Dangers Of Alcohol
There is no way we can ignore the dangers of alcohol, nor ignore the demand for it. Most special occasions are incomplete without a glass of alcoholic beverage, be it a cozy dinner party at home, a formal gathering or a huge, glitzy affair. In fact it has been proven that 2 to 3 glasses of red wine consumed every week is actually good for cholesterol levels and can help decrease blood clots. The question then is — why is alcohol considered dangerous?
It is important to understand that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol not bad, abusing alcohol is. Every year there are reports of hundreds of thousands of people being killed or injured due to drunk driving, with many of those who lose their lives in these auto accidents being non drinkers.
As per the National Council of Alcohol and Drug Dependency, over 105,000 Americans die every year due to alcohol-related accidents, and almost 14 million Americans are alcoholics. Alcohol not only kills when a person is behind the wheels, it is also the cause of major diseases of the liver, heart and the brain. There is a substance called ethanol present in alcoholic drinks that can cause some serious damage to the central nervous system.
Casual drinkers or those who limit their intake do not have to worry about the dangers of alcohol, but ethanol does start acting up when a person goes beyond his tolerance level. Usually when a person starts feeling light headed or too sleepy, it means that his brain is slowing down and sending him subtle messages to stop drinking. If he continues drinking then he will start experiencing symptoms like blurred vision, poor coordination and slurred speech. If the drinking continues even then, the results can be more dangerous, like alcohol poisoning, coma or maybe even more fatal like death.
One of the biggest dangers of alcohol abuse is a condition of the liver called cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. Those who continue drinking heavily even after experiencing the primary symptoms face the risk of losing their lives, since cirrhosis cannot be treated and can eventually lead to liver cancer.
Women who are planning to have babies or are pregnant must not ignore their doctor’s advice and continue drinking alcohol. Those who stop as soon as they learn they are pregnant are not at risk, but those who continue drinking throughout pregnancy are, since they expose their unborn babies to one of the dangers of alcohol, namely fetal alcohol syndrome.