Alcohol is one of the oldest drugs known to man and the most consumed in the world. Next, to tobacco, it is the one that causes the most health problems. Consumed in excess and uncontrolled can cause serious problems (traffic accidents, violence, health problems, alcoholism ...).
Alcohol is obtained from the fermentation of the sugary juices of different plants or their fruits and their alcohol content depends on their origin. Alcoholic beverages are classified into two groups depending on the production process:
- Fermented beverages: those obtained from the fermentation of sugars contained in different fruits, for example, beer, cider or wine and it's alcohol content it oscillates between 4 and 12ยบ.
- Distilled beverages: come from the purification of fermented beverages to obtain higher concentrations of alcohol. Among them are vodka or rum, and its alcohol content ranges between 40 and 50 degrees.
Alcohol and young people
Alcohol is one of the most consumed drugs, which causes the greatest number of dependents and has the most health and social problems. Alcohol intake affects all social and age groups, although young people between 18 and 24 years of age are one of the groups that consume the most alcohol. An alarming fact is that those under 18 years of age begin consumption earlier in relation to young people of the same age as a few years ago. According to data from the report Alcohol in Europe, presented in 2006 before the European Commission, one in eight adolescents aged 15-16 years have been drunk more than twenty times in their lives and one in six has incurred the so-called alcohol binge three or more times in the last month.There are many products with alcoholic content available to young people at a fairly affordable price and not penalized by law unless you drink on public roads.
It is very important to emphasize that adolescence is a very vulnerable stage in the face of addictions since the harmful effects of any toxic are more harmful in an organism in the process of development. A report prepared by the National Drug Plan indicates that the neuronal damage caused by alcohol is more intense in young people and that ethanol exerts a very strong negative influence on the brain development process, with disastrous consequences on memory capacity and learning.
Sensations
But there are many adolescents who are attracted to the sensations that alcohol produces at first, such as disinhibition, euphoria, relaxation, increased sociability ... These factors cause young people, often induced by their friends or social group, decide to try alcohol and be attracted to those feelings they experience. However, these first emotions are later translated into consequences that can become very serious and cause irreparable damage to the human body.
Adolescents do not seem to realize the risk involved in starting to consume these substances at an early age, although in the latter School Survey on Drugs shows a significant increase in the perception of risk.
Alcohol consumption continues to be concentrated on weekends since 99.5% of the minors surveyed who claim to have drunk alcohol in the last thirty days state that they have done so between Friday and Sunday.
Effects of alcohol
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that progressively numbs the functioning of higher brain centers and produces behavioral and emotional disinhibition. Although at first, it seems stimulating because of the euphoria that this provokes, it is nothing more than the sensation that originates when alcohol acts on the cerebral centers responsible for self-control.
Do not forget that alcohol is present in a high percentage of traffic accidents, especially among young people. It is estimated that the increase in the risk of suffering a fatal traffic accident with alcohol levels of 0.8 grams of alcohol per liter of blood is highest in the population aged 16-17 years.
Consequences for health
According to WHO, alcohol is the third risk factor for the health of citizens in developed countries and its consumption is related to the development of more than sixty diseases. The consequences of alcohol abuse on health are many and very serious. Notable hypertension, heart attacks, gastritis, ulcers, hepatitis, pancreatitis, cirrhosis, malnutrition, anemia, sexual impotence, menstrual disorders, cardiomyopathy ... In addition, alcohol consumption is directly related to higher rates of mortality from traffic accidents, problems of drug interactions and behavior disorders.
Acute consumption
Studies indicate that, although chronic consumption of alcohol affects more intensely health, acute and intense consumption also causes serious alterations. This pattern of consumption can be applied to young people, that is, intermittent and deep consumption, especially during weekends.
The effects of excessive alcohol consumption range from acute alcohol intoxication to increased blood pressure, acute stroke or cerebral hemorrhagic and atrial and ventricular fibrillation, the latter related to some cases of sudden death.
Apart from these damages that can occur in the human body, others include digestive tract alterations, lesions in the mouth and pharynx, esophageal disorders, including cancer, gastritis, ulcers and stomach cancer, alterations in intestinal absorption and diarrheal episodes. In addition, it is the most common cause of acute and chronic pancreatitis, cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis or liver cancer.Alcohol also affects the central nervous system and can lead to dementia and various forms of neuropathy, mental disorders and behavior disorders, memory loss, anxiety, sleep disorders, mood swings, psychotic symptoms, and even an increase of the risk of suicide, since the probability of suicide is between 60 and 120 times higher in alcoholics than in the general population.
Alterations can also occur in almost all organs and body systems, such as alterations in the three cell series of the blood, endocrine disorders (testicular atrophy and infertility) and diseases of the locomotor system (osteoporosis and muscle disorders).
Physiological effects of alcohol
Once the alcohol passes through the digestive tract, it goes to the blood, reaching its maximum concentration fifteen or twenty minutes after it has been ingested. Excess alcohol is processed in the liver to be eliminated, so this organ together with the brain are the most harmed during the intake of this drug.
The effects of alcohol depend on several factors, among which are:
- Age: alcohol intake is especially harmful while the body is maturing.
- Weight: negative effects affect more people with lower body mass.
- The amount ingested.
- The rapidity of the intake.
- Sex: physiologically, female tolerance is, in general, less than male.
- The combination with carbonated drinks: accelerate the intoxication.
The physiological effects that occur depend on the amount present in the blood (grams per liter of blood):
0.5 g / l: euphoria, overvaluation of faculties and decrease in reflexes.
1 g / l: disinhibition, difficulties in speaking and coordinating movements.
1.5 g / l: intoxication with loss of control of the higher faculties.
2 g / l: uncoordinated speech and gait, double vision.
3 g / l: state of apathy and drowsiness.
4 g / l: coma.
5 g / l: death due to paralysis of the respiratory and vasomotor centers.
According to the WHO, there is no quantity below which there are no risks. Its basic recommendation is Alcohol, the less the better.
Acute alcohol poisoning
It is a clinical picture due to the depressant effect of alcohol on the central nervous system and depends on the blood concentration of the ethanol, the speed of absorption of it and the tolerance of each person. In youth, the so-called pathological intoxication, which produces a sudden and extreme excitement with violent behavior, even after taking a not very large amount of alcohol. It can last minutes or hours and is followed by a period of sleep after which partial or total amnesia occurs. Amnesia is normally presented as a block, that is, the subject is unable to remember anything that happened in a specific period of time, or in gaps when partial aspects of what happened in a given period are remembered.There may also be a loss of temporality, which occurs when one is unable to chronologically order events. If alcohol poisoning is advanced, extreme cases can be reached, leading to serious complications such as respiratory failure, seizures, hypothermia, and cardiac arrhythmias.
Alcohol and medicines
It is also necessary to talk about the damage caused by alcohol intake when it is consumed together with medications, as there are interactions with various consequences. On the one hand, it modifies the effects of many drugs and, in turn, drugs can increase the harmful effects of alcohol on the organism. Even with commonly consumed drugs, such as paracetamol, alcohol can cause liver toxicity.
This interaction can seriously affect the daily activities carried out by a person, such as driving, studying, doing a job with a certain risk or practicing a sport.
Anti-inflammatories, analgesics, tranquilizers, and antihistamines cause a depressant effect in the central nervous system, so they diminish the state of wakefulness, attention, and reflexes. Combined with the intake of alcohol, these effects increase, so carrying out any type of activity that entails some type of risk is more dangerous than you think.
The taking of antibiotics and anti-infectives combined with the intake of alcohol can produce a reduction in the effect of these medications.
Comments
Post a Comment