Alcohol and its harmful effects when had in excess.

Alcohol is a drug that slows down parts of your brain. Drinking alcohol can make you feel more relaxed. It can also make it harder to think clearly, make good decisions and do various tasks. Today alcohol is a very popular drink, as there are pre-made drinks that you can buy over the counter that do not taste like alcohol at all making them very easy to drink.

Symptoms after consuming too much alcohol

• Feel nervous and jumpy
• Have sleep problems
• Have shakes.
• Have seizures
• Have hallucinations
• Have blackouts (lose their memory)
• Slur their speech or have trouble walking
• Feel sleepy or lose consciousness
• Be more likely to have falls and other accidents

Harmful effects of Alcohol on your health: Alcohol presents a many problems for your body's proper functioning, like dehydration and deficiency of minerals and vitamins.

• Lungs: Alcohol lower resistance to infection. High amounts of alcohol may cause breathing to stop, then death.

• Liver: Chronic heavy drinking may cause alcoholic hepatitis (inflammation and destruction of liver cells) and then cirrhosis (irreversible lesions, scarring, and destruction of liver cells). Impairs the liver's ability to remove yellow pigment, and skin appears yellow (jaundice). Decreases production of blood-clotting factors; may cause uncontrolled bleeding. Liver accumulates fat which can cause liver failure ("alcoholic fatty liver"), coma and death.

• Reproductive System: Sexual functioning can be impaired and deteriorate, resulting in impotence and infertility, sometimes irreversible. Females also have a high risk of developing breast cancer. In men, may lead to sterility, atrophy of the testes and enlargement of the breasts. Early menopause and menstrual irregularities are common in women who drink excessively. Drinking during pregnancy significantly increases the chance of delivering a baby with fetal. So l say why risk it, it's better to be safe than sorry!

• Heart: Weakens the heart muscle and ability to pump blood. Abnormal heart signals, irregular heart beat and heart enlargement. Increases blood pressure, risk of heart attack and stroke. Inhibits production of both red and white blood cells.

• Muscles: Due to lower phosphate, muscles become weaker and atrophy; pain, spasms and tenderness.
• Stomach and Intestine: Irritation and damage of esophagus lining, induces severe vomiting, hemorrhaging, pain and difficulty swallowing. Can contribute to throat cancer. Irritation of stomach lining, can cause peptic ulcers, inflammation, bleeding lesions and cancer. The pancreas becomes stressed from having to create insulin to process the sugar present in alcohol. This creates a significant risk of pancreatitis, a chronic inflammation that can be fatal. Chronic drinking may result in inflammation, ulcers, and cancers of the intestines and colon.

• Bones: Alcohol interferes with the body's ability to absorb calcium, resulting in bones being weak, soft, brittle and thinner (Osteoporosis).

• Brain: People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for long periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. Damage may be a result of the direct effects of alcohol on the brain or may result indirectly, from a poor general health status or from severe liver disease.

Alcohol can produce detectable impairments in memory after only a few drinks and, as the amount of alcohol increases, so does the degree of impairment. Large quantities of alcohol, especially when consumed quickly and on an empty stomach, can produce a blackout, or an interval of time for which the intoxicated person cannot recall key details of events, or even entire events.

Remember, do not drink and drive, regardless.

• Have a back-up plan for getting home (have money and a phone number for a taxi, or call your parents or a friend whom you trust).
• If you drink, pace your drinks, have some non-alcoholic drinks too, and eat before you drink and while you are drinking.
• Don't mix alcohol with medicines or illegal drugs, you are just asking to trouble. Check with your pharmacist to be sure.

Now you must be aware of the harmful effects of alcohol, in excess. So keep in mind, drinking alcohol in little amount occasionally is not harmful but regular binges can be very dangerous for your life.

(Sources: shesinrecovery.com, pubs.niaaa.nih.gov, camh.net)