Alcoholism is a serious public health problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 13,000 people died in 2006 as a result of liver disease brought on by alcoholism. More than 22,000 people died from deaths caused by alcohol that same year, and this number excludes those who died from alcohol-related deaths. Alcoholism is a serious disease and knowing the signs of its progression is helpful in its diagnosis and treatment.
Alcohol Consumption
According to MedlinePlus, one sign of alcoholism is "a need for increasing amounts of alcohol to get drunk or to achieve the desired affect." The general term for this phenomenon is "tolerance." When alcoholism progresses, a person's tolerance for alcohol increases. Thus, the dependent person drinks more alcohol to feel the same level of intoxication. Additionally, notes MedlinePlus, the alcoholic may go on longer and longer binges, which may last for days or weeks. As alcoholism progresses, the length of binges increases and the time between binges decreases.
Alcohol-Related Illness
Another sign that alcoholism is progressing is a rise in episodes of sickness caused (directly or indirectly) by drinking alcohol. This may include the increased frequency of calling in sick to work or other functions the alcoholic previously attended. Symptoms of direct alcohol-induced illness (and/or alcohol withdrawal) according to MedlinePlus, include abdominal pain, nausea, raised temperature, rapid heart rate, vomiting, tremors and seizures. Indirect alcohol-induced illness may include injury caused during a period of intoxication. Such injuries include broken bones, bruises and sprains from falling while intoxicated, or injuries sustained as a result of a car crash caused by intoxication.
Psychological Factors
Because alcoholism is a mental as well as physical disease, there are also psychological factors to consider when determining if it has progressed. An increase in the severity or frequency of the following symptoms, outlined by MedlinePlus, may indicate a progression in alcoholism: not eating enough, drinking alcohol alone, episodes of violence when drinking alcohol, anger at being confronted about drinking, not caring about physical appearance, secretive behavior around drinking alcohol and not being able to control the amount of drinking. This last factor is especially apparent when a person states that he will only have a certain number of drinks during a certain period (i.e., two or three drinks in a night) and drinks much more.
