Alcohol is a habit forming substance. When a person starts drinking, it slowly becomes a habit which is difficult to quit. Drinking alcohol does not produce any benefit for the person who drinks it except a temporary feeling of euphoria and being free of inhibitions. On the other side it produces many harmful effects on the person’s health, family as well as to the community.
Occasional drinking or social drinking is common with some people or certain family or community. However, alcoholism is becoming a way of life these days in some parts of the country, especially amongst the younger age group. The trend now a days is that the common purpose of consuming alcohol is to get drunk. Increased alcohol consumption is accompanied by enhanced social, psychological and physical problems and heavy daily drinking is usually associated with other life or health issues. These developments have raised concerns about the health and the social consequences of excessive drinking.
Alcoholic or alcohol dependent?
A person is called to be dependent on alcohol when there is compulsion to drink or there are unpleasant symptoms on withdrawal that is relieved by further drinking. Many a times, the alcohol dependent persons abstain from work, cause financial difficulties to them and family and create law and order problems like violence and traffic offenses.
Alcohol dependent persons have a craving expressed in the form of strong desire or a compulsion to drink. The person may have a loss of control or inability to limit his or her drinking on any given occasion. Such people increase the frequency of drinking alcohol, they usually give priority to drinking over other activities and their tolerance of effects of alcohol is increased. After a period of heavy drinking and on withdrawal, they will show symptoms such a nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety. The person may also show the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to “get high”.
Social problems related to alcoholism
Usually, the alcohol dependent people abstain from work, cause financial difficulties to them and family and create law and order problems like violence and traffic offenses.
Health issues related to alcoholism?
Acute effects of alcoholism are emotional outbursts, decreased memory & concentration, poor judgment, decreased reflexes, decreased sexual response, warm, flushed, reddish skin and so on.
The most common long term effect of alcohol use is that the person will become less productive to his work or he may have impaired performance. This will cost very much to society in terms of the persons output.
Alcohol affects all body systems, but Liver disorders are the most common hazard of alcohol drinking. Inflammation of liver, chronic indigestion and fatty liver are the effects of prolonged drinking. Habitual drinking by people with diabetes or hypertension may lead to complications like liver failure, kidney diseases, loss of appetite, poor judgment and cardiovascular diseases. In about 80 % persons with liver disorders, if they continue drinking, it may progress to cirrhosis, which is likely to threaten life. Alcohol consumption increases risk of cancer of oral cavity, esophagus, and liver.
Causes of Alcoholism :
Causes of alcoholism are not fully known. Some drinkers use alcohol to try to relieve anxiety, depression, tension, loneliness, self-doubt or unhappiness.
Alcoholism is a disease with multiple causes that combine uniquely for every drinker who 
eventually becomes alcoholic. One or more of these causes may predominate, but in each case the risk factors are well known. In many cases alcoholism has deeper lying causes that do not disappear once the drinker is sober.
( i) Personality/traits like Emotional immaturity, overly dependent on their parents, Tension in his relationships with others, Inability to manage frustration, Competitiveness, feeling of guilt, etc.
( ii) Education /development like conflict between parents, nervous parents, sidestepping instead of addressing problems, lack of discipline, etc.
(iii) Established behavior patterns
(iv) Mental and emotional stress – High levels of stress, anxiety or emotional pain can lead some people to drink alcohol to block out the turmoil. Certain stress hormones may be associated with alcoholism. Since alcohol blocks emotional pain, it is frequently resorted to as a “cover up” during times of temporary or ongoing stress or grief such as that experienced with the loss of a loved one or relationship, unresolved family tensions, and chronic work stress.
( v) Psychological factors – Low self-esteem and depression makes one more vulnerable to excessive drinking and alcoholism.
( vi) Social and cultural pressures – The glamorous way that drinking alcohol is portrayed in advertising and in the entertainment media sends many people messages that it’s OK to drink excessively. The media and popular culture are filled with messages and images that legitimize or even glamorize frequent or excessive drinking. Damaged relationship too leads to alcoholism.
( vii) Environment – Alcohol is a method to escape from emotional pain, crises, boredom, distress or fatigue.
( viii) Religion – Alcohol is sometimes called God-in-the-bottle. Alcohol can have the same value to the alcoholic as religion may have for a religious person. For alcoholics alcohol removes the feeling of guilt and inferiority and replaces it with a false sense of security. Insecurity returns when becoming sober again.
( ix)Genetics – There are indications that alcoholism can be inherited. Certain genetic factors may cause a person to be vulnerable to alcoholism or other addiction. It is estimated that half of all cases of alcoholism are primarily caused by genetics: that is, the alcoholic possesses certain genes which predispose him or her to the disease. One study showed that the amygdala—the area of the brain thought to play a role in emotional craving—was smaller in individuals with a family history of alcoholism.
Similarly, some people with alcoholism may have an inherited dysfunction in the transmission of serotonin. The sons of men with alcohol dependence are at increased risk of developing alcohol dependence.
( _x) Brain chemistry imbalance –_ As a person engages in a regular habit of drinking, chemical changes in the brain take place. Alcohol consumption depletes gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the chemical responsible for inhibiting impulsiveness, and it increases the production of glutamate (which excites the nervous system) and norepenephrine (a stress-producing hormone). Alcohol also acts in the system to release more dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that produce euphoria and a sense of well-being. Therefore, the active drinker is prone to seek more alcohol to accomplish two things: reduce the agitationbrought on by hyperactivity in the brain; and restore the pleasure response in the brain stimulated by the alcohol.
Effect of alcohol in pregnancy
Alcohol is rapidly absorbed from stomach, small intestine, and colon and is capable of readily crossing placenta, to reach the fetus. In pregnant women, this lead to a condition called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), wherein there will be growth retardation, facial malformations, small head, greatly reduce intelligence of the new born. Such children will become a burden on the family for the rest of his life and is common preventable problem.
Withdrawal symptoms
Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal may appear anywhere from six hours to a few days after the last drink. These usually include at least two of the following:
tremors
anxiety
nausea and/or
vomiting
headache
increased heart rate
sweating
irritability
confusion
lowered blood pressure
fits
hallucinations
Management of Alcohol Dependence
People at risk of severe withdrawal are managed by doctors with help of benzodiazepines which are gradually tapered off to minimize withdrawal. This process is called detoxification and should be done only under supervision of a medical practitioner. Many people require nutritional supplements and treatment of alcohol related medical complications.
Motivational Enhancement Therapy (a form of talk therapy), group therapy or self help are effective ways to manage alcohol dependence. The person may be given nutritional supplements enriched with vitamins, yoga, exercise, counseling, spiritual discourses during this period may be needed depending up on the persons orientation and likings.
People who are driving vehicles, women who are pregnant, people with diseases like hepatitis, cirrhosis, peptic ulcer and who take certain drugs like anti histamines or anti-diabetics or any sedative should completely avoid alcohol.
Test for alcohol dependence
There are hundreds of alcohol screening tests, including some elaborate ones with up to 100 questions. Short screening tests with only a few questions have been developed to encourage diagnosis alcoholism. One such easy test to screening alcohol dependence is the Tweak Test The word Tweak is derived from the first letters of five questions asked for screening the person: These are
T stands for Tolerance: How many drinks can you hold > 6 drinks indicates tolerance.
W stands for Worried: Have close friends or relatives worried or complained about your drinking in the past year?
E sands for Eye openers: Do you sometimes take a drink in the morning when you first get up?
A stands for Amnesia: Has a friend or family member ever told you about things you said or did while you were drinking that you could not remember?
K stands for Kut down: Do you sometimes feel the need to cut down on your drinking?
TWEAK test is a great tool for medical professionals looking to find evidence of problem behaviours. If the score is over 2, you should either try to stop drinking on your own, or get some help in doing so.
There are important home remedies that help the effects of alcoholism. Some that may help you to quit alcohol and lead a happy and healthy life are:
Eating grapes can help to overcome the habit of alcoholism.
Raisins (किशमिश/Kiśamiśa) are good for people who want to quit alcohol. Put a few pieces in your mouth and chew them slowly.
Fruits are rich in anti-oxidants that remove the toxic effects of alcohol.Take one glass of butter milk and add three teaspoon of bitter gourd juice in it. Consume it every morning.Soak four to five dates in one cup of water for few hours. Then squash them and drink the water two times in a day.
The following lifestyles changes will help in quitting alcohol habit.
Exercise is very important for maintaining healthy body. One should do regular exercise to keep fit and healthy. Regular walk is one good exercise.Drink a lot of water as water is a natural detoxifier for your body and it helps in removing the waste substances from the body.Small, frequent eating. More diet such as raw vegetables, fresh fruits are suggested
(iv) Avoid the company of people with drinking habits.
(v) Use relaxation techniques like meditation.
(vi) Always think of the positive benefits of not drinking and the negative consequences of resuming drinking.
Homeopathy is a wonderful support for those withdrawing from drug or alcohol addiction. Not only does it relieve the immediate symptoms, it also works to heal the underlying cause, whether inherited, acquired, emotional or psychological. Does that mean homeopathy is the only therapy that will help or that withdrawal becomes completely trouble-free? Not at all, but the whole process becomes so much easier with homeopathy.
Homeopathy is also incredibly effective for supporting patients in the early stages of recovery. By its nature non-toxic, homeopathy stimulates a person’s bodily systems to deal with stress and illness more efficiently. Research is currently being undertaken to understand how and why these remedies work on the mental and physical level. Specific homeopathic remedies may be helpful during the period of withdrawal from alcohol or drugs. Remedies are chosen on a highly-individualized basis. But there are a few main remedies that help the addict going through withdrawal, including Arsenicum album,
Nux vomica and Lachesis.
Querecus
Avena sativa
Staphysagari
Sulphur etc.
Our aim here is to treat such cases with homeopathic medicines so as to save the patient from side effects of the allopathic drugs (barbiturates) being used and avoid the ? difficult? treatment like ECT/ leucotomy. This will make the treatment more gentle and acceptable to large sector of patients.
