The Long Term Effects of Alcohol Abuse

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Excessive drinking frequently results in physical damage, increases the risk of getting other diseases, and makes other diseases worse. Not only this, but abusive, long-term drinking negatively affects an individual's relationships, employment status, financial stability, and in many instances, a person's legal circumstances.

Consequently, if you want to avoid the long term effects of alcohol abuse (such as unnecessary health problems) later in life, drink in moderation or not at all.

Short-Term and Long-Term Consequences of Alcohol Abuse

Some problems, such as driving impairment, negative interactions with medications, and interpersonal relationship problems can manifest themselves after drinking over a relatively short period of time.

image: woman showing displeasure over husband's abusive drinking Other problems, however, can develop more gradually over time and may become noticeable only after excessive drinking for an extended period of time. These are the problems that represent the long term effects of alcohol abuse.

It is also important to point out that women may develop alcohol-related health problems after ingesting less alcohol than men over a shorter time period.

Due to the fact that alcohol affects many organs in the body, long-term excessive drinking puts a person at risk for developing critical health problems. The bottom line is this: the long term effects of alcohol abuse can lead to a gradual breakdown of different organs and systems in the body that can result in serious, if not fatal, health issues.

Your doctor needs to know you're going through alcohol withdrawal so he or she can make sure it doesn't lead to more serious health problems.

Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

More than 2 million American people suffer from alcohol-related liver disease. Some drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis (i.e., inflammation of the liver) as a result of long-term excessive drinking.

image: female exhibiting alcohol related rage The symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis include the following: abdominal pain, jaundice (abnormal yellowing of the urine, skin, and the eyeballs) and fever. If the person continues drinking, alcoholic hepatitis can be fatal. If the person stops drinking, on the other hand, alcoholic hepatitis is often reversible.

Approximately 10 to 20 percent of heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis of the liver (i.e., scarring of the liver). Alcoholic cirrhosis can be fatal if the person continues to drink.

Even though cirrhosis is irreversible, if the affected person stops drinking, his or her chances of survival can improve greatly.

Although some people may eventually need a liver transplant as a last resort, many people with cirrhosis who quit drinking alcoholic beverages may receive treatment and may never require liver transplantation.

Heavy drinking can increase the risk for certain cancers, especially those of the throat, voice box (larynx), liver, and esophagus. Excessive drinking can also cause immune system problems, brain damage, harm to the fetus during pregnancy, and cirrhosis of the liver.

Alcohol-Related Heart Disease

Drinking in moderation can actually have beneficial effects on the heart, especially with people who are at the greatest risk for heart attacks, such as women after menopause and men over the age of 45. Long-term excessive drinking, however, increases the risk for some kinds of stroke, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Alcoholism has reached dangerous levels in Russia, where it is estimated that roughly one-third of all deaths are related, either directly or indirectly, to alcoholism or alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, attempts by the Russian government to control drinking by closing distilleries, breweries, and bars, have boomeranged and have instead created a widespread black market for alcohol, as well as a nation of people who have become skilled at hiding their alcohol problems.

Alcohol-Related Cancer

Long-term excessive drinking increases the risk of developing certain types of cancer, especially cancer of the voice box, mouth, throat, and the esophagus. Women who drink two or more drinks per day slightly increase their risk for developing breast cancer. Heavy drinking may also increase the risk for developing cancer of the colon and the rectum.

In many instances characterized by dysfunctional living conditions, the result is that the codependent person or persons develop habitual self-defeating ways of coping in order to survive. If this vicious cycle is not broken, the codependents eventually become out-of-touch with
their own emotions.

Alcohol-Related Pancreatitis

image: young male businessman reflecting on his alcoholism The pancreas helps regulate the body's blood sugar levels by producing insulin. In addition, the pancreas is instrumental in digesting the food people eat. Long-term excessive drinking can lead to pancreatitis (i.e.. inflammation of the pancreas). Pancreatitis is associated with excessive weight loss and extreme abdominal pain and can lead to death.

Based on the above, it can be determined that excessive drinking can often result in physical damage, can increase the risk of getting some diseases, and can make other diseases worse.

The moral of the story is this: if you want to avoid unnecessary health problems later in life, drink in moderation or not at all.

Recent research demonstrates that it is important to treat every person who is experiencing alcohol withdrawal. It can be pointed out, however, that approximately 95% of the people who quit drinking alcohol suffer from mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms and can normally be treated on an outpatient basis by a healthcare professional. The remaining 5% of people who experience withdrawal symptoms, however, suffer symptoms so severe that they must be treated in a hospital or in an alcohol rehabilitation facility that specializes in detoxification.

Other Long Term Effects of Alcohol Abuse

In addition to the diseases outlined above, excessive drinking over time is also associated with the following:

loss of brain cells
nerve damage
epilepsy
irritated stomach lining and bleeding from stomach ulcers

Alcohol addiction info from the substance abuse literature shows that this disease eventually progresses to the point that the alcoholic, because of his or her denial of the problem, possesses limited reasoning ability, decision-making ability, and a limited sense of personal responsibility. In short, most chronic alcoholics have a limited, if not a distorted sense of reality.

Excessive drinking has also been linked to the following:

infertility
muscle disease
obesity
sexual problems
vitamin deficiency
skin problems

The Long Term Effects of Alcohol Abuse: Conclusion

Based on the information articulated above, it can be concluded that heavy drinking can frequently result in physical damage, it can increase the risk of getting other diseases, and it can make other diseases worse.

The basic message, therefore, is clear: if you want to avoid the long term effects of alcohol abuse such as unnecessary health problems later in life, drink in moderation or not at all.

The first symptom of an alcohol overdose is usually nausea, followed by vomiting. These symptoms are messages from your body that you ingested more alcohol than your body can metabolize. The following represent other signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning: unconsciousness (passing out); blue-tinged skin or pale skin; seizures; absent reflexes; confusion; a rapid pulse rate; no response to being shaken or pinched; inability to stand; difficulty awakening the person; and slow, shallow, or irregular breathing.

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It’s time to put aside much of the talk about drinking in moderation and responsible drinking for problem drinkers. The vast, vast, vast majority of alcohol abusers and alcoholics simply cannot drink in moderation and, as a result, need to totally abstain from drinking, get alcohol treatment, get sober, and stay sober. In short, alcohol recovery for chronic alcohol abusers and alcoholics is, to a great extent, all about getting sober and staying sober. And the most effective, successful avenue to alcohol recovery is getting the appropriate alcohol treatment. End of story.

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