Alcohol Related Disorder

Alcohol Use Disorder is a condition marked by the negative effects of frequent alcohol consumption, a pattern of compulsive alcohol use, and (sometimes) physiological dependency on alcohol (i.e., tolerance and/or withdrawal symptoms). Only when these behaviors become persistent and extremely distressing or incapacitating is this illness diagnosed. It is frequently difficult to think of anything else until drinking resumes due to an alcohol craving.

Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that endangers one's health, relationships with others, or capacity for employment. Alcohol misuse and suicide are related, according to Gelder, Mayou, and Geddes (2005). They claim that older males who have a history of drinking and those who are depressed have a higher risk of suicide. Failure to fulfill obligations at work, school, or home is one sign of alcohol misuse, as is drinking while operating a motor vehicle or in other risky situations, worrying about the law, and continuing to drink despite issues that are brought on by or made worse by drinking. Alcohol dependency can result from alcohol abuse.

Causes

• Your body's reaction to alcohol and how it affects your behavior can be influenced by genetic, psychological, social, and environmental variables.
• Over time, excessive alcohol consumption may alter the normal operation of the parts of your brain connected to pleasure, judgment, and the capacity for behavior control. As a result, you can start to want alcohol in an effort to boost positive emotions or lessen negative ones.

Sign and symptoms

• Being unable to control how much booze you consume.
• Wishing to cut back on your drinking or making vain attempts to accomplish so.
• Consuming alcohol frequently, obtaining alcohol, or quitting alcohol usage.
• Experiencing a strong desire or impulse to consume alcohol.
• Failure to meet significant duties at job, school, or home as a result of frequent alcohol use.
• Drinking alcohol while being aware that it is harming your health, relationships, or relationships with others.
• Limiting or giving up hobbies, social activities, and employment.
• Consuming alcohol in unsafe circumstances, such as while operating machinery or swimming.
• Having a reduced or no effect from the same amount of alcohol due to the development of a tolerance to it.
• Consuming alcohol to prevent withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, shaking, and sweating, from occurring when you don't drink.

Effect on health

• Liver disease: 
  • Heavy drinking can cause increased fat in the liver (hepatic steatosis), inflammation of the liver (alcoholic hepatitis), and over time, irreversible destruction and scarring of liver tissue (cirrhosis).
• Digestive problems: 
  • Heavy drinking can result in inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis), as well as stomach and esophageal ulcers. It also can interfere with absorption of B vitamins and other nutrients. Heavy drinking can damage your pancreas or lead to inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).
• Heart problems:
  • Excessive drinking can lead to high blood pressure and increases your risk of an enlarged heart, heart failure or stroke. Even a single binge can cause a serious heart arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation.
• Diabetes complications: 
  • Alcohol interferes with the release of glucose from your liver and can increase the risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). This is dangerous if you have diabetes and are already taking insulin to lower your blood sugar level.
• Sexual function and menstruation issues: 
  • Excessive drinking can cause erectile dysfunction in men. In women, it can interrupt menstruation.
• Eye problems: 
  • Over time, heavy drinking can cause involuntary rapid eye movement (nystagmus) as well as weakness and paralysis of your eye muscles due to a deficiency of vitamin B-1 (thiamine). A thiamine deficiency also can be associated with other brain changes, such as irreversible dementia, if not promptly treated.
• Birth defects: 
  • Alcohol use during pregnancy may cause miscarriage. It also may cause fetal alcohol syndrome, resulting in giving birth to a child who has physical and developmental problems that last a lifetime.
• Bone damage: 
  • Alcohol may interfere with the production of new bone. This bone loss can lead to thinning bones (osteoporosis) and an increased risk of fractures. Alcohol can also damage bone marrow, which makes blood cells. This can cause a low platelet count, which may result in bruising and bleeding.
• Neurological complications: 
  • Excessive drinking can affect your nervous system, causing numbness and pain in your hands and feet, disordered thinking, dementia, and short-term memory loss.
• Weakened immune system: 
  • Excessive alcohol use can make it harder for your body to resist disease, increasing your risk of various illnesses, especially pneumonia.
• Increased risk of cancer: 
  • Long-term excessive alcohol use has been linked to a higher risk of many cancers, including mouth, throat, liver, colon and breast cancer. Even moderate drinking can increase the risk of breast cancer.
• Medication and alcohol interactions: 
  • Some medications interact with alcohol, increasing its toxic effects. Drinking while taking these medications can either increase or decrease their effectiveness, or make them dangerous.

Diagnosis

• Ask you a number of questions about your drinking preferences. The medical professional could request authorization before speaking with close relatives or friends. Confidentiality regulations, however, forbid your healthcare practitioner from disclosing any details about you without your permission.
• Make a physical examination
• imaging exams and lab tests
• Finish the psychiatric assessment. Questions regarding your symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behavioral patterns are part of this evaluation. To assist in providing answers, you might be asked to complete a questionnaire.
• Use the DSM-5 criteria

Treatment

• Detox and withdrawal: 
  • Withdrawal that is medically managed, or detox, may be used as the first step in treatment. This process typically lasts two to seven days. To stop withdrawal symptoms, sedative drugs can be required. Inpatient treatment facilities or hospitals are frequently used for detoxification.
• Learning skills and establishing a treatment plan: 
  • Alcohol treatment specialists are typically involved in the process of developing skills and creating a treatment plan. Goal-setting, behavior modification strategies, the use of self-help books, therapy, and aftercare at a treatment facility may all be part of it.
• Psychological counseling: 
  • Group and individual counseling and therapy can help you understand your alcohol use disorder and support your recovery from its psychological effects. Family support can play a significant role in the healing process.
• Oral medications: 
  • Disulfiram (Antabuse), a medication, may aid in abstaining from drinking, but it won't treat alcohol use disorder or eliminate the need to drink. The medicine causes a bodily reaction when alcohol is consumed, which may include flushing, nausea, vomiting, and headaches. Naltrexone (Revia), a medication that suppresses the positive emotions that alcohol produces, may prevent binge drinking and lessen the desire to consume alcohol. Once you stop drinking, acamprosate (Campral) may be able to assist you fight your alcohol cravings. Naltrexone and acamprosate do not make you feel nauseous after consuming alcohol, in contrast to disulfiram.
• Injected medication: 
  • A medical expert will inject Vivitrol, a naltrexone derivative, once every month. Although a similar medication is available in pill form, individuals recovering from alcohol use disorder may find it easier to utilize the injectable form of the drug consistently.
• Continuing support:
  • People recovering from alcohol use disorders can stop drinking, manage relapses, and adjust to necessary lifestyle adjustments with the aid of aftercare programs and support groups. This could entail receiving medical or mental health treatment or joining a support group.
• Treatment for mental health issues:
  • Other mental health issues frequently co-occur with alcohol consumption disorder. You may require talk therapy (psychotherapy), medication, or other treatments if you have depression, anxiety, or another mental health problem.
• Treatment for illnesses using medicine:
  • Once you stop drinking, a lot of alcohol-related health issues considerably get better. However, some medical issues may call for ongoing care and monitoring.
• Spiritual practice: 
  • People who engage in some kind of consistent spiritual practice may find it simpler to keep up their sobriety from alcoholism or other addictions. Gaining further understanding of one's spiritual side is frequently a crucial part of healing.

Rehabilitation

After the patient has stopped drinking, the next stage is to support them in maintaining their health and preventing relapse. Relapse happens when a patient reverts to prior behaviors that they were attempting to alter. Rehabilitation is the name of this stage of care. The finest programs involve the family in the therapy because the patient's drinking has surely had a significant negative impact on the family. Some therapists think that sometimes, in an effort to help a loved one with their drinking, family members unintentionally adopt behaviors that "enable" or support the patient's drinking. Co-dependence is a condition that needs to be addressed in order to successfully treat a person's alcoholism.