Effects of alcohol on the body

The harmful effects that alcohol causes in the body are innumerable, mainly ethanol which is a psychoactive drug that causes many side effects seriously altering the body. In this case, the amount of alcohol ingested and the circumstances play a very important role.

If liquor is consumed on a full stomach, its effects on the body are less. On the other hand, if taken on an empty stomach, the effects are much greater.

How does alcohol work in the body?

Alcohol can have a double effect on the body, since it produces a great feeling of satisfaction and joy at first, but later on it can cause blurred vision and serious coordination problems. The cell membranes cannot stop the passage of alcohol, and once in the blood it spreads through most of the tissues that make up the body.

With excessive consumption, consciousness is easily lost, but if the consumption is extremely high it can lead to alcohol poisoning and even death, since a high percentage of alcohol in the blood causes cardiorespiratory arrest, or it can lead to death by asphyxiation caused by vomiting, since when a person is completely insane due to alcohol he or she can choke on his or her own vomit when unable to respond to this need.

The alcohol after being ingested can take about thirty or ninety minutes to reach the blood, at that time reducing the sugars found in the blood, causing absolute weakness and exhaustion, this happens because alcohol accelerates the transformation of glycogen into glucose, and this is eliminated faster.

The phases of ethyl alcohol poisoning

After drinking alcohol, the effects appear, depending on the amount of alcohol ingested.

• The first is euphoria, excitement, uninhibition and impulsive behavior.

• The second is intoxication, when the body is not used to alcohol, the nervous system is affected, the ability to coordinate movements is lost and the balance is lost, causing some falls, alcohol causes depression and loss of heat from the body.

• The third is the hypnotic phase, of much confusion, irritability, agitation, sleep, nausea, vomiting and headache.

• The fourth phase is anaesthetic and stuporous, incoherent words are spoken, consciousness decreases notably, muscular strength is lost, the desire to urinate is not controlled, and breathing is made difficult.

• The fifth phase is the bulbar or death, one goes into cardiovascular shock, respiratory arrest occurs and death arrives.

The effects of alcohol consumption on the body

The effects of alcohol on the body many in the medium and long term, affecting many organs.

The brain and nervous system

• The frequent consumption of alcohol seriously affects brain functions, first of all emotions, causing sudden changes in mood, altered motor control, poor pronunciation, very slow reactions and loss of balance.

• It can alter the action of neurotransmitters, modifying their structure and function. This produces a series of effects, such as reaction capacity, delayed reflexes, loss of the ability to coordinate movements, tremors and hallucinations, loss of self-control, loss of memory, concentration, and severe impairment of motor functions.

• All these effects together are responsible for a large number of traffic and work accidents that have killed a considerable number of people around the world.

• Alcohol causes serious damage to brain cells, as well as to peripheral nerves, which can be permanent.

• Alcohol also causes a decrease in vitamin B1, which causes Wernicke-Korsakoff's disease, which causes altered feelings, thoughts and memory.

• It causes sleep disorders in the vast majority of people who drink alcohol very frequently.

• In addition, these people often isolate themselves from their social, work and family environment, leading to family abandonment, divorce and loss of employment, which can lead to deep depression and in most cases lead to suicide.

• Most of these effects occur depending on the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption.

• In very high doses it can lead to coma, in very advanced cases it causes very serious mental disorders and permanent brain damage.

• There are periods of anemia, with alterations in the memory condition that may last a few minutes, hours or even a few days.

In the heart and respiratory system

• Increases heart activity.

• The consumption of very high doses can increase blood pressure or blood pressure, causing damage to the heart muscle due to the toxic effect of alcohol.

• The heart muscle is weakened and therefore the ability to pump is diminished.

• It produces peripheral vasodilatation, which causes reddening of the skin and an increase in the surface temperature of the skin.

In the digestive system: stomach, pancreas, liver, and esophagus

All gastric discomfort is due to the fact that ethanol erodes and irritates the gastric mucosa, causing heartburn, which can be increased if different kinds of liquors are drunk at the same time.

• Alcohol increases the production of gastric acid, causing irritation and inflammation in the stomach lining, which can cause ulcers and internal bleeding that can be fatal.

• High alcohol consumption can cause cancer of the stomach, larynx, esophagus, and pancreas.

• It can cause esophagitis, or inflammation of the esophagus, and bleeding esophageal varices.

• Acute pancreatitis occurs, which is severe inflammation of the pancreas, which can lead to death.

• Pancreatitis can also be chronic, causing intense and permanent pain.

• The consumption of alcohol can lead to the person suffering from type II diabetes with the serious consequences that this disease causes in the people suffering from it.

• The organ in charge of metabolizing alcohol is the liver, the liver enzymes transform the alcohol first into acetaldehyde and then into acetate and other compounds. The process is very slow and therefore causes damage to the liver tissue.

• Because of the irritation and hepatic cellular inflammation, it is probable that alcoholic hepatitis will develop, in this way the liver can be affected transforming itself first into a fatty liver, then into hepatitis and then into cirrhosis, ending up developing liver cancer and causing death.

• Other alterations of this organ may include jaundice, i.e. the yellow color of the skin, sclera and the accumulation of fluid in the extremities.

• Kidney function is impaired because the antidiuretic hormone reduces its levels, which causes dehydration.

• Alcohol provides a large amount of calories with very little nutritional value, prevents the absorption of some minerals and vitamins, eliminates appetite, causing malnutrition.

This is one of the most serious problems associated with uncontrolled and uncontrolled alcohol consumption due to the many symptoms and pathologies associated with alcoholism.

We hope that this illustration of all the serious health problems and health problems that alcohol can cause to those who do not control their impulses to drink will be a real help to them to become aware, and at least try to seek professional help, since alcoholism is more of a serious health problem than a "vice" as it is called by many, and should be given immediate attention as soon as they begin to feel the urge to drink frequently.

If you have a friend, family member or acquaintance who presents this problem, try to get them to let you help and go to a rehabilitation center for alcoholics, I assure you that later on they will thank you, because this way they will save countless amounts of problems, both family and personal and most importantly avoid serious health problems that often have fatal consequences.