Alcoholism__an_Inside_Look_at_the_Disease,_Problems_Faced,_and_Resolutions

Alcoholism: An Inside Look at the Disease, Problems Faced, and Resolutions Abstract This paper involves the definition of alcoholism. It has the different viewpoints of accredited foundations of what alcoholism really is, the disease itself, where the word “alcoholism” originated from and what the substance alcohol really is. It also entails what physical, mental, and social effects this disease has on the human body. It contains contemplation on what tools and appropriate procedures are needed for diagnosing and whether this disease can be accurately diagnosed. Included are many statistically proven facts, opinionated measures and laws that have been passed that can be used in the prevention of alcoholism. This paper fully explains; the disease, whether the disease is fully curable, diagnosable, preventable, and certain risk you may take consuming alcohol. Alcoholism is a disease that is widely known across the world. This disease has a variation of definitions, many long term and short term effects on the human body, and a wide variety of tools and procedures used to help diagnose this disease. Along with these are certain tasks available to help prevent these problems and disease from arising in society. Mangus Huss is the doctor who first coined the expression “alcoholism.” The first half of the 19th century was a period of heavy drinking in Sweden. In 1830, the country’s 3 million people drank 22 million gallons of alcohol. As a result of events in England, people began to worry about alcoholism. It was looked at through the population as the root of declining moral standards, crime and poverty. “Alcoholism,” had become a new expression. The prefix “alcohol” was the result from Huss’s medical observations. At that time “-ism” was a common scientifically used suffix used for description of a disease (Sorinia, 1990). What exactly is Alcohol' Alcohol is comes from the substance yeast. When yeast microorganisms encounter water and plant sugars in fruits, berries and grains, fermentation begins. Fermentation is when yeast releases an enzyme that converts sugars into carbon dioxide and ethanol. Yeast does not know when to stop this process so it continues to produce alcohol until it expires. Alcohol is a simple chemical, but effects on the body are extremely extraordinarily complex and highly individual (Ketcham, & Asbury, 2000).The term alcoholism also has multiple and conflicting definitions. The most common historic definition is; any condition that result in continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences. There are many medical definitions by different organizations and doctors. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine define alcoholism as “a primary, chronic, disease characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking. The DSM-IV (the dominant diagnostic manual in psychiatry and psychology) defines alcohol abuse as repeated use despite recurrent adverse consequences. The common similarities in all definitions of alcoholism are heavy drinking, loss of control over drinking, deterioration of health. It is a neurological disease strongly influenced by genetic vulnerability (Ketcham, & Asbury, 2000). While the ingestion of alcohol is, by definition, necessary to develop alcoholism, the use of alcohol does not predict the development of alcoholism. The quantity, frequency and regularity of alcohol consumption required to develop greatly varies from person to person (Wikipedia, 2010). Alcoholism has a variation of effects which include; long term and short term physical, mental and social effects. Long term physical effects caused from excessive alcohol consumption may include cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatic, epilepsy, heart disease, increased chance of cancer, nutritional deficiencies, sexual dysfunction, and death. Other effects can be cardiovascular disease, malabsorbtion, alcoholic liver disease, cancer, and damage to central and peripheral nervous system. Long term use of alcohol can result in mental health issues. Psychiatric disorders are common in alcoholics, anxiety, and depression. Polyneuropathy alcoholic dementia is another common mental health effect. Studies show 10% of all dementia cases are alcohol related. This makes alcohol the 2nd cause of dementia. With prolonged, heavy use, alcohol can act as a toxin. It can and will damage virtually any organ in the body (Nakaya, 2008). Long term and short term social effects are most commonly child abuse, rapes, violence, and burglaries. The social problems arising from alcoholism can be massive and are caused due to serious pathological changes created by the brain from prolonged alcohol misuse and the intoxicating effects of alcohol (Nakaya, 2008). The short term mental and physical effects only make sense when you understand that the disease is characterized by neurological adaptions. This enhances the pleasurable sensation of drinking while mitigating the unpleasant effects. Early stage alcoholics experience euphoric feelings. The neurotransmitter rush is more intense, the warm glow persists for a longer time and the state of well being is greater than anything a novice drinker has experienced before (Nakaya, 2008). Alcoholism can have adverse effects on mental health causing psychiatric disorders to develop. Approximately 18% of alcoholics commit suicide (Wikipedia, 2010). The most know short term effects are reduced inhibitions, loss of muscle control, memory loss and/or blackouts, nausea, vomiting, headaches, hangovers, stupor, and a coma. With reduced inhibitions alcohol changes behavior. At blood alcohol level of 0.05, the drinker’s behavior begins to change noticeably. The drinker becomes more likely to engage in activities they would not usually participate in sober. Loss of muscle control is when blood alcohol level reaches 0.10. Speech becomes slurred, impaired judgments and poor coordination persists which leads to falls or accidents. Memory loss and/or blackouts are results from alcohol depressing the brains control mechanisms as blood alcohol levels increase, periods of time and certain situations may not be remembered afterwards. Nausea and vomiting comes from excessive alcohol consumption and the body trying to protect itself by getting rid of the alcohol. Alcohol effects balance and orientation which can lead to the feeling of nausea. Headaches and hangovers are simply short term effects felt a few hours after consumption. Hangovers are particularly due to the body becoming dehydrated. Stupor is an effect that occurs when blood alcohol level of 0.40 is reached. A person experiencing stupor can hardly function, acting seriously disoriented and confused. Finally, a coma, is approaching when a blood alcohol level approximately reaches 0.50, risking a coma. At this level or higher, respiratory paralysis and death become very possible (Rola, 2006). There are multiple tools available for diagnosis of alcoholism, especially to those wishing to conduct a screening. Identification involves an objective assessment regarding the damage that alcohol does to the drinker’s life compared with the subjective benefits the drinker perceives from consuming alcohol. Even though there are many cases where an alcoholic’s life has been significantly and obviously damaged, can be difficult to classify. One tool used to help diagnose alcoholism is screening. Most of these consist of questionnaires, scores or tallies that sum up the general severity of alcohol use. An example of a questionnaire is CAGE. It is named after its four questions; C- cut down, A- annoyance of accusations, G- guilty, and E- drink needed as an eye opener (Wikipedia, 2010). An example of a score or tally comes from the National Council on Alcoholism, the first nationwide volunteer agency in the field of alcoholism. According to the NCADD, any yes answer indicates you may be at greater risk for alcoholism. More than one yes may indicate the presence of an alcohol-related problem or alcoholism, and the need for consultation with professionals (Ketcham, & Asbury, 2000). Another way to diagnose is by the DSM-IV diagnosis. This is to assist in the development of research protocols in which findings can be compared with one another. According to the DSM-IV alcoholic dependency test is: ..maladaptive alcohol use with clinically significant impairment as manifested by at least three of the following within any one-year period: tolerance; withdrawal; taken in greater amounts or over longer time than intended; desire or unsuccessful attempts to cut down or control use; great deal of time spent obtaining, using, or recovering from use; social, occupational, or recreational activities given up or reduced; continued use despite knowledge of physical or psychological sequelae. A fourth example is the Genetic Predisposition testing. This is when at least one genetic test exists for an allele that is correlated to alcoholism. Human dopamine receptor genes have a detectable variation referred to as the DRD2 Taq1 polymorphism. Those who possess the A1 allele (variation) of this polymorphism have a small but significant tendency towards addiction to opiates and endorphin releasing drugs like alcohol (Wikipedia, 2010). Although this allele is slightly more common in alcoholics it is not an adequate predictor of alcoholism. In order to accurately diagnose alcoholism, however, physicians must be properly educated about the nature of addictive disease. Unfortunately, most physicians lack adequate training and knowledge about alcoholism, and may follow common prejudices, against alcoholics (Ketcham, & Asbury, 2000). Because alcohol use disorders are perceived as impacting society as a whole, the World Health Organization, the European Union and other regional bodies, national governments and parliaments have formed alcohol policies in order to reduce and prevent the harm of alcoholism (Wikipedia, 2010). Twenty years ago MADD (mothers against drunk driving) stood on the East Steps of the Capitol with other important members of congress. Together, they called on congress to erase the blood borders between states with differing drinking ages by enacting legislation to set the nations minimum drinking age to twenty one. President Ronald Reagan signed the law on July 17, 1984. Twenty years later and estimation of about 20,000 lives have been saved; the number of 15-20 year olds killed in alcohol related crashes were cut in half. Another action by congress was to educate the public by funding a major paid media campaign on underage drinking, mainly aimed at adults. Congress was to also provide communities with additional resources for increase enforcement of underage drinking laws. Consuming alcohol is a normal and acceptable part of our society and culture (Nakaya, 2008). Although underage drinking and/or drinking period, cannot be one hundred percent reduced. To help prevent these problems we must create a culture and society that discourages a drinking behavior. Alcoholism has set definitions, long term and short term effects on the human body. Diagnosing, procedures in making a diagnosis and the prevention of this disease are at times uncertain and hard to completely clarify in certain situations. One factor that is set and completely certain is that alcoholism is a very dangerous disease that affects all of society whether you have the disease or not. References Rola, O. (2006, January 9). Physical effects of alcohol - 7 short term effects of alcohol l consumption. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/'Physical-Effects-of-Alcohol---7-Short-Term- Effects-of-Alcohol-Consumption&id=13137 Nakaya, A.C. (2008). Alcohol. Detroit: The Gale Group. Ketcham, K., & Asbury, W.F. (2000). Beyond the influence: understanding and defeating alcoholism. New York: Bantam Books. Sorinia, J.C. (1990). A History of alcoholism. Massachusetts: Basil Blackwell Inc.. Wikipedia, . (2010). Alcoholism. Wikipedia. Retrieved (2010, March 6) from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism