Physical Effects of Alcohol

Sustained drinking can change you from a mild mannered person to a shrieking monster. Read up on the signs before you lose control over your life.

Nothing good can ever come out of drinking alcohol. Studies and research conducted all over the world on the effects of alcohol on the human body indicate that alcohol has long-term, potentially devastating effects on the body.

It is well known by now that alcohol can actually impair cognitive brain function and development to the extent that the brain loses memory and even shrinks. This is one of the causes of such disorders as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s.

If you think you have a drinking problem, stop now and get help. Your alcoholism will take over your life and make you lose your family and friends. You may have one or more of these problems, so act fast:

Trembling hands: Over a period of sustained drinking, you will notice that your hands just cannot remain steady. You try your hardest, but your hands still tremble and are forced into permanent tremors. You may find it difficult to write or sign a cheque, and in severe cases, you may not even be able to carry objects without dropping them first.

Perpetual thirst: Alcohol dries up the system completely, so you will experience prolonged spells of thirst and exhaustion. Thirst is the first sign of too much alcohol swishing around in your system. Most alcoholics reach for the nearest beer to quench their thirst, further compounding the problem. In severe cases, lack of hydration can lead to fatal strokes in the brain or heart, or even paralysis.

Loss of appetite: Too much alcohol can impair your digestion and cause your system to spiral out of control. Since your body is unable to digest food, it curbs the appetite till some balance is restored. However, this can develop into a long term condition where if the person eats even a little food, he or she ends up vomiting most of it. On the other hand, several alcoholics report a loss of bowel control and complain of constant dysentery.

Memory lapses: An alcoholic will have mild to severe bouts of forgetfulness. On the one hand, the person may remain lucid over long periods of time, but after a few drinks, may lapse into a state where he or she has no recollection of the past few hours. Many alcoholics are unable to recollect events that took place just a day before, while others report an inability to remember dates, places, names and even work-related appointments. These memory lapses are also indicative of premature dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Liver cirrhosis: Alcohol directly impacts liver function, apart from also causing tremendous trauma to the kidneys. The kidneys have to work overtime to filter alcohol from the blood stream, and this might cause long term damage. With the liver unable to function properly, one may develop thyroid disorders in the short term and liver cirrhosis in the long term. The latter is a potentially fatal condition, necessitating a liver transplant.