Alcohol treatment

Alcohol Treatment Services will assist you in finding help for alcohol addiction and dependency in the United States. Our certified counselors will guide you and your family in this important moment in finding a alcohol treatment in your state. Alcohol has destroyed many families, relationships and lives for centuries.

There are an approximation 15 million people who have an alcohol problem in the United States who are in need of alcohol rehabs for alcohol addiction. But there is hope as many individuals with an alcohol addiction got their lives back after attending an alcohol treatment center.

Alcohol Treatment Services philosophy is to give honest, caring and knowledgeable advice, support and referrals according to your unique circumstance. Our mission is to achieve a alcohol-free world. Our goal is to help alcoholics and families find the proper treatment for alcoholic. You can always see our drug rehab blog.

ALCOHOL ABUSE, ADDICTION & DEPENDENCY

Alcoholism (alcohol addiction/abuse) is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behaviour interferes with the alcoholic's normal personal, family, social, or work life. The chronic alcohol consumption caused by alcoholism can result in psychological and physiological disorders.

The primary effect of alcoholism is to encourage the sufferer to drink at times and in amounts that are damaging. The secondary damage caused by an inability to control one's drinking manifests in many ways.
           
It is common for a person suffering from alcoholism to drink well after physical health effects start to manifest. The physical health effects associated with alcohol consumption include cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, polyneuropathy, alcoholic dementia, heart disease, increased chance of cancer, nutritional deficiencies, sexual dysfunction, and death from many sources.

When a person drinks alcohol, the alcohol is absorbed by the stomach, enters the bloodstream, and goes to all the tissues. The effects of alcohol are dependent on a variety of factors, including a person's size, weight, age, and sex, as well as the amount of food and alcohol consumed. The disinheriting effect of alcohol is one of the main reasons it is used in so many social situations. Other effects of moderate alcohol intake include dizziness and talkativeness; the immediate effects of a larger amount of alcohol include slurred speech, disturbed sleep, nausea, and vomiting. Alcohol, even at low doses, significantly impairs the judgment and coordination required to drive a car safely. Low to moderate doses of alcohol can also increase the incidence of a variety of aggressive acts, including domestic violence and child abuse. Hangovers are another possible effect after large amounts of alcohol are consumed; a hangover consists of headache, nausea, thirst, dizziness, and fatigue.

Alcohol tolerance

Alcohol tolerance refers to a decreased response to the functional effects of ethanol in alcoholic beverages. Alcohol tolerance is increased by regular drinking. This reduced sensitivity requires that higher quantities of alcohol be consumed in order to achieve the same effects as before tolerance began to occur. Alcohol tolerance may be a sign of alcohol dependency.

Laws establishing maximum blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels for legal operation of motor vehicles do not take into consideration alcohol tolerance. In one study, a group of alcoholics whose BAC was brought to .10, only 24% showed any clinical signs of impairment. Conversely, a person who drinks only rarely may be dangerously impaired even when his/her BAC is still under the legal limit.

The alcohol tolerance is connected with activity of alcohol dehydrogenases (a group of enzymes responsible for the breakdown of alcohol) in the liver, and in the bloodstream. High level of alcohol dehydrogenase activity results in fast transformation of ethanol to more toxic acetaldehyde. Such atypical alcohol dehydrogenase is less frequent in alcoholics than in nonalcoholics. Furthermore, among alcoholics, the carriers of this atypical enzyme consume lower ethanol doses, compared to the individuals without the allele.

An estimated one-third of persons of East Asian and Native American descent have an alcohol flush reaction, a condition where the body cannot break down ingested alcohol completely because it lacks the genetically coded enzyme that performs this function in the bodies of drinkers with "normal" tolerance levels. Flushing, or blushing, is associated with the erythema (reddening caused by dilation of capillaries) of the face, neck, and shoulder, after consumption of alcohol.

Heavy alcohol consumption over a period of years can lead to "reverse tolerance". A liver can be damaged by chronic alcohol use leading to a buildup of fat and scar tissue. The reduced ability of such a liver to metabolize or break down alcohol means that small amounts can lead to a high BAC and resulting intoxication.