Are You or a Loved One Suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder?

Alcoholism is a disease that tears people and families apart. It can be beaten, but first, it must be recognized and owned.

A basic description of alcohol abuse is a person showing a pattern of alcohol use that causes significant physical, mental or social dysfunction. The key features being tolerance, withdrawal and persistent use despite problems.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Behavioral

Psychological and social dysfunction

Martial problems (divorce or separation)

Anxiety, depression, insomnia

Social isolation or withdrawal

Alcohol- related arrests or legal problems

Preoccupation with recreational drinking

Repeated attempts to stop or reduce drinking

Loss of interest in non-drinking activities

Employment problems (tardiness, absenteeism, decreased productivity, interpersonal problems at work, frequent job changes)

Blackouts ( not remembering what happened during drinking spells)

Complaints by family member or friends about alcohol related behavior

Physical

Gastrointestinal: anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, stigmata of chronic liver disease, peptic ulcer disease, pancreatitis, esophageal malignancies

Cardiovascular: hypertension, dilated cardiomyopathy, palpitations

Respiratory: aspiration pneumonia

Genitourinary: impotence, menstrual irregularities, testicular atrophy, infertility

Endocrine/metabolic: hyperlipidemias, Cushing old appearance, gynecomastia

Dermatologic: burns (eg cigarette) bruises in various stages of healing, poor hygiene, palmar erythematic, spider telangiectasias, caput medusa, jaundice, hyper pigmentation

Musculoskeletal: old fractures in various stages of healing, sympathy, osteopenia, bone marrow suppression

Neurologic: cognitive deficits ( eg memory impairment), peripheral neuropathy, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, grand-mal seizures, delirium tremors.

CAUSES

There are many reasons and causes as to why a person suffers from alcohol abuse including genetic and environmental.

Some of the risk factors

Family history

Depression, anxiety

Other substance disorders

Male gender

Low socioeconomic status

Unemployment

Peer, social approval

Accessibility of alcohol

Family dysfunction or trauma

Antisocial personality disorder

Academic problems, school dropout

Criminal involvement

Once a person has been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder there are various treatments available.

Appropriate healthcare

There are several indicators for a person to go through an inpatient detoxification:

Severe withdrawal symptoms

Prior delirium tremens, withdrawal seizures

Coexisting acute or chronic illness

Strong craving for alcohol or lack of commitment to abstinence

Suicidal ideation or significant psychiatric symptoms

Obstacles to close monitoring (follow-up not feasible)

Pregnancy

Diet

Alcoholics tend to have adequate caloric intake but deficiencies in folate; vitamins B1, B6, B12; magnesium, phosphate and zinc

There are many medications to help with detoxification and the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome but these too can come with their own problems. It is important to be sure of regular monitoring.

PREGNANCY

Alcohol is highly teratogenic, especially during early weeks of fetal development. Women should abstain when planning conception and throughout pregnancy.