Several youngsters these days have stressful jobs and choose to assuage their stress and emotional issues with a night out of binge drinking. It’s a misconception that alcohol relieves stress and other emotional issues. Also, even a few extra drinks a week can prove to be harmful, both in the long and short term.
The effects on you
The short-term effects of drinking too much include nausea, vomiting, giddiness, and a false sense of well-being and happiness. But in the long-term, every organ in the body can get affected. Alcohol can damage those parts of the brain that affects behaviour, and the ability to learn and remember things.
Other than the fact that there are many types of cancers that are associated with alcohol, heart attacks are common too. Alcohol increases blood pressure and with that, several complications related to heart, such as attacks and strokes.
Your lungs are also more prone to infections. There are multiple ways in which the liver gets affected. First is called the fatty liver. It could then develop into cirrhosis of the liver and finally, it can lead to liver cancer.
A common way to get high quicker is by mixing drinks, which causes severe hangovers, dehydration, and there is also evidence that the immune system may be compromised, causing headaches and fatigue. This is because of elements added to coloured spirits like acetone and acetaldehyde. In vodka and white rum (clear spirits) the incidence is much lower, compared to coloured spirits (whiskey, rum).
Societal pressure
A woman having ‘lesser capacity’ than a man to handle her drink is also an urban myth. In fact, the only difference in alcohol’s effect on a woman is that she could develop infertility. The misconception arises because of the psycho-social environment we are in — male teens are more likely to have alcohol than female teens. And when they move into adulthood, males are less likely to come off it than females.
Not working out
In case you think that your weekly workout sessions are enough to clear out all those calories you put on while drinking, think again. When we exercise, the fat in the body turns into calories and gets used up. But alcohol already has a lot of calories, and it is only these calories that are burnt first when you take up any physical activity. As a result, the calories and the fat that are not used up start getting accumulated in the system.
All of this has led to a rise in the number of cases at the hospital, with alcohol induced injuries and various diseases. People, as young as 35, come with liver cancer! This, other than the regular cases of drunken driving that range from broken arms to instant death.
One of the main things that needs to be addressed is the fact that it’s an addiction, and that it affects your mental health as well. It alters the emotional situation of the patient, and causes a range of disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Deal with it
Normally, peer pressure causes people to drink more. You have one drink and then somebody forces you for the second and third. So, do it where you’re in control. Also, know your limits. How much can you consume and still behave normally.
As to when you should approach a doctor or seek medical advice, the sooner the better. Whether it’s signs of addiction, acute symptoms such as gastritis or bigger ones such as fatigue and higher blood pressure, there’s never a bad time to consult your doctor.
Quick Facts
- The hangover pills taken next morning are not of much use. They may help in hangovers, but others, such as dehydration, etc., are not relieved by these over-the-counter medicines.
- Mixing of drinks not just increases alcohol levels and thus the effects of alcohol, but you may end up with severe hangovers.
- Teens, whose parents drink, are more likely to take up alcohol, and the next most common cause of initiation is peer pressure.
- There are many reserves in our body. As we abuse the body initially, the reserve is taken up and in the younger age groups, health effects may not be noticed. For example, only a small part of our liver is adequate to sustain us, and may not have any problems with alcohol in the younger age groups as there is enough reserve left in the liver. But in case of alcoholics, with age, this liver reserve decreases and liver damages start showing up. This is a phenomenon even for other organs like the heart and kidneys.
As told to Christopher Isaac
