Alcoholism

Alcoholism

    * Introduction
    * Pharmacology alcohol
    * Clinical manifestations of excessive alcohol consumption
    * Withdrawal from alcohol and treatment of abstinence syndrome
Alcoholism is a term popularly used to refer to alcohol abuse and addiction. This disorder involves serious problems in the patient's personal life, issues that are directly attributable to alcohol consumption. Heavy drinking is a defect affecting the health and personal life, while at the same time has a negative impact on society in general. Statistics show that 90% of the world population consume alcoholic beverages, including entering here occasional alcohol consumption. Temporary problems related to alcohol abuse affects approximately half of all men. Alcohol dependence, together with the important issues of health and social implications that they develop it occurs in about 10% -20% of men and 5% -10% of women. The problem of alcohol addiction vary in severity from mild addiction to severe addiction. Even moderate alcohol consumption can cause side effects especially if it occurs amid a medication. Chronic alcohol consumption has serious repercussions on the lives of individuals, both in terms of the somato-mental health, and social point of view. Chronic alcoholism affects the family life of the individual, its interaction with peers around the company, create difficulties at work and eventually isolate the patient from the rest of society. Alcohol remains the number one drug problem in Romania. Alcoholism causes or contributes to a variety of serious social problems including homelessness, murder, suicide and violent crime rates and increasing crime. It is estimated that one in four children is exposed to a certain point alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, or both. Some studies have shown that approximately 18% of adults experience an episode or alcohol abuse several times throughout their lives.
Nutritional Information The nutritional value of one gram of ethanol is about 7 1 kcal. A glass of alcohol with a concentration of 11% ethanol will be worth 70-100 kcal energy. This shows that 10 glasses of alcohol consumed per day can bring an energy intake of 1000 kcal / day, but they do not contain nutrients like vitamins, proteins and minerals. In chronic alcoholics there is a deficiency in vitamin absorption, even if the patient is fed properly and with sufficient amounts of vitamins. In alcoholics there is a systemic deficiency of vitamin B6 and B1 (thiamin) in folate (or folic acid folacina), nicotinic acid or niacin (vitamin B3) and vitamin A thiamine deficiency is the most common and gives the frequent syndrome, Korsakoff's syndrome and Vernicke. The meet also, and electrolyte imbalances that decrease potassium levels, low levels of calcium, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus. Low levels of serum potassium result in paralysis of respiratory muscles, reduce heart rate and abnormal reflexes. Cause hypocalcemia tetany seizures (muscle spasms), muscle weakness and arrhythmias. Low concentration of magnesium is responsible for blurred vision, fatigue, muscle weakness and heart rhythm disorders. Serum phosphate, when the quantity is insufficient, causes myocardial failure, muscle weakness in upper limbs and infrioare and respiratory disorders, coagulation and leukocyte dysfunction.
Alcoholic ketoacidosis Consumers are frequently chronic alcohol alcoholic ketoacidosis, which is different from diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketosis alcohol derived from lower free fatty acid oxidation, associated with a poor diet and recurrent vomiting. By definition, alcoholic ketoacidosis occurs in chronic alcoholics, usually follows excessive alcohol consumption, even if the patient has not consumed alcohol in the past 24 hours. It never occurs in the absence of starvation and is frequently associated with severe vomiting and abdominal pain. Pancreatitis is present in approximately 75% of patients. Most patients with this syndrome have serum glucose levels around 150 mg% and glucose at a third of patients may drop to below 50 mg%. Hyperglycemia may occur, but is often mild and rarely exceeds 300 mg%. Concentrations of plasma free fatty acids are higher than usual starvation, reaching similar values in diabetic ketoacidosis. It is possible that the liver ketogenesis is activated by starvation in these patients and led to the maximum rate of formation of ketones by high levels of fatty acids. It is unknown why some alcoholics release of excess fatty acids in adipose tissue. In contrast to diabetic acidosis syndrome is rapidly reversible by intravenous glucose. as all drinkers receiving glucose, thiamine should be supplemented to prevent an acute beers-beers. Insulin is required to be administered only during therapy if hyperglycemia persists. Diabetic ketoacidosis associated with a slight increase in serum glucose and serum ketones and an anion hole above normal.
Alcohol abuse refers to excessive or problematic alcohol use, association with one or more of the following events: - Patients with alcohol abuse usually can not perform certain duties at work, at school or at home, and thus refuleaza in alcohol. - Legal issues, family, the sentimental dissatisfaction, frustration of various causes, all find their apparent improvement in some patients in heavy drinking. In the case of alcohol abuse, people involved only consume large amounts of events around the private or social life. Abuse of alcohol can sometimes lead to coma in a patient that alcohol drinking is common. Excessive consumption may temporarily exacerbate some medical conditions, and on the other hand, alcoholism can be masked by several medical conditions or psychiatric syndromes.
Alcohol dependence refers to more serious mental disorders somatosensory involving excevis and long-term consumption of alcohol daily for years. Over time, the disorder worsens, alcohol tolerance is modified in that it requires a larger amount to achieve the desired effect. If a patient addicted to alcohol, this substance is suppressed for a few hours, rapid updates are reflected clinically by sweating, tremors, rapid heartbeat, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, anxiety, agitation or convulsions - events that enters the abstinence syndrome. A pate of dependent patients who can not consume alcohol during the day for various reasons, appreciable amounts of alcohol consumed during the morning to avoid manifestations of abstinence syndrome. If suppression of alcohol lasts longer than 24-48 hours for alcohol dependence, the patient becomes agitated, anxious, violent, shows the visual and auditory hallucinations. Alcohol affects every system of human body and cause a wide range of health problems. These problems include an unbalanced diet that is generally a person consuming alcohol, difficulties in maintaining balance, difficulty walking, memory problems. To these are added and liver diseases that occur amid continuing heavy drinking as alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis. There are also frequent and high blood pressure, muscle weakness, heart failure, heart rhythm disturbances, anemia, clotting disorders, decreased immunity to infections, gastrointestinal inflammation and gastric irritation, acute and chronic pancreatitis, hypoglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, low fertility osteomalacia.
Causes of excessive alcohol consumption There are probably a number of factors working together that cause a person to become alcoholic. Recent studies have demonstrated that close relatives of alcoholics, especially those of degree, has four times more likely to become alcoholic. Moreover, it was shown that this risk is even true for adoptive children born to alcoholic parents and have grown away from their birth parents, so without any influence from their social.