There are many other health consequences of alcoholism as well. Alcoholics often experience damage to their peripheral nervous systems. This damage may show up initially as a loss of sensation in the hands or feet, with an accompanying difficulty in walking. Chronic drinking also causes inflammation of the pancreas. This further hampers the body's ability to digest fats and other nutrients, and can lead to diabetes.
Alcoholics face an in creased risk of mouth and throat cancer due to the direct toxicity of the alcohol. They may also experience high blood pressure, reduced testosterone production, visible dilation of blood vessels just beneath the skin's surface, and pathological enlargement of the heart that can progress to congestive heart failure.
The social consequences of alcoholism can be very destructive as well. Alcohol abuse takes a tremendous toll on society through traffic and other accidents, poor job performance, and emotional damage to entire families.
Alcoholism and pregnancy
Drinking during pregnancy is particularly dangerous. The consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can cause birth defects and increases the chance of miscarriage. Alcohol passes through the mother's placenta and into the fetal circulation. This toxic substance depresses the central nervous system of the fetus. Further, the fetal liver must try to metabolize the alcohol, but since the fetus's liver is not fully developed, the alcohol remains in the fetal circulation. Women who drink during pregnancy generally give birth to babies with lower birth weights. Their growth may be retarded or stunted; their brains may be smaller than normal, and there may be mental retardation as well. Limbs, joints, fingers, and facial features may be deformed. Heart and kidney defects may occur. Some children exposed to alcohol in uterus become hyperactive at adolescence and exhibit learning disabilities. Every drink a pregnant woman consumes increases her child's risk of being born with fetal alcohol syndrome, and also increases her chances of miscarriage. Even moderate amounts of alcohol may be harmful, especially in the first three to four months of pregnancy.
Signs and Symptoms
Alcoholism is often accompanied by the following signs and symptoms. Symptoms vary with the amount of alcohol taken and how long it has been abused.
- Craving for alcohol
- Inability to control drinking habits
- Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking
- Tolerance (the need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to feel its effects)
- Psychological, social, occupational dysfunction
- Malnutrition, anorexia
- Cardiovascular symptoms (leading cause of death)
- Increased levels of cancer (second leading cause of death)
- Repeated infections—for example, tuberculosis, urinary tract infections
- Lung conditions—complicated by smoking; for example, respiratory failure, pneumonia
- Central nervous system disorders—unsteady gait or stance; cognitive impairment; psychiatric manifestations (for example, mood, anxiety, psychotic disorders); blackouts; coma; sleep disruptions
- Diarrhea, vomiting
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Men—increased sexual drive with decreased ability to maintain an erection
- Women—miscarriage, stopping of menstrual periods
- Inflammation of the pancreas
- Hepatitis (a disease of the liver)
- Poor wound healing
- Buildup of fluid in the body
- Swollen, painful muscles, paralysis, lack of reflexes
- Increased bone fractures
- Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
- Hypothermia (reduction of body temperature)
Moderate drinking
Alcoholism is caused by chronic over-consumption of alcohol.
Moderate drinking is probably best defined as the level of drinking that poses a low risk of alcohol-related problems, both for the drinker and for others. It is difficult to give a quantitative definition of moderate drinking because alcohol can have different effects on different individuals.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health of Ontario and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse defines moderation, or 'low risk drinking guidelines' as follows: 'Healthy adults who choose to drink should limit alcohol consumption to 2 or fewer standard drinks per day, with consumption not exceeding 14 standard drinks a week for men and 9 standard drinks per week for women.
Who's Most At Risk?
People with the following conditions or characteristics are at a higher-than-average risk for developing alcoholism.
- Genetically predisposed
- Preexisting psychiatric disorder
- Began consuming alcohol at an early age
- Stress
What to Expect at Your Health Provider's Office
If you or someone you care for is experiencing symptoms associated with alcoholism, you should see your health care provider. He or she can help make a diagnosis and guide you in determining which treatment or combination of therapies including alternative therapies will work best.
Your provider will take a history and do a physical exam to look for specific organ damage or trauma and to evaluate if your muscles are tender or weak. Laboratory tests will reveal any indicators of alcoholism, such as high blood alcohol. Imaging techniques may be used to diagnose alcohol-related disorders.
Treatment Options
- prevention
The nature of treatment depends on the severity of your alcoholism and available resources, and must address both medical issues and rehabilitation. Treatments may be provided in a hospital, a residential treatment setting, or on an outpatient basis.
- treatment plan
To understand treatment and make the right treatment choices, it helps to have an overview. Treatment is often seen as having four general phases:
- Getting started (assessment and evaluation of disease symptoms and accompanying life problems, making treatment choices and developing a plan)
- Detoxification (stopping use)
- Active treatment (residential treatment or therapeutic communities, intensive and regular outpatient treatment, medications to help with alcohol craving and discourage alcohol use, medications to treat concurrent psychiatric illnesses, 12-step programs, other self-help and mutual-help groups)
- Maintaining sobriety and relapse prevention (outpatient treatment as needed, 12-step programs, other self-help and mutual-help groups)
Promising types of counseling and complementary alternative medicine teach people to identify situations and feelings that trigger their urge to drink and to find new ways to cope without using include alcohol use. In addition, because the involvement of family members is important to the recovery, many programs also offer marital counseling and family therapy as part of the treatment process. Some programs also link up individuals with community resources, such as legal assistance, job training, child-care, and parenting classes.
Here are 12 questions to consider when selecting an alcohol or substance abuse treatment or rehabilitation program, according to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (USA):
1. Does the program accept your insurance? If not, will they work with you on a payment plan or find other means of support for you?
2. Is the program run by accredited, licensed and/or trained professionals?
3. Is the facility clean, organized and well-run?
4. Does the program encompass the full range of needs of the individual (medical: including infectious diseases; psychological: including co-occurring mental illness; social; vocational; legal; etc.)?
5. Does the treatment program also address sexual orientation and physical disabilities as well as provide age, gender and culturally appropriate treatment services?
6. Is long-term aftercare support and/or guidance encouraged, provided and maintained?
7. Is there ongoing assessment of an individual's treatment plan to ensure it meets changing needs?
8. Does the program employ strategies to engage and keep individuals in longer-term treatment, increasing the likelihood of success?
9. Does the program offer counseling (individual or group) and other behavioral therapies to enhance the individual's ability to function in the family/community?
10. Does the program offer medication as part of the treatment regimen, if appropriate?
11. Is there ongoing monitoring of possible relapse to help guide patients back to abstinence?
12. Are services or referrals offered to family members to ensure they understand addiction and the recovery process to help them support the recovering individual?
- prognosis
Recovery from alcoholism is a life-long process. In fact, people who have suffered from alcoholism are encouraged to refer to themselves ever after as "a recovering alcoholic," never a recovered alcoholic. This is because most researchers in the field believe that, since the potential for alcoholism is still part of the individual's biological and psychological makeup, one can never fully recover from alcoholism. The potential for relapse (returning to illness) is always there, and must be acknowledged and respected. Statistics suggest that, among middle-class alcoholics in stable financial and family situations who have undergone treatment, 60% or more can be successful at an attempt to stop drinking for at least a year, and many for a lifetime.
- drug therapies
Your provider may prescribe the following medications.
• Tranquilizers called benzodiazepines which are used during the first few days of treatment to help patients safely withdraw from alcohol
• Antipsychotic medications for people who do not respond to benzodiazepines
• Naltrexone, a recently approved medication to help people remain sober. When used in combination with counseling, this medication may lessen the craving for alcohol and help prevent a return to heavy drinking.
• Disulfiram, an older medication, which discourages drinking by causing nausea, vomiting, and other unpleasant physical reactions when alcohol is used
Medications for specific organ damage or for symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal.
- complementary and alternative therapies
A comprehensive treatment plan for alcoholism may include a range of complementary and alternative therapies.
- nutrition (Western Medicine)
A well-balanced, nutritionally adequate diet helps to stabilize alcohol-induced blood-sugar fluctuations and decrease cravings. Following these tips can help reduce symptoms.
• Eliminate simple sugars.
• Increase complex carbohydrates (whenever possible, replace highly processed grains, cereals, and sugars with minimally processed whole-grain products).
• Consume adequate protein. (If you eat meat, steer yourself toward the leanest cuts. If you like dairy products, skim or low-fat versions are healthier choices. Beans, soy, nuts, and whole grains offer protein without much saturated fat and with plenty of healthful fiber and micronutrients).
• Increase essential fatty acids (essential fatty acids - two polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFAs] that cannot be made in the body are linoleic acid [omega 6 family – e.g. oils from Safflower, Sunflower, Corn, Soya, Evening primrose, Pumpkin, Wheatgerm] and alpha-linolenic acid [omega 3 family – e.g. Linseed (flaxseeds), Rapeseed (canola), Soya beans]. They must be provided by diet and are known as essential fatty acids. Within the body both can be converted to other PUFAs such as arachidonic acid, or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In the body PUFAs are important for maintaining the membranes of all cells; for making prostaglandins which regulate many body processes which include inflammation and blood clotting. Another requirement for fat in the diet is to enable the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K to be absorbed from food; and for regulating body cholesterol metabolism.)
• Decrease saturated fats and fried foods (saturated fats - usually derived from animal sources e.g. lard, suet and butter. Saturated and monounsaturated fats are not necessary in the diet as they can be made in the human body).
• Avoid caffeine.
Potentially beneficial nutrient supplements include the following.
• Vitamin B1 (50 to 100 mg a day - Alcoholics are deficient in B vitamins, especially B1 )
• Vitamin B2 (50 mg a day), B3 (25 mg a day), B5 (100 mg a day - Aids the body in alcohol detoxification. Needed to counteract stress), B6 (50 to 100 mg a day), B12 (100 to 1,000 mg a day)
• Vitamin C with bioflavonoids (3,000 to 10,500 mg a day in divided doses - )
• Vitamin E (400 IU a day) to protect the heart
• Calcium (2,000mg daily at bedtime) a vital mineral that has a sedative effect
• Magnesium (250 – 1000 mg ) to decrease withdrawal symptoms
• Selenium (200 mcg a day) to protect the liver
• Zinc (15 mg a day) to aid metabolism
• Amino acids: carnitine (500 mg two times a day) to protect the liver, glutamine (1 g a day) to decrease cravings, glutathione (300 mg a day) to protect liver and heart
• Multienzyme complex (as directed on label. Take with meals - To aid digestion) plus proteolytic enzymes - As directed on label. Take between meals - Essential for assimilation of protein. Caution: Do not give these supplements to a child.)
• Chromium (250 to 500 mcg twice a day) helps reduce sugar cravings and reduces low blood sugar related to alcohol cravings.
- herbs
Herbs are generally available as dried extracts (pills, capsules, or tablets), teas or decoctions, or tinctures (alcohol extraction, unless otherwise noted). Dose for teas is 1 tsp/cup water steeped for 10 minutes (roots need 20 minutes). Herbal extracts made with alcohol should be avoided in alcoholics. For TCM herbs the dosage is prescribed by the TCM Practitioner or Herbalist.
- Western Herbs
The use of certain Western herbal remedies may offer relief from symptoms.
• Milk thistle (Silybum marianum): 80 to 200 mg three times a day, to support the liver
• Primrose oil (Oenothera biennis ): 1,000mg 3 times daily, with meals. Used successfully in Europe, this supplement is a good source of essential fatty acids.
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): 2 to 8 g of root three times a day in tea, or 5 ml three times a day of leaf tincture helps detoxify the liver. Works well with milk thistle.
• Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora): historic use for hysteria, tension, and nervous disorders, especially anxiety; a cup of tea before bed can help insomnia.
• Valerian root (Valeriana officinalis ) has a calming effect. It is best taken at bedtime.
• Desiccated liver capsules (500 mg three times a day) help heal liver tissue.
- Traditional Medicine Herbs & Diet
Dietary plan for the Garden of Eden: In the book of Genesis, Chapter one, verse 29, God tells man what he should eat: "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seeds; to you shall be for food."
Certain cooling, detoxifying foods are commonly prescribed by (TCM) in the treatment of alcoholism: tofu, mung bean sprouts, mung beans, fresh wheat germ, romaine lettuce, banana, either sugar cane or dried unrefined cane juice, pears, and spinach. Honey eaten by the spoonful until satiation during a hangover reduces the desire for more alcohol. Soups are helpful and provide a good medium for tofu, mung beans, romaine lettuce, and spinach in the diet.
Kudzu or Ge Gen (otherwise known as Pueraria lobata) is one of the earliest medicinal plants used in TCM. Researchers at the Center for Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences and Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA have many profound pharmacological actions including antidipsotropic (anti-alcohol abuse) activity. Although both the roots and flowers of Kudzu (Ge Gen), Radix and Flos Puerariae, respectively, have been used to treat alcohol abuse safely and effectively in China for more than a millennium (reduce cravings).
The herb American ginseng, Xi Yang Shen in Mandarin, (Panax quinquefolium) is prized in East Asia for the treatment of alcoholism, and may be used in conjunction with the golden seal or chaparral formulas. In the event of extreme weakness, American ginseng is indicated as part of the regeneration diet herbal formula containing it in equal parts (in fact this formula is a hybrid between Chinese and Native American traditional medicine):
Suma root (Pfaffia paniculata)
Dried Ling Zhi (Reishi - Ganoderma lucidum ), Maitake, or Shiitake mushroom
Job's tear's seeds (Coix lacryma-jobi)
American/Canadian Ginseng root (Panax quinquefolium)
Astragalus root (Astragalus membranaceus)
Because of its warming nature, do not use Chinese or Korean Panax ginseng. Avoid warming spices such as ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper.
After a cleansing program that purges heat and other signs of excess, high protein sources can be added for one to two years to rebuild the liver. It is very important to tonify the body after or even simultaneously because during cleansing a lot of qi (energy) is lost. TCM purging (cleansing) herb formula are balanced from this stand point.
Especially beneficial is spirulina or other green micro-algae; in cases of weakness, small amounts (1—3 ounces) of animal products may be necessary three or four times per week: sardine, mackerel, tuna, pork liver, and pork or beef kidney.
