Alcohol - the effect

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Alcohol lifts the mood and relaxes - that is why it is consumed so much. But it is a poison that has a destructive effect on the brain, liver and heart - as well as on the psyche. Read here how alcohol develops its effects in the body, how it affects the body and mind and what the long-term consequences of alcohol are.

Brief overview

• Short-term positive effect: lifts the mood, relaxes, has a stimulating, anxiety-relieving effect
• Immediate negative effects: perception disorders, coordination disorders, memory gaps, slowed reactions, aggression, nausea, headaches, increased risk of accidents, alcohol intoxication, cardiac arrhythmias, coma
• Long-term psychological consequences: depression, anxiety disorders
• Long-term physical consequences: heart disease, stroke, dementia, liver damage, various cancers, disorders in the digestive tract, nerve damage, damage in the digestive tract, life-threatening bleeding

How alcohol works

Regardless of whether someone regularly drinks a lot of alcohol or only occasionally has a drink - what happens in the body after drinking alcoholic beverages is the same for everyone.

Alcohol is absorbed into the blood through the lining of the digestive tract and in this way is distributed throughout the body. It also penetrates into the brain and influences the transfer of information between the nerve cells. Even small amounts of alcohol can lead to noticeable symptoms in people who drink little.

This is how alcohol works, among other things

• Feelings
• perception
• concentration
• discernment
• Responsiveness
• coordination

Positive effects of alcohol

For most people, alcohol initially has a positive effect. If this were not the case, no one would consume it voluntarily. It docks in the reward center in the brain. It acts

• mood-lifting
• relaxing
• stimulating
• anxiety-relieving
• disinhibiting

Negative effects of alcohol

As pleasant as its effect may be, alcohol is actually poison for the body. The organism can cope with small amounts of beer, wine, etc. But if you drink too much alcohol, you have to take into account

• Disturbances of perception up to hallucinations
• Difficulty concentrating
• Circulatory problems up to cardiac arrhythmias
• Disturbances in consciousness up to a coma
• Memory disorders (film tear)
• dizziness
• Coordination disorders with speech disorders (babbling) and gait disorders (staggering)
• Nausea and vomiting
• headache

As a result, alcohol consumption also increases the risk of accidents - risks and obstacles are underestimated or recognized too late. Many people react to too much alcohol with aggression and outbursts of violence.

Acute alcohol poisoning

In the event of very high blood alcohol levels, symptoms of poisoning eventually occur. They can lead to a coma. Acute alcohol poisoning is a life-threatening condition. Possible are:

• rapidly falling blood sugar levels
• epileptic seizures
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• coma

In an alcohol coma, vital reflexes such as coughing, vomiting or feeling cold are paralyzed. There is a risk of suffocation or freezing to death in winter.

How strongly does alcohol work?

How quickly and massively alcohol develops its effect depends primarily on the following factors:

• amount of alcohol consumed
• Drinking speed: If you empty three glasses of wine in half an hour, you will get drunk faster and more than if you allow yourself several hours to drink the same amount.
• Stomach contents: Drinking on an empty stomach can increase the intoxicating effects of alcohol. On the other hand, a high-fat meal in advance can delay the absorption of alcohol into the body.
• Individual physical and mental condition: Body weight, for example, has a major influence. A man who weighs 90 kilograms can tolerate more alcohol than a slender sexual companion because he has more blood in his body and the alcohol is more widely distributed throughout the body.
• Drinking habits: Those who regularly consume alcohol can tolerate more and do not get drunk as quickly.
• Gender: The body's fluid content is around 70 percent higher in men than in women (around 60 percent). This means that the alcohol is distributed in less fluid in women - the blood alcohol concentration (i.e. the blood alcohol level) is higher than in men with the same amount of drink.

Long-term effects of alcohol

In the long run, heavy alcohol consumption will inevitably have both physical and emotional long-term effects sooner or later.

Chronic physical consequences of alcohol

The effects of alcohol unfold over the entire body. Those who regularly drink large amounts damage the cells in practically all organs. But even small amounts of alcohol can cause health problems. There is no harmless dose.

• Liver disease (inflammation of the liver, cirrhosis and cancer of the liver)
• Heart and circulatory diseases (including high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, stroke, heart attack)
• Nerve damage
• Inflammation of the pancreas
• Inflammation throughout the digestive tract
• Varicose veins of the esophagus (esophageal varices)
• muscular dystrophy
• Cancer diseases (including liver cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, stomach and esophageal cancer)

Chronic psychological alcohol consequences

The brain also suffers massively. Decreasing mental abilities, dementia disorders, personality changes and psychological symptoms and illnesses can be the result. This includes

• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• depressions
• Suicidal ideation
• Alcohol addiction

Social consequences of alcohol addiction

The effects of alcohol are not just about health. In addition to the physical and emotional consequences described, there are problems with the environment - especially when consumption leads to addiction. Abuse and addiction affect partner, family, friends, job.

You can find more about the physical, emotional and social long-term effects of alcohol in the text "Alcoholism", in the section "Consequences of alcoholism".

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