The harm of alcohol to the human body can take on impressive proportions. A person who drinks puts physical and mental health at risk - internal organs suffer, the work of the most important systems that control the human body is disorganized (especially dangerous is the impact of alcohol on the immune system), personality degradation resulting from the effect on the human nervous system.
The effects of alcohol on the body affect:
- Liver;
- Brain;
- Nervous system and psyche;
- Cardiovascular system;
- Kidneys;
- Digestive system;
- Immune system;
- Muscles and joints;
- Endocrine system;
- Spleen;
- Respiratory system;
- Visual organs;
- Exterior appearance.
To avoid negative consequences, you must first know how alcohol affects the human body.
Adverse effects of alcohol on the liver
To find out how alcohol affects the liver, it is worth finding out what its purpose is. The liver is the organ responsible for removing toxins from the body; different metabolic processes require its participation. For people who drink alcohol frequently, it is important to know why alcohol is dangerous to the liver and how it works. Speaking of the dangers of alcohol, it can be pointed out that it gradually destroys the liver. Ethyl alcohol that penetrates it oxidizes, creating a very strong toxin - acetaldehyde. Accumulating in the liver, it modifies the organ and interferes with its work.
The effects of alcohol on the liver are truly devastating. Liver cells die from alcohol, they are replaced by a scar or fatty tissue, so the organ cannot perform its function normally (toxins accumulate in the body and eventually poison it).
The most serious consequence of how much alcohol harms the human body with immense consumption is cirrhosis of the liver. With this disease, the structure of the organs begins to change, the size decreases, the vessels suffer from it: they shrink, the pressure in them increases, the blood stagnates. The natural result in this situation is cracking of the vessel walls and bleeding, which is the cause of many deaths.
Effects of alcohol on the brain
The effect of alcohol on the body primarily affects the brain. In a state of intoxication, a person's cerebral cortex is destroyed, while some parts of it gradually become numb and die.
For those who like to drink alcohol, the brain changes - it is full of ulcers, scars and edema, blood vessels dilate, ruptures appear in some places, cysts in dead places. These consequences once again prove the negative effect of alcohol in any dose on the human body.
The effect of alcohol on the nervous system and psyche
People who are addicted to alcohol need to know how alcohol affects the psyche. Regular drinking of alcoholic beverages, especially in excessive doses, leads to the destruction of the psyche. A person’s personality and behavior change completely, mental and moral degradation begins. Alcohol and the nervous system interact to destroy the personality. The effects of alcohol on sleep can lead to insomnia. There are other significant consequences - mental disorders and violation of adequate perception of reality. Alcohol is harmful for memory, concentration and motor coordination. It follows that the influence of alcohol on the human psyche causes great harm to the whole body.
It is necessary to understand in more detail why alcohol is harmful to people's mental health. The harmful effect of alcohol on the human body and especially on the nervous system is that the nerve fibers are damaged and their conductivity deteriorates, in medicine such an injury is called polyneuritis. The person loses sensitivity to pain and temperature changes, numbness of the legs and arms, weakness and "cottoniness" occur. Other signs: swelling, increased sweating, "tingling" on the skin, itching and burning, sharp strong pain, the muscles seem to be tense, as if they were stabbed with needles.
The most common effects of alcohol consumption on the central nervous system are:
- Delirium tremens. It is worth knowing why such a condition is dangerous. It appears after the cessation of prolonged alcohol use, followed by hallucinations, delirium, fever and chills, suicidal tendencies;
- Encephalopathy. Caused by acute vitamin B deficiency in people who drink chronically. Its symptoms are problems with vision and vestibular apparatus, confusion;
- Alcoholic dementia syndrome. Loss of elementary mental abilities, problems with counting, speech, perception, concentration, memory;
- Alcoholic epilepsy. It is manifested by convulsions and seizures in a state of hangover;
- Korsakov's psychosis. Loss of sensation in the limbs is combined with significant memory impairment.
Undoubtedly, the mental consequences of alcoholism lead to the degradation of the personality, the psychology of its behavior is disturbed.
Cardiovascular problems
Alcohol is harmful to the health and normal functioning of the heart muscle. Heart disease is one of the most common causes of many deaths of drinkers.
This muscle organ can expand in volume with regular exposure to alcohol. In addition, the consequences of high doses of alcohol are arrhythmia, increased risk of developing hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, ischemic damage to the heart muscle and atherosclerosis.
Kidneys and alcohol
The kidneys are a very important organ. It works as follows: it removes fluid from the body, cleanses the blood of toxic substances and participates in metabolic processes. Regular consumption of alcoholic beverages forces the kidneys to work with maximum intensity.
This threatens a whole range of pathological conditions - dehydration, metabolic disorders, intoxication, the appearance of stones, pyelonephritis, the development of renal failure, inflammation of the urinary tract, the appearance of cancer.
How alcohol affects the digestive tract
Alcohol is a poison to the digestive system. The walls of the esophagus are affected, heartburn occurs, the gag reflex is intensified, the veins in the esophagus become thinner and wider, and during vomiting, the venous walls may rupture, causing bleeding.
In addition, alcohol causes irreparable damage to the protective membrane of the stomach. The result is premature aging of the organ, damage to its functions. Typical diseases of people who drink are gastritis, ulcers, and even stomach cancer.
The effect of alcohol on immunity
Information on how alcohol affects immunity is twofold. Moderate drinking can help you cope better with a cold. However, more frequent consumption of alcohol inhibits immunity.
Decreased immunity is manifested by a decrease in the amount of a special protein - lysozyme, which is part of saliva, tears and other secretory secretions. This protein neutralizes harmful microbes that enter the body and prevents the development of various infectious diseases. So, we can say with certainty that alcohol reduces immunity.
Effects of alcohol on joints and muscles
Muscle tissue suffers from any dose of alcohol, which is very harmful to muscle health. It slows down or completely stops the growth of muscles, they atrophy, they become flabby, alcohol can even completely destroy them. This can increase your body fat stores. Alcohol and joints are not compatible concepts. The effect of alcohol on the health of the skeletal system is very significant, because it destroys the bone tissue, expels calcium from the body, the bones age quickly, they become brittle and fractures often occur. After drinking alcohol, the joints often hurt.
Joint problems are common in the lives of alcoholics. People who drink often develop arthritis, an inflammation of the joint formations. Signs of arthritis: joints begin to ache, especially the knees. After another drunkenness the pain intensifies.
Alcohol retains fluid in the body, edema occurs, uric acid stops being excreted normally and accumulates in the form of salts that accumulate in the joints, which provokes the appearance of gout. Excess fluid enters the joint, presses on the walls of the joint cavity, touches the nerve fibers, pain appears in various joints after alcohol. Over time, due to the action of alcoholic beverages, there is a deformation and complete destruction of joint formations.
How alcohol affects your appearance
A person who is addicted to alcohol is easily recognized in the crowd. Typical appearance of the drink:
- bluish nose color;
- reddened and swollen face;
- bags under the eyes;
- bruising from bruising or falling;
- messy clothes;
- tousled hair.
The effect of alcohol on the skin is also negative. A red tinge appears, which is explained by the increased blood flow under the influence of alcohol. A large load on the vessels causes their damage, small capillaries burst, which causes bruises in the form of blue and red spots on the face. The bluish tint is the result of severe vascular damage, the blood does not supply these areas with oxygen well.
To remove alcohol from the body, a large amount of fluid is turned on, dehydration begins, a person who has consumed a lot of alcohol feels a strong thirst, tries to quench it. Fluid accumulates and is slowly removed as the body seeks to protect itself from repeated dehydration and creates water reserves, from which the face and other parts of the body swell.
The effect of alcohol on the endocrine system
Alcohol and its impact on human health are also linked to the work of the hormonal system. Its main organs are:
- Thyroid (regulates metabolism);
- Pituitary and hypothalamus (controls the work of the entire system);
- Pancreas (responsible for insulin production);
- The pineal gland (produces hormones that affect sleep, blood circulation and the nervous system);
- Adrenal glands (produce adrenaline);
- Thymus (regulates the growth and development of immune cells);
- Gonads (produce male and female hormones).
The effect of alcohol on the thyroid and other organs of the endocrine system is such that it reduces the production of some hormones and increases the production of others. For example, in men, there is a predominance of female hormones and a decrease in male hormone levels. For women who drink, the opposite is true. Hormonal disorders negatively affect the state of the whole organism. Some endocrine pathologies are associated with congenital gene mutations, and these mutations often result from drinking too much alcohol. Normal interaction of alcohol and the thyroid gland, as well as other endocrine organs, is impossible.
How alcohol can affect the spleen
The spleen often hurts from frequent alcohol consumption. This organ plays the role of donor of old and damaged blood cells in the body. It is a reserve "storehouse" of blood, which, if necessary, supplies the blood vessels. In addition, this organ cleanses the blood of pathogenic microorganisms.
Pain in the left hypochondrium may signal spleen problems caused by excessive drinking. It is easy to explain why alcohol consumption is dangerous and why the spleen hurts. This organ is usually enlarged, and a splenic infarction and abscess are possible, in severe cases that require the removal of this organ. The consequences of excessive consumption of any type of alcohol can seriously disrupt the work of the spleen and lead to death.
Effects on the respiratory system
Those who drink should be aware of how alcohol affects lung health. Alcohol vapors affect the respiratory mucosa, which contributes to the development of pneumonia, bronchitis, chronic pharyngitis and laryngitis (hence the hoarseness of drunks). Moreover, these diseases are severe and long-term. Pneumonia can progress to pneumosclerosis (lung tissue hardens). Alcohol in the blood causes the destruction of lung tissue and their pathological spread (emphysema).
The example of the lungs shows the irreparable damage that alcohol causes to the human body. Large doses of alcohol disrupt the respiratory activity of the lungs, in some cases breathing may stop completely. Delirium tremens are often accompanied by inflammation and pulmonary edema. There is also a link between alcohol and the occurrence of lung cancer.
The effect of alcohol on human vision
Not everyone knows for sure whether alcohol is harmful to eyesight and why alcoholics have eye pain. Under the influence of alcohol, intracranial pressure increases. This causes damage to the vessels of the eyes and numerous small bleedings, the supply of oxygen to the muscles is disrupted, they are in a state of permanent tension. This condition can result in atrophy of the eyeball muscles and deterioration of vision quality.
In addition, alcohol can affect the nerve fibers of the fundus, disrupting the function of the optic nerve. The most serious effect of alcohol on the visual system is blindness.
Alcoholism and its consequences have a destructive effect on the body, and the psyche can also change significantly. Only by stopping drinking can you stop the process of destroying your body.