What are the dangers of long term alcohol abuse to the body?

The effects of alcohol on our body organs.

1. Liver disease. Alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, alcoholic cirrhosis. At the same time, due to the damage to liver function, the incidence of infectious hepatitis will also be greatly increased.

2. Gastrointestinal diseases.

Stomach pain, indigestion of stomach acid, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and emaciation are all due to the effects of alcohol on our stomach, which leads to the occurrence of stomach problems.

3. Heart disease.

Accelerate the arteriosclerosis of the heart, so that the early appearance of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease ---referred to as coronary heart disease), especially the occurrence of various arrhythmias will be significantly increased. Because the heart rate often increases, resulting in hypertrophy of the myocardium, the function of the myocardium declines to varying degrees, which greatly increases the incidence of viral myocarditis.

4. Central nervous system.

Hypertension due to systemic arteriosclerosis, hypertension and cerebral arteriosclerosis increase the incidence of cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral thrombosis. Others can develop Alzheimer's disease early, and in more severe cases, there are mental abnormalities.

The dangers of alcohol abuse are as follows:

1. Arrhythmia.

Atrial fibrillation and premature ventricular contractions are more common, and the same arrhythmia often recurs, and many alcoholics have sudden death symptoms caused by atrial fibrillation.

2. Enlarged heart.

The earliest manifestation of alcoholic cardiomyopathy is an enlarged heart, and most of these symptoms are found during physical examination, color ultrasound, and chest X-ray. If you can get rid of alcohol in the early stage, then the heart will shrink rapidly after about 4-8 weeks, and even if you stop drinking in the late stage, it can shrink somewhat, but it is difficult to say that it will return to a normal state.

3. Heart failure.

Alcoholics will initially experience palpitation, shortness of breath, and chest tightness, and then will have dyspnea, orthopnea, etc., mainly with left-sided heart failure. If the condition is more severe, it will be combined with right heart failure, lower limb edema, liver congestion and other symptoms, if you do not quit drinking at this time, but continue to drink, the symptoms will appear again or aggravate.

Long-term alcohol abuse can cause chronic damage to the central nervous system, which can lead to many diseases. For example, alcoholic cerebellar degeneration, once a long-term alcoholic patient has alcoholic cerebellar degeneration, the patient will show unsteady walking, staggering gait, just like drunk, and even dysarthria, ataxia and so on. It can also lead to alcoholic dementia, if there is a history of alcohol consumption for more than 10 years, the patient is prone to alcoholic dementia, which is manifested by poor memory, poor calculation and comprehension, and even some people will have very severe dementia.

There may also be pontine ** myelinolysis, which is easy to appear in patients with alcoholism, manifested in the brainstem, especially the anterior myelin sheath of the four ventricles of the pons** will be destroyed, the patient can be manifested as quadriplegia or double lower limb paralysis, involving high limb muscle tone, and then dysphagia, as well as facial paralysis, and even lead to a manifestation similar to locked-in syndrome, that is, the patient is conscious, but can only use the eyes up and down to indicate yes or no, and other including mouth, face and limbs can not move. There is also alcoholic peripheral neuropathy, long-term alcohol abuse can also lead to peripheral nerve damage, patients can show weakness, soreness, numbness and so on.

The harm of long-term alcoholism to the human body is multifaceted: first, drinking alcohol can affect the digestive system, such as causing erosion and bleeding of the stomach and duodenal mucosa, and even causing gastroduodenal ulcers. Secondly, the impact on the liver is also great, it can cause alcoholic liver, and in severe cases, it can cause liver cirrhosis, liver tumors, etc.

The impact on the cardiovascular system is also significant, and long-term alcohol abuse can lead to high blood pressure. In times, patients with high blood pressure such as drinking alcohol can lead to an increase in the effect of antihypertensive drugs and a hypotensive reaction. In addition, alcohol consumption is also strongly related to diseases such as coronary heart disease, heart failure, and alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

Finally, the chance of cerebrovascular accidents, such as cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction, is several times greater than that of non-drinkers. Therefore, for the sake of your physical health, reduce alcohol consumption and abstain from alcohol if necessary.

What are the dangers of alcoholism? Star Awareness Project