Are you aware of the fact that drinking in excess may become more dangerous as you age? A recent newspaper article contributed by National Health Institute for Senior Health recently caught my attention. Seniors may have chronic diseases or health problems that make them already more vulnerable to excessive alcohol intake. Many older adults are taking medications that may lead them to be more prone to falls and memory losses. In fact, alcohol may further distort their already distorted senses. If you or someone you know or love is consuming excessive alcohol, please take note of my next two articles on the subject.
You are probably already aware of the fact that many alcoholics suffer and die from cirrhosis of the liver. Others inflict needless harm to themselves and others through injuries they cause in driving accidents. But a WEB MD study reviewed by Marina Katz, MD, lists a total of 12 major health conditions, mentioned below, that can become part of the alcohol abuser’s life.
1. ANEMIA. With his or her oxygen-carrying red blood cells found abnormally low, the excessive drinker can develop symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness.
2. CANCER. When the body converts alcohol into the potent carcinogen, acetaldehyde, alcohol risk takers are exposed to an increased potential towards mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, breast, liver, and colorectal cancers. These risks can even become higher for the smoking heavy drinkers.
3. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. (a. Especially with binge drinking alcohol, blood platelets are more likely to clump into blood clots, leading to heart attacks and strokes. (b. Alcohol weakens the heart muscle leading to heart failure. (c. Alcohol may lead to heart rhythm problems resulting in stroke or possibly death.
4. CIRRHOSIS. Already mentioned above, alcohol is toxic to liver cells. Women are especially vulnerable here.
5. DEMENTIA. (a. As we age, our brains shrink 1.9% per decade. Heavy drinking speeds up this shrinkage in key brain areas resulting in memory loss and symptoms of dementia. (b. The executive skills can become affected in the brain causing everyday task decisions to become more difficult. (c. Other atrophies of the brain can cause nutritional deficits so severe that other forms of degeneration in this area occur.
6. DEPRESSION. The question in recent years has been “Which comes first – alcoholism or depression? A large New Zealand study has shown that heavy drinking in the study’s research led to depression. Other research has discovered that when heavy drinkers “go on the wagon,” their depression improved. The “jury” is still out on this answer.
7. SEIZURES. (a. Heavy use of alcohol appears to cause epilepsy and trigger seizures even in people who never had the disease before. (b. Even more disturbing is the discovery that alcohol can interfere with the effectiveness of the medications being used to control the seizures.
8. GOUT. (a. This painful condition (caused by the formation of uric acid crystals in the joints), while possibly hereditary, appears to be the result of alcohol and other dietary factors. (b. Alcohol appears to also aggravate existing gout cases.
9. HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. Because alcohol can disrupt the body’s autonomic nervous system (controlling the constriction and dilation of blood vessels), binge drinking especially can cause the alcohol abuser’s blood pressure to rise. This can become a chronic condition overtime.
10. INFECTIOUS DISEASE. (a. Alcohol suppresses the body’s immune system leading to unwanted major diseases. (b. With the increase of risky sex under alcohol’s influence, it has been discovered that there has been a 3-fold increase in the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease.
11. NERVE DAMAGE. Alcohol is toxic to the body’s nervous system. (a. Alcoholic neuropathy can lead to numbness in the body’s extremities. (b. The weakened nervous system often leads to muscle weakness, constipation, incontinence, and erectile dysfunction. ***These conditions may also be the result of nutritional deficiencies caused by poor diet while drinking and brain atrophy (see (5). above), further compromising nerve function.
12. PANCREATITIS. In addition to causing stomach irritation, over-drinking can inflame the pancreas. This will interfere with the digestive process, causing extreme abdominal pain and persistent unfixable diarrhea. Up to 60% of chronic pain in this area stems from excessive alcohol consumption.
