Addiction to alcohol and other drugs occurs in nearly every demographic group. The effects of addiction on an individual can be devastating, or even deadly. Careers, family relationships and self-esteem have all been destroyed by the ravages of addiction. Societal repercussions of addiction in a community can include increased crime rates and public debt accrued due to increased hospitalization and decreased workplace productivity. Addiction impacts physical health in devastating ways, and is a contributing factor in a host of diseases.
Cirrhosis
The liver filters toxins from the blood. Chronic alcohol abuse can cause scar tissue to form within the liver, impairing its ability to function. MayoClinic.com lists fatigue, the tendency to bleed or bruise easily, weight loss and abdominal fluid accumulation as some of the symptoms of cirrhosis, but adds that symptoms often do not arise until the liver has incurred extensive damage.
Cirrhosis can impair the ability to fight infections, increase the risk of liver cancer and result in high toxin levels in the blood that can cause coma.
Alcoholic Neuropathy
The mechanisms by which alcohol abuse causes nerve damage are not fully understood, but MedlinePlus notes that nerve damage may result from the combined effects of poor nutrition and poisoning of the nerves. This condition is known as alcoholic neuropathy. Its symptoms include pain, numbness and paresthesia, or a “pins and needles” sensation, in the arms and legs. Impotence, incontinence and muscle weakness can also occur.
Alcoholic neuropathy can become progressively worse, resulting in severe disability if not treated.
AIDS
The AIDS virus can be transmitted through the use of shared needles or on implements used to snort cocaine. AIDS.org notes that drug use is often associated with unsafe sex, which can also result in transmission of the virus.
Crack cocaine use has been associated with increased risk of contracting HIV as well. It is believed that this increased risk is related to abrasions and burns to the lips incurred by crack smoking. It is not known whether increased occurrences of HIV among crack users are due to transmission through shared pipe use or due to the combination of lip sores and oral sex.
Crack Lung and Tuberculosis
Smoking crack cocaine can cause an acute attack of fever and respiratory failure known as “crack lung.” This condition occurs due to inflammation of the lungs and damage to the lung tissue from inhaling crack smoke. Severe cough, breathlessness, chest pain, asthma and injury to the airways are complications of crack use.
Crack cocaine use is also associated with the reemergence of tuberculosis as a public health concern. Alistair Story of the Respiratory Diseases Department of London’s Health Protection Agency states that crack cocaine users have impaired immune function within the lungs, which can make them more vulnerable to tuberculosis infection.
