Alcoholism Facts

Alcoholism or alcohol dependence is a chronic disorder characterized by compulsive, repeated, and excessive consumption of alcohol to the extent that the individual's health, social and economic functioning is impaired.

Alcoholism has four symptoms namely craving, loss of control, physical dependence and tolerance. Craving is a strong urge or need to consume alcohol and loss of control is the inability to control the amount of intake of alcohol. Tolerance can be explained as the need for increased amount of alcohol every time to feel the alcohol's effect.

There are no quick fixes for drug addiction and alcoholism. Recovery is an ongoing process. The skills one learns during intensive drug addiction treatment must be integrated into everyday life and this takes time.

The factors that lead to alcoholism could be genetic, environmental, psychological or social. Often alcoholism remains undetected for years.

Alcoholism does not depend on the kind of alcohol an individual consumes but it depends on the quantity, long period of addiction and the uncontrollable need of it. Some individuals are able to recover from alcoholism easily while there are others who may require medical assistance.

During the third stage of alcohol dependency, the drinker starts to experience serious alcohol-related relationship, work, and financial problems. Additionally, he or she starts to avoid friends and family and experiences a loss of interest in things that used to be important.

Excess alcohol or alcoholism can lead to serious health problems. Short-term effects include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, slurred speech and impaired judgment and coordination.

Prolonged and excessive use of alcohol can lead to depression, heart failure, liver cirrhosis, damage to vital organs, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunctions and even brain and nervous system damage.

Alcohol can be dangerous in smaller amounts if it is used in combination with the following drugs: certain anti-seizure medications such as phenobarbital; sedatives such as barbiturates, tranquilizers, and cannabis; and narcotic pain medications such as codeine, opium, heroin, darvocet, and codeine derivatives.

Alcoholism has a direct effect on the liver. Alcohol effects appear within 10 minutes of consumption and are at their peak for about 40-60 minutes. Since alcohol remains in the blood stream until the liver metabolizes it, continuous and increased consumption of alcohol strains the liver and increases the danger of liver breakdown.

Alcoholism in pregnant women leads to birth of infants with fetal alcohol syndrome in which case the infants suffer from mental retardation and irreversible physical abnormalities.

Though there are a variety of different types of treatment available, all must include strategies for keeping the person in treatment, skills to help the individual handle everyday situations that may cause trouble once they have completed the program, and guidance and counseling towards understanding the individual's initial reasons for alcohol addiction.

Various researches indicate that 53% of the men and women in the US report that one or more of their close relatives are affected by alcoholism. 15% of the population in US constitutes problem drinkers, which means that 14 million persons are affected by alcoholism in US alone.

Alcoholism provides detailed information on Alcoholism, Alcoholism Treatments, Signs Of Alcoholism, Effects Of Alcoholism and more. Alcoholism is affiliated with Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

According to the substance abuse research literature, the optimal duration for a person in alcoholism treatment depends mainly on his or her problems, the severity of the addiction, his or her health, and the willingness of the person to actively and productively engage himself in the treatment protocol. Having said this, research studies demonstrate that for most alcohol dependent individuals, the threshold of significant improvement is attained at the 3-month time frame regarding successful alcohol treatment.