Alcohol, also known as ethanol or ethyl alcohol, plays a big role in social gatherings. People generally enjoy the relaxing effects alcohol can bring about on the mind and body. Alcohol is an intoxicating substance which depresses the central nervous system, and excess use can result in short and long-term negative effects on your health. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) states that 18 million people have an alcohol use disorder in the United States.
Short-Term Effects
Alcohol reaches the bloodstream within 5 minutes after ingestion. Immediately after your first drink, brain activity slows down causing impaired judgment and slower reaction times. Impaired judgment can lead to unsafe sex and increase the risk of sexually-transmitted diseases. Once the alcohol reaches certain control centers in the brain, reduced muscle coordination occurs resulting in staggering and slurred speech. Excessive intake can also cause short-term memory loss and an inability to control your actions, which may not be remembered the following day.
Long-Term Effects
Besides alcohol addiction, excessive intake over long periods of time causes tissue damage of gastrointestinal organs and increase the risk of cancer. Because alcohol is high in calories, chronic use leads to a loss of appetite and deficiency of important nutrients and vitamins. Liver damage occurs as a result of cirrhosis, formation of fibrous tissue and scarring that interferes with the liver's function. Cirrhosis is irreversible. Alcohol abuse also causes brain cell damage and leads to dementia. The reddish appearance of chronic alcoholics is caused by skin damage because capillaries eventually rupture. Excess drinking while pregnant predisposes your child to mental retardation and physical abnormalities from fetal alcohol syndrome, according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
Effects on Safety
Excessive levels of alcohol in your system affect the brain's pain center, causing you to become desensitized. You can seriously hurt yourself and feel numb. Blurry vision along with uncoordinated movements can lead to fatal falls and accidents. Extreme amounts of alcohol can put you in a deep sleep, or even cease breathing and beating of the heart, resulting in death. If you become sick, aspirating vomit into your lungs is a huge risk. You should never drive or operate anything that requires concentration and attention while you are under the influence. The NIAAA also states that alcohol plays a role in 40 to 60 percent of fatal burn injuries, homicides, sexual assaults, fatal car crashes and suicides.
References
- NIAAA: What are the risks?
- Partnership for a Drug-Free America: Alcohol
- Biological Impacts Of Alcohol Use: An Overview
- "How the Body Works"; Dr. Peter Abrahams; 2009
