Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Like I had written earlier, 1 blog is not sufficient to list all the harmful effects of alcohol. That just goes to show how harmful alcohol is. It effects all the organ systems of the body but the main harmful effect is felt by the gastrointestinal tract and in that too liver is the organ which suffers the most. Liver is a very important organ. Besides digestion of food, clotting of blood, converting proteins to urea is all done in the liver. It is an important part of reticulo-endothelial system associated with the filtration of blood. The condition which occurs in the liver because of alcohol abuse is cirrhosis. There are other causes of cirrhosis but alcohol is the one we are concerned with. Cirrhosis has got 3 Stages. Stage 1,2, and 3. In Stage 1 there is fatty enlargement of the liver. The liver is normally behind the ribs on the right side of the body and except in very thin individuals one cannot palpate the liver. If the liver is palpable that means that it is enlarged and the doctor will write that it is enlarged by so many cms below the costal margin.Liver is associated with the fat metabolism and even a bout of single night of heavy drinking will result in fat droplets to occur in the plasma making it milky. This fat accumulates in the liver leading to fatty liver. In Stage 2 of cirrhosis of liver the structure of liver is  altered but the microscopic structure is maintained. In Stage 3 of cirrhosis of liver even the microscopic structure is damaged beyond repair. In Stage 2 if a person stops drinking the liver will heal itself but in Stage 3 even if a person stops drinking the liver will not revert to its original structure. All the blood from the intestines comes into the liver via the Portal Vein. This is called the Portal Circulation. Due to cirrhosis the pressure in the Portal system is increased resulting in accumulation of plasma in the peritoneum called ascites. The accumulation can be of many liters per day. The doctor may drain the ascitic fluid but due to the cirrhosis it accumulates again. All this is explained at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Since one blog is insufficient to list all the harmful effects of alcohol this is in continuation of the previous blog. In the previous blog I had listed all the harmful effects of alcohol on the Central Nervous System. But since alcohol is drunk the most harmful effects are on the gastrointestinal tract. However, I have seen one patient who used to inject alcohol when he was unable to drink it because of vomiting, but that was an exception. Mostly alcohol is drunk, In the esophagus or food pipe it causes heartburn, which has got nothing to do with the heart but a burning sensation in the chest because of acid reflux from the stomach. Because of alcohol the cardiac sphincter of the stomach becomes loose and the acid present in the stomach is able to come into the mouth also. The lining of stomach is used to this concentrated Hydrochloric acid but the lining of the food pipe is not and it literally gets burnt as a result of the acid reflux causing pain in the chest called heartburn. There may be sour eructations also present. Because of vomiting alcohol can also cause Mallory Weiss Syndrome which is nothing but a tear in the mucosa of the food pipe and is a medical emergency. In the stomach, it causes an increase in the secretion of Hydrochloric acid. In fact to diagnose acholorydia – a condition in which there is a congenital absence of the secretion of Hydrochloric acid, a little alcohol is given through the nasogastric tube to ascertain the diagnosis. The increased acid may cause gastritis.  Small quantities of alcohol increase the appetite but large quantities can suppress it totally. Some alcoholics only drink and I frequently see patients who have not eaten for days. The next main organ to suffer from the harmful effects of alcohol is the pancreas. Pancreas are an important organ of digestion and glucose metabolism. It has an endocrine part which secrete insulin and glucagon and an exocrine part which secretes digestive juices to digest proteins and fats. Acute pancreatitis is a very painful condition and one of the main causes is alcohol intake. It is not dose dependent,i.e., if a person is a heavy drinker it is not that it is more likely to occur. It can occur even in moderate drinkers. Repeated attacks of acute pancreatitis can lead to chronic pancreatitis which can lead to diabetes due to the scarring of the pancreas. There is a condition called acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis in which the pancreas burst and all the secretions go into the abdomen. It is the most painful condition known to medical science. The digestive juices of the pancreas start digesting the lining of the abdomen from inside. It is as if a piece of metal is being eaten by acid corrosion. It is a medical emergency in which the pain is the most important feature. On a scale of 1-10, if the pain of a lady giving birth for the first time is 9 then the pain of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis is 10. The pain is so severe that the person goes into shock because of the pain itself. Alcohol can cause or aggravate IBS, i.e., irritable bowel syndrome. IBS is a chronic and debilitating disease which can be quite uncomfortable. But the organ most affected by alcohol intake is the liver. Liver is a very important organ doing a lot of functions which are essential for good health. It is a well known fact that the liver of alcoholics gets affected in a bad way. You don’t have to be a doctor to know that. But liver has tremendous capacity to heal itself also. If in a healthy person you cut off the entire liver and leave a matchbox size portion, it will grow back, provided you don’t insult it on a daily basis by drinking alcohol. The condition which occurs in liver because of drinking is called cirrhosis. There are many causes of cirrhosis but alcoholic liver disease is chief cause of cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a morphological diagnosis, that is to say, the diagnosis is made by observing the liver. In olden days dead bodies were dissected to know about the anatomy of the body and its parts. They found that the liver of alcoholics was gnarled and lumpy and in many cases shrunk. These days we make the diagnosis ultrasonically. All this is done in detailed medical inputs at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Alcohol has so many Harmful Effects that 1 blog is not sufficient for it. Alcohol is a legal drug that has been causing so much grief for so many people around the world. Everybody who drinks is not an alcoholic,  in fact if 100 people drink, on average only 12 are alcoholics; rest are social drinkers. An alcoholic is a person who is not able to guarantee how much he is going to drink or who cannot guarantee his behavior after drinking. People generally know how much they are going to drink but an alcoholic has no brakes and is not able to stop. They do not get into trouble every time they drink but every time they get into trouble they have been drinking. Whether it is fights, brawls, disagreements at home, legal trouble, the list is endless. The behavior of every person changes a little bit after drinking alcohol but in an alcoholic the change is quite stark. Most people become garrulous, jovial or in some case even maudlin but the alcoholics can become antisocial too. Now let us discuss what deleterious effects alcohol has on the human body. Let us start by the harmful effects on the Central Nervous System. The Central Nervous System consists of the brain and spinal cord. The first and most apparent effect is loosening of inhibitions. There is sort of brake in our prefrontal cortex part of the brain which stops us from doing stupid things like using abusive language in front of elders, looking left and right before crossing a road etc. Even with small quantities of  alcohol this brake is removed. Because of this a person may seem more excited than usual, whereas it is a known fact that alcohol is a depressant and slows down the neuronal activity. A person under the influence looses his inhibitions and may end up doing things he would not even imagine doing in a sober state. The next harmful effect of alcohol is seen on the memory. Both short term and long term memory is affected. Some times the alcoholic comes out of a black out without any remembrance of the previous night. He may not even remember how and when he got home and what all he said at the party. Alcohol directly effects the nerve cells by killing them but memory is not a function of the number of neurons, in fact it is a function of the connections between the nerve cells. Due to this fact the memory deficit can be overcome by doing mental and memory exercises, but the loss of neurons may lead to cerebral atrophy, which is a common finding in alcoholics who are growing old. Next harmful effect of alcohol is very interesting, the damage is caused by drinking but the effect is not seen until the person stops drinking. Till the time he is drinking he is fine but on stopping alcohol he may develop Wernicke’s Encephalopathy or Korsakoff’s Psychosis. These two conditions are named after the people who first described it. Earlier they were thought to be different diseases but now they are considered to be two ends of the same spectrum. The main cause is Thiamine deficiency and in Wernicke’s Encephalopathy the persons brain becomes soft and is also called ‘wet brain’. In Korsakoff’s  Psychosis the person has visual and auditory hallucinations and may be delirious. Luckily the effects are reversible with medication, otherwise they may even be fatal. The next harmful effect of alcohol on the CNS is the effect it has on reflexes of the person. The reflexes become slow. That is why the old adage that don’t drink and drive. One can devise an experiment on a simulator where a person slams on the brake after seeing a child on the screen in front. After drinking even legally permissible quantities of alcohol the time is greatly increased. The next harmful effect of alcohol is on the secretion of anti diuretic hormone. It suppresses its secretion. Anti diuretic hormone is secreted by posterior pituitary gland. As a result, the person urinates more after drinking alcohol. All this is explained at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.

Harmful Effects of Brown Sugar

Brown Sugar or Smack is the adulterated form of Heroin. Because Heroin is so expensive it is adulterated with many things like talcum powder, lactose and many-many other things to increase its bulk. Pure Heroin is white in color but because of adulteration the color changes to brown and since lactose or glucose is a common adulterant the name Brown Sugar came about. Heroin is made from opium and opium comes from the poppy plant. Poppy plant has very beautiful flowers and at the base there is a pod called ‘dodha’. A cut is given at the base of the flower and the milky juice that exudes from it is allowed to turn black on exposure to air. This is then scraped off and becomes raw opium. Opium is called the mother of all drugs as many medicines are made from it. It has been used as a medicine since ancient times. Opium and all its products including Brown Sugar are highly addictive. This is the main drawback of opiates. The addiction liability is very very high. In toxicology opium is classified as a somniferous poison. The common opiates which are abused are raw opium, heroin and brown sugar, cough syrups containing codeine, Spasmoproxyvon capsules containing dextropropoxypene,  morphine and pethidine, fentanyl etc. Opiate addiction has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. and thousands of people die because of overdose. There the most common opiates are prescription based. The most prominent effect of opiates is euphoria. This effect is what makes the opiates so addictive. Even though there is rapid tolerance to this effect, i.e., a person stops feeling euphoria after a few times but the brain remembers it and the person keeps on taking it because of euphoric recalls. During the withdrawals there is intense dysphoria. The next effect is analgesia or pain relief. Opiates are still considered the gold standard as far as pain relief is concerned because not only do they increase the pain threshold but also modify the emotional reaction to pain. During withdrawals there is bone pain and because of this the addict goes back to using his substance again. There is vomiting initially because smack stimulates the chemo receptor trigger zone in the brain resulting in vomiting of central origin. It is effortless and projectile. In contrast the alcoholic retches and his vomit is not projectile. But the body soon becomes tolerant to this effect and vomiting ceases. There can be vomiting during withdrawals as well. One effect which remains constantly is constipation. The smack or heroin addict is perpetually constipated. The person never becomes tolerant to this effect. The constipation is because of three reasons. All the sphincters go into a spasm thereby reducing the propulsion of food. The secretion of all the digestive juices is reduced causing constipation and the speed of peristalsis is also reduced. All contributing to constipation. During withdrawals there are loose motions. Another organ which never becomes tolerant is the pupils of the eye. They become constricted and are typically described as pin-point. During withdrawals they dilate. Under the influence of opiates the blood vessels dilate resulting in excessive sweating. During withdrawals there is piloerection and cold sweats are common. Opiates suppress all secretions and during withdrawals they are reflexively increased. All this is taught in medical inputs at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.  

Harmful Effects of Marijuana

Marijuana or Cannabis or Ganja is the opening batsman, i.e., many people start using drugs from Marijuana. It has been made legal in many countries, not only for medicinal use but also for recreational use too. Many states in the U.S. now permit its use. That is not to say that it is harmless. It has got its own harmful effects. Many youngsters say that it is now legal, but then so is alcohol. And alcohol has been legal for such a long time and so many people suffer deleterious effects of alcoholism which cause so much morbidity and mortality. Marijuana is derived from the hemp plant. It is commonly known as weed or grass. Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa is the Latin name for the plant. Ganja is the flowering top of the plant. Hashish or Charas is the resinous extract of the plant and rest of the plant is called Bhang. Whatever the form, the active ingredient in all three is the same, namely, Tetrahydrocannibinol or THC in short. It grows wild in many parts of Asia and Americas and Africa. But people cultivate it now for their own personal use. Cultivation is also done since it has become legal. THC content has nearly doubled over the past few years as hybrid and high yielding varieties are now cultivated. It is most commonly smoked but it many also be eaten like Bhang or Hash Cookies etc. THC is the psychoactive chemical found in Marijuana.  While THC is not physiologically addictive it is definitely psychologically addictive as evidenced by the drug seeking behavior of addicts when they do not get their dose. It has no withdrawal symptoms except mild headache, insomnia or lack of appetite. Mood swings may also occur. Pharmacological effect of THC is that it opens the gate at the level of the spinal cord which regulates the inflow of sensory information to the brain. As a result of this increased sensory input lot of people have this misconception that they become more artistic after consuming Marijuana. Colors seem more vivid and music also takes on a different sensory perception because of this. It is one of the few psychoactive substances which has no known lethal dose, that is to say you cannot die because of overdosing on Marijuana. While it may not be lethal Marijuana is not without serious side effects. THC is a psychoactive substance and has been found in the fatty tissue of the brain even eight years after the person stopped using Marijuana. The most serious harmful effect of Marijuana is that it causes Amotivation Syndrome. The person who uses Marijuana lives in a dream world of his own and never gets down to actually doing the physical action required for work. It is an ideal nasha for two kinds of people, a king or a beggar. People who do not have to work in life. For everybody else it is a strict no-no, especially for addicts. With any substance there is use, misuse and then abuse. Abuse of Marijuana is very common. Very few people are able to use it and do their day to day work. Next deleterious effect of Marijuana is that it is a “gateway drug”. People who use Marijuana are more likely to use other drugs also. It is as if weed is the opening batsman and the other substances follow soon after. The most harmful effect of Marijuana is that it may cause Cannabis psychosis. It does not cause it in everyone who uses it but it is a distinct entity. It is not dose dependent, that is to say more use does not seem to increase the incidence but more of an allergic reaction. A single joint may flip a person. Anti-psychotics and total abstinence from Cannabis is required and the treatment is long drawn. Whether it causes psychosis itself or precipitates a preexisting underlying psychosis cannot be determined. But its accumulation in the fatty tissue of brain is well known. So, Marijuana may be herbal but it is not without its harmful effects. If you were to come to know before a flight that the pilot has had a few joints of Cannabis, would you feel safe to fly in that flight? While it is better than most other intoxicants it is not safe for addicts and people who have to do some work or study in life. All this is explained at Sahyog Detox and De addiction Clinic and that is why it is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi.  

Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Delhi

Sahyog Detox and De addiction Clinic is the Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Delhi by far. At Sahyog there is proper treatment of alcoholism and addiction. As part of treatment patients are taught to live life without the use of chemicals. This is a very important part of Recovery. Recovery does not mean that there will be no problems in life. It is just that what ever problems occur we are able to handle them better and in a more effective manner. The patients have to be aware of what they are doing and the consequences they will face. At the first sign of a problem, they can acknowledge that something is wrong and take action to correct it. They have to learn how to solve problems without the use of chemicals. Patients have to learn that they have to learn to think, feel and then act. Just because they feel something does not mean that they have to act on it. They can use their intellect to determine their emotions and behavior. If they face a problem, they can look within their self to see if they have any unresolved feelings such as anger, guilt or shame that might interfere with their finding a solution to their problem. Having identified their feelings, they can begin to resolve them and pursue the solution to their problem rationally. All this is explained in detail at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Delhi.

Best De addiction Center in Delhi

Sahyog Detox and De addiction Clinic is the Best De addiction Clinic in Delhi and beyond. At Sahyog proper treatment of alcoholism and addiction is undertaken. As part of treatment the patients are explained how their life has been out of control. Alcoholics and addicts develop tolerance, i.e., they get used to the effect of the substance and require more and more of it to produce the desired effect. Because of this tolerance and the pain and anger in their lives the addict starts to act out in more and more dangerous ways. Episodes of being out of control are very frightening for addicts because it confirms what they have suspected for a long time, that they are out of control. These episodes are followed by many promises to straighten out and never do it again and act right. The promises are made to convince themselves that they are in control or at least will be in future. And they act right for some time too but as soon as the guilt and shame recedes they are back to their old behavior. After crazy episodes of acting out the addict needs to make sense of what happened and he or she turns to his or her delusional system of belief or addictive logic. Using this the person is able to explain away what is happening. All addictive logic is based on protecting the addictive personality. Because of this delusional system it is very difficult if not impossible for addicts to see why they are hurting. They think other people don’t understand them or because life is so tough. All this is taught at Sahyog and that is why it is the Best De addiction Center in Delhi and beyond.

Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi

Sahyog Detox and De addiction Clinic is the Best Rehabilitation Center in Delhi by a long margin. At Sahyog proper treatment of alcoholism and addiction is done and how to recover from it is also explained in detail. Addicts and alcoholics are basically self centered. Instead of having a relationship with others they have a relationship with their addictive Self. In Recovery the person has to practice “To thine own Self be True”. This is the beginning of Recovery: Self care and a relationship with Self. A practicing addict has a relationship between Self and the Addictive Self whereas a recovering addict has a relationship between Self and ohers. Trust is the basis of any relationship. There cannot be any relationship if there is no trust. Whether the relationship is within oneself or with others. If a relationship is not based on trust it becomes a struggle. Trust allows us the ability to heal and the freedom to connect with others. Reaching Out                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Once addicts begin to accept their disease, they are ready to form relationships outside of themselves. For this they must feel safe. Then a person reaches out to others. The addict can even reach out for help. He or she is able to challenge the inward flow of addiction. The addict may reach out to family, friends, a Higher Power or the community. Eventually he or she will form intimate relationships. Spiritual Higher Power                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               In the beginning all seems lost.  Dealing with people seems frightening. The relationship with Self is too fragile. So, a relationship with a Spiritual Higher Power if often a logical choice. Intimacy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Addiction is more powerful than me but then so is Recovery. One is based on dishonesty and destruction while the other is based on care and honesty. Addicts in Recovery want to have intimate relationships with others. Addictive logic says people are not to be trusted. Recovering addicts change that and start by having intimate relationships first with other Recovering Addicts. Honesty                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The Recovering Addict sees other Recovering Addicts

Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Delhi

Sahyog Detox and De addiction Clinic is the Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Delhi for many reasons. At Sahyog a thorough understanding of addiction and recovery is given. As part of therapy the patients have to realize that  addiction and alcoholism is a disease and it is a disease of relationships. The root word of relationship is ‘relate’. Addicts and alcoholics cannot relate to things forget about people. The beauty of recovery if found in relationships. Recovery is all about having a good relationship with self, family, others and the God of your understanding. It is through forming good and healthy relationships that addicts and alcoholics are able to overcome their disease. Here we can state the definition of addiction as a pathological love and trust relationship with an object or event. Every person has a void inside and if we try to fill it with drugs and alcohol it will become our disease. Recovering addicts and alcoholics must try to learn how to get their love, trust and emotional needs met through healthy relationships with other people and their God. They must learn to fill the void with relationships. Many recovering people form their first relationships in the meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. They are based on the 12 Step Program. The first word in the Steps is “we”. This is an important word. By  using this word the addicts and alcoholics are able to connect with other people and break their relationship with their addictive self. They realize their emotional needs can be met by other people. If this is not done the addict or alcoholic can replace one addiction with another or revert to their old addiction. Addicts and alcoholics need to develop healthy relationships with other recovering addicts and alcoholics, their own spiritual side, family and friends and eventually the community they live in. All this is explained to patients in Sahyog and that is why it is the Best Nasha Mukti Kendra in Delhi.

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