCERS
Some studies have found a link between alcohol use and cancers of the:
- colon
-stomach
- pancreas
-lungs.
Although theres no evidence that alcohol itelf is a caracinogen, it has been associated
with suppression of the human immune system