Alcohol addiction

Description:

According to official statistics, in England 70% of suicide are committed in an ebrietas; frequency of suicides among alcoholics is 8-10 times higher, than among teetotal.
The disturbances of balance, attention, clarity of perception arising at intoxication surrounding, coordination of movements often become the reason of accidents. According to official statistical data, in the USA 400 thousand injuries which occurred in an ebrietas annually are registered. Till rather recent time in Moscow to 30% which came with severe injuries to hospitals the persons who received them in an ebrietas made. In modern conditions the quantity of such cases decreases.
Disturbance of exchange of vitamins (especially groups B), and also direct toxic effect of alcohol is caused by the defeats of a peripheral nervous system which are shown in the form of neuritis, polyneuropathies and other frustration. The trembling of fingers of hands observed at an alcoholism, a century, a language tip (especially in the mornings before alcohol intake) can deprive of the person of an opportunity to perform usual work. Almost at all drinking disorders of the autonomic nervous system are noted (strong perspiration, a cold snap of brushes, etc.). At it is long drinking quite often decrease in visual acuity, weakening of reaction of pupils to light is observed; in some cases hearing and sense of smell decrease.

Symptoms of Alcohol addiction:

Sooner or later, in 1 year, or in 5 years after the beginning of regular drinking, drinking it is already possible to find the first stage of alcoholism in the majority. How it looks?
The person has a morbid attraction to alcohol – without shot glass it cannot: to stay in good mood, to feel, communicate surely with other people, to receive abreaction (to release emotions from prison). It is also mental dependence. Alcohol just becomes the main interest in life. Thoughts, the companies, events – everything is looked for under alcohol, and not vice versa – the person in 100% of cases will go to communicate there where there will be an alcohol in spite of the fact that it will be people, degrading, or not interesting to it. The another matters, entertainments saved on the most necessary money – everything is put on an inclination altar to binge – heartless liquid in a bottle. The person 2-3 times a week drinks and is more often, and the dose by 2-3 times big, than earlier is necessary for "saturation". The person loses quantitative control: gets drunk to a stage of heavy alcoholic intoxication, and the organism loses ability to fight against alcohol – the emetic reflex is lost. Also pieces of events during which the person did not make the impression which strongly drank yet, could communicate with people around normally drop out of memory.
But the first stage of alcoholism lasts not eternally, after it several years later, the second comes.
The second stage of alcoholism is a physical dependence. Only ponder upon this word: alcohol puts in our metabolism, in the most difficult, from the mechanisms created by the nature and begins the destroying activity there. This inclination is comparable with hunger and thirst, with zhiznennovazhny requirements.
Due to this "intervention" the need for alcohol grows and tolerance to it increases in 5 and more times, in comparison with initial.
And at the receipt termination – we have an abstinence syndrome.
Alcoholic abstinence – a condition of general disturbances in an organism. Everything suffers: both mentality, and body, and nervous system. One part of an abstinence syndrome looks as a severe hangover at even healthy person: thirst, dryness in a mouth, nausea, a headache, dizziness, weakness, unpleasant feelings in heart, bad mood. And here when the second half of symptoms joins: the strong, impetuous aspirations to help with wineache, internal tension, sharp negative feelings of attitude, and further up to delirium tremens (about it – in the following article) – it is possible to speak about the real abstinence. The abstinence syndrome (an alcohol withdrawal) comes 12-24 hours later after the last binge more often, but can be observed and after months-long refusal – "the former alcoholic" somehow here woke up early in the morning, and it has "hangover", to be exact, the real abstinence. Sadly. And young people have all on the contrary – physically can normally feel, small uneasiness, a small headache, and desire to help with wineache – is catastrophic.
In the second stage the abuse form changes – people begin to drink hard drinkings, or is constant, without thinking about work, a family,  responsibility, important issues. Often also pseudo-hard drinkings begin – when since morning freshened the nip, and by the evening is drunk, but they are dated for dates – salaries, the terminations of working week, and for them after all the patient looks for an occasion, provoking quarrels, the conflicts with relatives. Or being repaid what on it is constantly pressed, do not allow to live, develop normally. There are changes of the personality: irresponsibility, illegibility in acquaintances and bonds, hypersensitivity to stresses – such here vicious circle. Patients with alcohol reduce stress, but it does them even more sensitive to the same stress.
Practically all problems in an organism which are provoked by alcoholism arise here: pancreatitis, hepatitis, encephalopathy, a peptic ulcer, disturbances of sexual function and a weight more of diseases – here they, alcohol effects.
Slowly and smoothly, being ill gradually, under dismissals from work, quarrels with relatives, social disadaptation, mass of diseases, alcoholics come to the third, final stage of alcoholism. What picture will be shown us by life 8-15 years later from the beginning of a disease?
It is full degradation. Look at street alcoholics. And they once only began to drink. Once even they had other feelings, except love to the only substance, other motivations except "it is necessary to drink", other ways of receiving joy in life.
In the third stage of alcoholism there is a decrease in tolerance to alcohol. Alcoholics get drunk with one shot glass therefore they pass to more low alcohol alcoholic beverages – cheap wines, beer. Having rummaged in alcohol intake practically is always followed by a delirium (as heavy option of abstinence), epileptic seizures, an involuntary urination.
Feelings and emotions: thin, the highest – are almost lost. The personality remains at the level of rough, lowest emotions and motives. Attachments, interests – everything disappears, there are only signs of alcoholic deterioration – indifference even to the closest, neglect elementary moral and ethical principles (it is necessary on a bottle – took away money from the child), rough cynicism. The humanity sign – humour – at these patients becomes flat, "alcoholic". Memory, intelligence, attention -  everything decreases, degrades.
Many internals are affected. Alcoholic weak-mindedness and atrophic processes in a brain develops. But the most surprising is the fact that the alcohol intake termination even in such started cases, leads to partial recovery of an organism. Only there is already nobody to help the patient with the third stage of alcoholism, and chances to cope most  — approach zero.

Reasons of Alcohol addiction:

Emergence and development of alcoholism depends on volume and the frequency of alcohol intake, and also individual factors and features of an organism. Some people are subject to bigger risk of development of alcoholism in view of a specific social and economic environment, emotional and/or mental predisposition, and also the hereditary reasons. Dependence of cases of acute alcoholic psychosis on a kind of a gene of hSERT is established (codes protein of a carrier of serotonin). However specific mechanisms of implementation of addiktivny properties of alcohol are not revealed so far.

Treatment of Alcohol addiction:

In treatment of alcoholism allocate several key moments:
  Drug treatment — is applied to suppression of alcohol addiction and elimination of the disturbances caused by a chronic drunkenness. In fact, at drug treatment all methods are based on fixation of sensation of fear to die at the patient because of incongruity of the administered drug and alcohol therefore in an organism the substances leading to heavy disturbances of health up to a lethal outcome are formed. Such technique of treatment is called aversivny therapy. Disulfiramum causes a heavy indisposition at alcohol intake and at joint reception with carboimidoum of calcium leads to the termination of alcohol intake in more than 50 percent of cases. Reception of one carboimidoum of calcium which action is similar to Disulfiramum is also possible, but has advantage in lack of a hepatotoxic and drowsiness. Naltrexone is used for reduction of desire of consumption of alcohol, stimulates abstention and reduces pleasant effects of alcohol intake. Naltrexone is also used at alcohol intake continuation. Akamprosat stabilizes brain chemistry which is changed by alcohol intake, and reduces recurrence cases among dependent on alcohol. Russian биоэлементолог the prof. A.V.Skalny noted that at alcoholics under the influence of zinc drugs (as is well-known, 4 atoms of zinc are included into an alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme molecule) there passed the phenomena of alcoholic poisoning, abstinence quicker, they felt recovery of forces quicker, had catarrhal and inflammatory diseases in the time spent in hospital less often, at them settled into shape the laboratory indicators testimonial of improvement of functioning of a liver quicker, sharp improvement of a condition of integuments was observed.
    Methods of psychological impact on the patient — help to fix the negative relation of the patient to alcohol and to prevent palindromias. Here at a positive outcome at the person world outlook installation forms that he can live and cope with the arising problems and difficulties without alcohol "help", other methods and ways.
    Measures for social rehabilitation of the patient — are designed to recover the alcoholic as the personality and to reintegrate him in structure of society. Now in Russia it is practically absent, is implemented (attempts become) only in the local centers.
    The alcoholic detoxification of alcoholics is a sharp termination of alcohol intake in combination with replacement by drugs, such as benzodiazepines which have action similar to alcohol, for prevention of an abstinence syndrome (group of the symptoms arising after the alcohol termination). Persons who have risk only of soft or moderate symptoms of an abstinence syndrome can pass a detoxification at home. The detoxification in fact does not cure alcoholism, and after it it is necessary to carry out the program of treatment for alcohol addiction or abuse to reduce risk of a recurrence. Benzodiazepines are used for the sharp termination of alcohol intake and their long-term use can lead to deterioration in alcoholism. The alcoholics who are constantly using benzodiazepines reach abstention from alcohol less often, than those who do not accept them.
    Rationing and moderation assume incomplete abstention from alcohol. Though most of alcoholics cannot limit consumption in this way, some are returned to consumption in moderate quantities. Full abstention from alcohol - the most constant way of the termination of alcoholism.
    Complex methods — combine in themselves several techniques. It can be medicamentous and psychotherapy, or psychological influence and social rehabilitation. One of such Spanish methods - includes psychotherapy, medicamentous therapy and work with people which surround the alcoholic.