Alcohol

It can cause changes to the brain and neurochemistry, so a person with an alcohol addiction may not be able to control their actions. Alcohol addiction can show itself in a variety of ways. The severity of the disease, how often someone drinks, and the alcohol they consume varies from person to person.

Some people drink heavily all day, while others binge drink and then stay sober for a while. Alcohol addiction can be difficult to recognize. Unlike cocaine or heroin, alcohol is widely available and accepted in many cultures. Drinking is a part of life for many people. When is it common in society, it can be hard to tell the difference between someone who likes to have a few drinks now and then and someone with a real problem.

Alcohol: MedlinePlus

If identified and treated early, someone with an alcohol addiction may be able to avoid major consequences of the disease. Avoid shaming them or making them feel guilty. This could push them away and make them more resistant to your help. Alcohol addiction can result in heart disease and liver disease. Both can be fatal. Alcoholism can also cause:. If someone with an alcohol addiction takes dangerous risks while drinking, they can also put others at risk. Drinking is also associated with an increased incidence of suicide and homicide.

Nearly all risks involved with alcohol addiction may be avoidable or treatable, with successful long-term recovery. Treating alcohol addiction can be complex and challenging. In order for treatment to work, the person with an alcohol addiction must want to get sober. The recovery process for alcoholism is a lifetime commitment. A common initial treatment option for someone with an alcohol addiction is an outpatient or inpatient rehabilitation program. An inpatient program can last anywhere from 30 days to a year. It can help someone handle withdrawal symptoms and emotional challenges.

Outpatient treatment provides daily support while allowing the person to live at home. Many people addicted to alcohol also turn to step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous AA. Sober communities can help someone struggling with alcohol addiction deal with the challenges of sobriety in day-to-day life.

Sober communities can also share relatable experiences and offer new, healthy friendships. And these communities make the person with an alcohol addiction accountable and provide a place to turn to if there is a relapse.

most popular

A doctor may prescribe drugs to help certain conditions. For example, antidepressants, if someone with an alcohol addiction were self-medicating to treat their depression. Or a doctor could prescribe drugs to assist with other emotions common in recovery. Therapy is useful to help teach someone how to manage the stress of recovery and the skills needed to prevent a relapse.

Alcohol & its effects

Alcohol addiction may involve several different treatment methods. This could mean an emphasis on therapy for someone who is depressed, or inpatient treatment for someone with severe withdrawal symptoms. For more information about alcoholism or to help a loved one find options for help, it may be best to talk to a doctor.

They can refer you to local programs, such as treatment centers or step programs. Also, the following organizations may be helpful:.

WHAT IS ALCOHOL?

Early treatment of alcoholism is most effective. Addictions that have gone on longer are harder to break. However, long-term addictions can be successfully treated. Friends and family members of people who have an alcohol addiction can benefit from professional support or by joining programs like Al-Anon. Alcohol withdrawal can cause confusion , anxiety , insomnia , agitation , tremors , fever , nausea , vomiting , autonomic dysfunction , seizures , and hallucinations.

In severe cases, death can result. Delirium tremens is a condition that requires people with a long history of heavy drinking to undertake an alcohol detoxification regimen. Death from ethanol consumption is possible when blood alcohol levels reach 0. A blood level of 0. Levels of even less than 0. Symptoms of ethanol overdose may include nausea , vomiting , central nervous system depression , coma , acute respiratory failure , or death.

Disulfiram inhibits the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase , which in turn results in buildup of acetaldehyde , a toxic metabolite of ethanol with unpleasant effects. The medication is used to treat alcoholism, and results in immediate hangover-like symptoms upon consumption of alcohol. Metronidazole is an antibacterial agent that kills bacteria by damaging cellular DNA and hence cellular function.

The reason is that alcohol and metronidazole can lead to side effects such as flushing, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and sweating. The proposed mechanism of action for this interaction is that metronidazole can bind to an enzyme that normally metabolizes alcohol. Binding to this enzyme may impair the liver's ability to process alcohol for proper excretion.

The rate-limiting steps for the elimination of ethanol are in common with certain other substances. As a result, the blood alcohol concentration can be used to modify the rate of metabolism of methanol and ethylene glycol. Methanol itself is not highly toxic, but its metabolites formaldehyde and formic acid are; therefore, to reduce the rate of production and concentration of these harmful metabolites, ethanol can be ingested. Despite extensive research, the precise mechanism of action of ethanol has proven elusive and remains not fully understood.

In spite of the preceding however, much progress has been made in understanding the pharmacodynamics of ethanol over the last few decades. The reinforcing effects of alcohol consumption are mediated by acetaldehyde generated by catalase and other oxidizing enzymes such as cytochrome PE1 in the brain. Ethanol's rewarding and reinforcing i. With acute alcohol consumption, dopamine is released in the synapses of the mesolimbic pathway, in turn heightening activation of postsynaptic D 1 receptors.

With chronic alcohol intake, consumption of ethanol similarly induces CREB phosphorylation through the D 1 receptor pathway, but it also alters NMDA receptor function through phosphorylation mechanisms; [61] [62] an adaptive downregulation of the D 1 receptor pathway and CREB function occurs as well. Ethanol has been reported to possess the following actions in functional assays at varying concentrations: Some of the actions of ethanol on ligand-gated ion channels, specifically the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and the glycine receptor, are dose-dependent , with potentiation or inhibition occurring dependent on ethanol concentration.

Ethanol can be taken orally , by inhalation , rectally , or by injection e. Food in the gastrointestinal system and hence gastric emptying is the most important factor that influences the absorption of orally ingested ethanol. Upon ingestion, ethanol is rapidly distributed throughout the body. At even low physiological concentrations, ethanol completely saturates alcohol dehydrogenase.

Some individuals have less effective forms of one or both of the metabolizing enzymes of ethanol, and can experience more marked symptoms from ethanol consumption than others. Ethanol is mainly eliminated from the body via metabolism into carbon dioxide and water. Ethanol is also known chemically as alcohol, ethyl alcohol, or drinking alcohol.

It is a simple alcohol with a molecular formula of C 2 H 6 O and a molecular weight of The latter can also be thought of as an ethyl group linked to a hydroxyl alcohol group and can be abbreviated as EtOH. Ethanol is a volatile , flammable , colorless liquid with a slight characteristic odor. Aside from its use as a psychoactive and recreational substance, ethanol is also commonly used as an antiseptic and disinfectant , a chemical and medicinal solvent , and a fuel.

Ethanol is produced naturally as a byproduct of the metabolic processes of yeast and hence is present in any yeast habitat, including even endogenously in humans. It is manufactured as a petrochemical through hydration of ethylene or by brewing via fermentation of sugars with yeast most commonly Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the case of the latter, the sugars are commonly obtained from sources like steeped cereal grains e. Petrochemical and yeast manufacturing routes both produce an ethanol—water mixture which can be further purified via distillation.

Ethanol has a variety of analogues , many of which have similar actions and effects. Methanol methyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol are toxic and are not safe for human consumption. The tertiary alcohol tert -amyl alcohol TAA , also known as 2-methylbutanol 2M2B , has a history of use as a hypnotic and anesthetic , as do other tertiary alcohols such as methylpentynol , ethchlorvynol , and chloralodol.

Unlike primary alcohols like ethanol, these tertiary alcohols cannot be oxidized into aldehyde or carboxylic acid metabolites, which are often toxic, and for this reason, these compounds are safer in comparison. Alcohol was brewed as early as 7, to 6, BCE in northern China. Alcohol is legal in most of the world.

Alcohol causes a plethora of detrimental effects in society, both to the individual and to others. Alcohol is often used to facilitate sexual assault or rape. Alcohol abuse and dependence are major problems and many health problems as well as death can result from excessive alcohol use. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about ethanol as a psychoactive or recreational substance. For medical uses of ethanol, see Alcohol medicine. For other uses, see Ethanol. C Risk not ruled out. Short-term effects of alcohol consumption and Alcohol intoxication.

Alcohol and health and Health effects of wine. Alcohol-induced respiratory reactions and Alcohol flush reaction. Long-term effects of alcohol consumption.

• Alcohol and Health: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
• REFERENCES?
• Electronic Commerce, Fourth Edition (Aspen Casebook);

Fetal alcohol syndrome and Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. February Learn how and when to remove this template message. Alcoholism and Alcohol abuse. Alcohol dependence and Alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Ethanol metabolism , Alcohol dehydrogenase , and Aldehyde dehydrogenase.

Ethanol and Ethanol data page. Alcohol medicine , Ethanol fuel , Ethanol fermentation , and Yeast in winemaking. Drug-facilitated sexual assault and Date rape drug. Retrieved 3 March British Journal of Pharmacology. Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Navigation menu

Principles of Forensic Toxicology. Comprehensive Addictive Behaviors and Disorders. Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine: Congress on Alcohol and Health: National Institute of Health. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Retrieved 21 October The brain is a major target for the actions of alcohol, and heavy alcohol consumption has long been associated with brain damage. Studies clearly indicate that alcohol is neurotoxic, with direct effects on nerve cells.

Chronic alcohol abusers are at additional risk for brain injury from related causes, such as poor nutrition, liver disease, and head trauma. World Journal of Hepatology. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences. Current Drug Abuse Reviews. An Introduction to Toxicology. Research and Public Policy. Retrieved 27 April Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on 27 August Retrieved 4 September Archived from the original PDF on 14 December Retrieved 29 September Drug Metabolism and Disposition.

Compendium of pharmaceuticals and specialties, Ottawa: Medical Economics Company Inc; Application of a pharmacokinetic model for ethanol therapy and hemodialysis". The American Journal of Medicine. International Review of Neurobiology. How Are Inhibitory Receptors Affected? Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. The European Journal of Neuroscience.

Retrieved 9 February Retrieved 31 October Reinforcement and Addictive Disorders". A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience 2nd ed. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. Studies of Alcohol-Related Disorders. Clinicopathologic Foundations of Medicine. The Pharmacology of Alcohol and Alcohol Dependence. Ecosystems and Human Health: