Tag Archives: Alcohol

Straight, No Chaser: Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Toxicology/Drugs, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Signs-That-You-are-Probably-An-Alcoholic

With all the focus of late on other forms of drug use and abuse (e.g., methamphetamine, marijuana), alcohol abuse seems to be lacking the attention it deserves. Fully one in six people in the United States has a drinking problem. In this segment of the Straight, No Chaser series on alcohol, we will explore problem drinking.
For an additional personal look at if you drink too much, click here.
“Problem drinking” is a way of describing alcohol intake that causes problems with your functioning. Alcohol abuse is an episode or continued excessive alcohol consumption that causes problems with your daily living activities, such as family or job responsibilities. Of course, a single episode of alcohol abuse can cost you your life if you’re an impaired driver who runs into a tree or some other calamity befalls you.
Alcoholism is alcohol dependence, which is comprised of two separate considerations:

  • Physical addiction to a drug is defined by tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. Tolerance is when you become acclimated to the same dose of drug, meaning, in this case, the same amount of liquor no longer gives you the same buzz. Withdrawal symptoms occur when you experience effects from no longer having the drug in your system.
  • Mental addiction to alcohol is illustrated by its increasingly prominent role in your life. Your life becomes centered around the pursuit and consumption of alcohol. It creates problems with your physical, mental and social health, controlling your life and relationships.

Many of you ask if alcoholism is hereditary. Hereditary means a specific thing medically, so the answer is no. However, we believe genes play a role and increase the risk of alcoholism. It is most likely that genetics “load the gun,” but environment “pulls the trigger.”
Regarding environment, there’s no fixed equation to if and when you’ll become dependent, but there is a correlation with certain activity and an increased risk. Consider the following activities as suggestive of a significant risk for development alcoholism:

  • Men who have 15 or more drinks a week (One drink is either a 12-ounce bottle of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or a 1.5 ounce shot of liquor.)
  • Women who have 12 or more drinks a week
  • Anyone who has five or more drinks at a time at least once a week
  • Anyone who has a parent with alcoholism

Here are some less hard signs, but these situations also have been shown to increase risk, according to the National Institutes of Health:

  • You are a young adult under peer pressure
  • You have a behavioral health disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, or schizophrenia
  • You have easy access to alcohol
  • You have low self-esteem
  • You have problems with relationships
  • You live a stressful lifestyle
  • You live in a culture in which alcohol use is more common and accepted

Feel free to contact your SMA expert consultant if you have any questions on this topic.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress. We are also on Facebook at SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.

From the Health Library of SterlingMedicalAdvice.com: "How can I get alcohol out of my system quicker?"

Endocrine/Metabolic, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , ,

alcoholic-intoxication

It’s a frequent misconception that there are a ton of remedies you can take to help you eliminate alcohol quicker or get less drunk. Alcohol is eliminated by what’s called zero-order kinetics. This process means that a fixed amount of alcohol is eliminated from the body at a time. Nothing you’re doing, including coating your stomach, eating (including a cheese tray) or drinking coffee is going to make you less intoxicated (referral to the legal definition of how much you have in your system). Now being less dehydrated helps the blood alcohol concentration, and drinking coffee (which is a stimulant and can counter the depressant effects of alcohol) may make you feel more alert, but my best remedy for you is to sleep it off (unless you’re intoxicated to the point that you need medical attention).
Bonus question: “Does vomiting help?”
Vomiting is only of value in eliminating alcohol that hasn’t yet been absorbed into the bloodstream.  Once the alcohol is in your system, it needs to be eliminated as discussed.
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Straight, No Chaser: Alcohol Facts and Fiction – The Myth Busters Edition

Health Prevention, , , , , , , , , ,

alcohol and carbohydrates
I’m going to put my personal spin on an old favorite: Alcohol Facts vs. Fiction.  Here’s your six-pack (plus one for the road) of common myths just waiting to be busted.
1. If I drink too much, I’ll get a beer belly.

  • FALSE: Any ‘belly’ is caused by poor dietary intake and insufficient exercise.  A beer drinker who’s otherwise in shape won’t have a beer belly.  The young lady in the picture above is more likely to get a beer belly from the potato chips than the booze, which will give her plenty else about which to be concerned.

2. I get drunker from mixing dark liquor and light liquor, or from switching between beers and wines.

  • FALSE: You’re drunk exclusively because of the concentration of alcohol in your body.  Nothing more or less.

3. Drinking coffee sobers me up.

  • FALSE: Alcohol in eliminated from the body by a certain fixed percentage per hour, regardless of height, weight, age or sex.  Nothing you’re doing, including drinking coffee or taking a cold shower is accelerating that process.

4. A man of the same height and weight as a woman can more easily tolerate the same amount of liquor.

  • TRUE: Women tend to get more affected by liquor than men because women (on average) have a higher proportion of fat stores than men.  This allows the blood alcohol concentrate to become higher in women quicker when consuming the same amounts.

5. Drinking more frequently helps me ‘hold my liquor’ better.

  • TRUE OR FALSE, YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED IF THIS IS HAPPENING.  If you find yourself better able to hold your liquor, your first concern should be whether or not you’re exhibiting signs of alcohol tolerance, with is an indication of dependency.

6. I can drive home because one or two drinks don’t make me drunk.

  • FALSE: For your purposes, drunk is a legal definition based on your blood alcohol concentration (BAC).  Even if you feel fine, after a single drink, your BAC will be high enough to get you put behind bars if something happens and you’re tested, regardless as to how you ‘feel’.

7. I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a drunk.  Alcoholics go to meetings.  Drunks go to parties.

  • FALSE and only FUNNY until someone dies.
  • Actually, you both go to the emergency room. And to jail. Way too often. Like this guy arrested for a DWI after crashing into a cop car while wearing the shirt.  Stay classy.

alcoholicdrunk
If you have any other questions or myths you’d like busted, tee them up for me, and I’ll address them.  Cheers!

Straight, No Chaser: Do You Drink Too Much?

Health Prevention, , , , , , , , , ,

drinks
It’s one of those Straight, No Chaser (literally) days.  I haven’t addressed substance abuse much yet (and you know I will), but the problems with most intoxicating substances revolve around the same consideration.  You had the most incredible time and got the most incredible high the first time, and you spend the rest of your life chasing the joy of that first buzz, which for most drugs you’ll never get.  The difference with alcohol abuse is that alcohol is legal and comparatively inexpensive, so you get to keep trying without much fuss (or at least initially).
Let’s set the stage by standardizing some terms:

  • Alcohol intoxication: You’re drunk and under the influence of alcohol.
  • Alcohol abuse: Your drinking habits are unhealthy, resulting in bad consequences (e.g. at work, in your relationships, with the law).
  • Alcohol dependency: You’re physically and/or mentally addicted to alcohol.  You crave liquor and seemingly can’t do without it.  Dependency involves withdrawal symptoms when alcohol is not in your system.  These symptoms may include anxiety, nausea, sweating, jitteriness, shakes and even withdrawal seizures.

Alcoholism is a chronic disease.  Unfortunately, some of us start with a predisposition based on genes and strong influences based on family and cultural considerations.  It is so much more than either a lack of willpower or an inability to quit.  This disease has a predictable course and defined effects on various parts of the body, leading to specific means of death if unaddressed.  Because I’m Straight, No Chaser, I’m not going to deal with the subjective thoughts you offer about whether or not you can ‘handle your liquor’ or whether you believe ‘you can stop anytime you want’.  I’m going to give you some medical data that defines when you’re doing damage to your body.  It’s actually pretty simple.
Are you this guy or gal (keep in mind a standard drink is defined as one 12 ounce can of beer, 1 glass of wine or 1 mixed drink)?

  • Women having more than 3 drinks at one time or more than 7 drinks a week.
  • Men having more than 4 drinks at one time or more than 14 drinks a week.

If so, you’re causing damage.  We’ll get into the specifics at another time.
That’s damage.  Let’s discuss dependency.  Consider the possibility that you may be dependent on alcohol if you have any of these problems over the course of a year:

  • While you’re drinking, you can’t quit or control how much you drink.
  • You have tried to quit drinking or to cut back the amount you drink but can’t.
  • You need to drink more to get a previous effect (This is called ‘tolerance’.).
  • You have withdrawal symptoms (discussed earlier) when you stop.
  • You spend a lot of your time either drinking, recovering from drinking, or giving up other activities so you can drink.
  • You continue to drink even though it harms your relationships and causes physical problems.

So What?
No one is giving up alcohol by reading this, I’m sure.  I haven’t even touched to the harsh realities of alcoholism (yet).  Alcohol is part of the American social fabric.  We live, celebrate and commemorate milestones with it.  It’s glamorized throughout society.  It’s constitutionally approved.  I appreciate that.  In moderation, it’s a good time.  Just understand that it’s not a free ride.  The danger is in the insidious nature of this disease, meaning issues may creep up on you before you ever know what’s about to hit you.  Then we’re having a completely different conversation.
I look forward to any questions or thoughts on the topic.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress. We are also on Facebook at SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.

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