Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a disease that involves developing a strong need to ingest

ethanol, so that there is a very physical dependence, manifested through
certain withdrawal symptoms when intake is not possible. The alcoholic has no
control over their consumption limits, and is often elevating over time their
degree of tolerance to alcohol.
Features
So far there is no known common cause of this addiction, although several
factors may play a role in its development and the evidence shows that those
who have a father or a mother with alcoholism are more likely to get this
disease, one can be the stress or problems that the person who eats it.
Some other factors associated with this condition are the need to relieve
anxiety, interpersonal conflict, depression, low self-esteem, ease of getting
alcohol and social acceptance of alcohol consumption.
Symptoms.
People suffering from alcoholism or alcohol abuse often:
They continue drinking, although health is being affected, work or family.
They drink alone.
They become violent when they drink.
They become hostile when asked about drinking.
They are unable to control their drinking: they are unable to stop or reduce
alcohol consumption.
Excuses to drink.
Miss work or school or have a decrease in performance due to drinking.
Stop taking part in activities because of alcohol.
Alcohol need most days to get through the day.
They neglect to eat or not eat well.
They do not care or ignore how they are dressed or if they are clean.
Try to hide alcohol.
Tremble in the morning or after periods without a drink.
Effects of alcohol on the body
The effects of alcohol on the body are numerous and diverse. Alcohol,
specifically ethanol, is a powerful psychoactive drug with a large number of
tertiary effects may seriously affect our organism. The amount and
circumstances of consumption play an important role in determining the
duration of intoxication. For example, consuming alcohol after a big meal is less
likely to produce visible signs of intoxication on an empty stomach. Hydration
also plays an important role, especially in determining the length of hangovers.
Social impact
Alcoholism is a serious health hazard that often carries the risk of premature
death due to liver type conditions such as liver cirrhosis, internal bleeding,
alcohol poisoning, liver cancer, accidents or suicide.
Alcoholism is not determined by the amount consumed in a given period:
people affected by this disease may show very different patterns of behavior,
having both alcohol consumed daily, like alcoholics who drink weekly, monthly,

or without fixed periodicity. Although the degenerative process tends to

shorten the time between each intake.
Prolonged heavy consumption of this substance is forcing the body to need or
require increasing amounts to feel the same effects, this is called "increased
tolerance" and triggers an adaptive mechanism of the body until it reaches a
limit which reverses the supposed resistance and then "take in fewer" so
tolerate more alcohol is itself a risk in alcohol.
Deaths from alcohol-related accidents (collisions, pedestrian accidents and
suicides) rank first among the causes of death in many countries. For example,
in Spain is considered alcohol-ethanol causes more than 100,000 deaths per
year from drunk poisoning and traffic accidents.