The effect of alcohol on the functioning of the brain. How alcohol affects the human brain and nervous system - negative effects and consequences

From this article you will learn about the extent of the tragedy called alcoholism, as well as:

The scale of the tragedy

Unfortunately, recent studies confirm the high danger of alcohol. Thus, the studies of David Natta, a well-known psychiatrist and pharmacologist, identified alcohol as the most dangerous substance, with a pronounced negative effect on a person’s psychological and physical health. The scientist found that prolonged use of alcohol affects the body more than the use of hard drugs, LSD and other hallucinogens. Have you thought about how many people drink?

Some statistics

More than 85% of the people on planet Earth have used or regularly use alcohol;
Every fourth adult resident of Russia suffers from domestic alcoholism;
65% of teenagers under 13 have tried alcohol;
40% of minors aged 13-18 regularly drink alcohol;
According to WHO estimates, Russians consume per capita more than 15 liters of pure ethyl alcohol per year;
For comparison, at the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, consumption did not exceed 3.5-4 liters per capita.

To summarize, according to WHO data for 2014, every second person periodically consumes alcohol. If we take the total damage to humanity, during the years of exposure to alcohol, colossal damage has been received, not comparable to the harm from all known drugs combined.

The effect of alcohol on the human brain

The use of alcohol to affect the brain began at the dawn of civilization. Addiction, legalization and popularization of alcohol consumption has become a great tragedy for mankind. Having fun, raising your mood with new doses of cocktails and strong strong drinks, a person does not think that impaired coordination, slurred tongue, memory lapses and aggression are the results of a negative effect on the body from alcohol.

About 20% of alcohol is absorbed by the stomach, the rest goes into the small intestine. This leads to the fact that strong drinks “hit the head” faster, and if you eat tightly before a feast, intoxication will not come so quickly. As soon as the absorption of alcohol has begun, it is instantly distributed throughout the body with the help of the human circulatory system.

A decrease in the level of neurotransmitters (substances responsible for the transmission of impulses from neurons to muscle tissues) leads to a deterioration in the reaction, impaired coordination. Moreover, a change in the balance of neurotransmitters can lead to the excitation of brain activity, or vice versa - to suppress it. As a result of taking “on the chest”, some people become calm, and they can even be sleepy, some show aggression, lose their common sense, and behave inappropriately to the situation.

Another effect was discovered in 1961 by American scientists. They found that a drunken person in the blood appears a huge number of microthrombi, consisting of hundreds and thousands of blood cells. This phenomenon is called "grape clusters". The reason for this phenomenon is the presence of alcohol in the blood. By drinking beer, vodka, wine, and after being absorbed into the blood, blood thins, it increases its fluidity, which leads to a change in cell membranes in neurons.

The next stage is dehydration, paradoxical as it may seem, but it is impossible to compensate for the loss of fluid by additional water intake, again, due to aggregation (clumping) of red blood cells. The body begins to show the first signs of fluid loss.

Oxygen starvation - this is the euphoria effect, for which some people love to "step on the cork" so much. A dehydrated body, capillaries clogged with large plaques disrupt the supply of oxygen to the cerebral cortex. This leads to the suppression of self-control, knocks down logical thinking, reduces intellectual abilities at times, and in some cases, it can even lead to loss of consciousness.

hangover syndrome. You have to pay for everything, in the case of alcohol consumption, this payment is acidification of the blood. Naturally, a hangover is a temporary phenomenon, however, depending on the scope of the celebration, there may be prolonged and painful spasms, active sweating, headaches, temporary incoordination, memory lapses.

Do you know why it is so important for alcoholics to get a hangover? As a result of the regular influence of alcohol on the brain, an ischemic stroke occurs. It occurs due to the fact that the blood does not carry oxygen to the cerebral cortex. The use of a new dose of poison increases the heartbeat, increases the fluidity of the blood, and only in such conditions is the nourishment of neurons partially resumed. Partially, the plaques in the blood do not have time to be removed, the pressure on the walls of the capillaries increases. This situation ends with a rupture of blood vessels, which causes a stroke or heart attack.

What parts of the brain are damaged?

The occipital part of the brain. The result is impaired coordination when walking, frequent falls, injuries, one of the reasons for such a high mortality from alcohol exposure.
The centers responsible for common sense, decency, moral behavior are blocked. The result is immoral behavior, an increase in the level of crime while intoxicated, suicides.
The mechanism of recording and playback of memory is broken. The result is memory lapses, fragmentary memories.

Do not forget about psychological deviations, such as "white tremens", the appearance of mania and phobias, chronic alcoholism, and the manifestation of aggression. Alcohol has been used by humans for centuries and is one of the most popular forms of "relaxation", but it is worth understanding the seriousness of the consequences. If you cannot completely give up alcohol, reduce the amount of alcohol you drink and watch for a decrease in its negative impact:

Do not exceed doses of more than 50 ml of alcohol;
Drink more water, eat more food;
Do not drive or abuse in hazardous conditions;
Try to limit yourself in behavior, control your condition during a feast;
Do not drink cheap strong alcohol;
Do not mix drugs, drugs and alcohol.

Drinking alcohol is very much like exploding a bomb for the body. Absolutely all organs are totally damaged due to influence at the cellular level.

Drinking alcohol, even in small doses, adversely affects the functioning of almost all systems of the human body. Thus, the effect of alcohol-containing drinks on the brain deserves special attention: one of the negative consequences of prolonged intake of strong drinks is blood agglutination (gluing of red blood cells), which leads to a violation of the processes of nutrition and respiration of the cells of the main organ of the nervous system. Find out what else is fraught with regular drinking.

What is alcohol

This term can be used in two senses. First, alcohol is ethyl alcohol, which is a colorless liquid substance with a very specific smell. This substance is actively used in medicine as a disinfectant. Secondly, alcohol is commonly understood as a variety of alcoholic beverages obtained naturally or artificially. The latter are often used systematically by individuals, which entails very unpleasant consequences for human health.

The effect of alcohol on the human nervous system

While taking alcohol, the brain receives signals from the excitatory acid (glutamate) contained in it, which, getting into the receptors of neurons, disrupts speech, coordination, and creates a distorted perception of the existing reality. In addition, the negative effect of alcohol on the human brain causes inhibition of cognitive functions. In the scientific community, this condition is usually called alcoholic myopia.

An additional aspect of the harmful effects of alcohol on the human nervous system is the narrowing of the focus of perception of information received from outside. The inability to fully analyze any situation makes a drunk person inadequate. So, in a sober state, the subject of public relations can restrain his ardor, being next to an aggressive interlocutor.

A drunk person completely loses the ability to interpret the situation in a broad context, while becoming an asocial person without any moral barriers. On top of that, the situation is complicated by the fact that drunk people tend to perceive the actions of the objects of their antipathy as deliberately thought out, intentional. For this reason, often noisy feasts end in a showdown.

How alcohol affects the brain

With prolonged use of alcohol, a violation of the work of the centers responsible for cognitive abilities develops. Answering what happens to the brain when drinking alcohol, experts mention memory and attention disorder syndromes. The toxic effect of 40% ethanol has an overwhelming effect on the cellular structures of the main organ of the central nervous system. At the same time, 100% alcohol affects the brain in a destructive way. In addition, prolonged intake of ethanol leads to a lack of vitamin B1, without which areas of the brain cannot function properly.

The effect of alcohol on blood vessels

It is known that strong drinks tend to thin the blood, which in some situations is even useful. Meanwhile, the effect of alcohol on blood vessels is such that with its prolonged use, the opposite situation occurs. Against the background of regular intake of ethanol into the body, there is a violation of the integrity of the erythrocyte membranes, leading to their gluing. Due to the presence of red cell clots in the blood, areas of thrombosis begin to form in the vessels.

As a result of arterial obstruction (blockage), brain hypoxia occurs, outwardly manifested by sensations of excitement and intoxication. In addition, ethyl alcohol increases the permeability of capillaries, which creates the risk of developing edema of the main organ of the central nervous system. During the autopsy of people who died from alcohol addiction, experts found that ethanol leads to the following changes in the brain:

the occurrence of multiple hemorrhages (due to obturation of vessels by agglutinated erythrocytes);
smoothing the convolutions;
reduction in organ volume.

The effect of alcohol on memory

Drinking alcohol negatively affects the work of the hippocampus. The adverse effect of alcohol on the brain adversely affects memory and attention. It is worth saying that the irregular intake of ethanol into the body gives the body time to eliminate the toxic effects of this substance. With its regular influx, the negative effect of alcohol on memory is aggravated, and the person gradually degrades. Over time, the solution to all the problems of a drinking person moves into a glass of alcohol.

Features of the influence of alcohol on the woman's brain

In the course of clinical studies, it was found that women who drink strong drinks are more susceptible to the occurrence of pathologies of the liver, heart, and other organs. In addition, the peculiarities of the impact on the woman's brain are determined by the increased emotional susceptibility of the weaker sex. Separate consideration requires the intake of alcohol during the period of bearing a child. Such a reckless act of the expectant mother can lead to serious pathologies in the development of the fetus.

What determines the intensity of the negative impact on the brain

Alcohol abuse is the foundation for the development of many pathological processes in the body. The harm of ethyl alcohol can be proven without any medical research. A person under the influence of alcohol is characterized by inappropriate behavior, incoherent speech, and confusion. The focus of perception of such a subject shifts from distant tasks towards closer ones, which often only worsens the situation. In this case, the intensity of the impact on the brain depends on the following factors:

general health;
the quantity and quality of consumed strong drinks;
the age of the alcoholic;
the duration of the period of regular alcohol intake;
the body's ability to recover.

What brain diseases does alcohol cause?

Alcohol abuse often leads to irreparable impairment of a person's cognitive abilities, which is expressed in the loss of clear thinking, a decrease in the level of mental development, and other negative consequences. It is important to note that the brain suffers from weak alcoholic drinks in the same way as from strong ones, so you should not think that long-term use of wine or beer does not threaten your health. Regular alcohol consumption leads to the following serious diseases:

dementia;
Korsakov's disease;
encephalopathy of alcoholic origin;
paranoia;
hallucinosis;
apathy;
delirious jealousy.

More than 75,000 people die from alcohol in Russia every year. The causes of death are diseases of the heart and liver, poisoning with a low-quality drink, and destruction of vital organs. A signal of the destruction of the human brain is memory loss after drinking alcohol. The impact that alcohol has on the human brain is irreversible and can lead to sad consequences.

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How alcohol affects the brain

The human brain is a very complex, structured organ, consisting of five sections. They are connected with the help of neurons - nerve cells. A special barrier acts as protection against various bacteria, toxic metabolic products and viruses. Unfortunately, he is not able to prevent the effect of alcohol on the brain. He is a good solvent, so it easily seeps through all obstacles.

Compared to the liver, the brain takes much longer to eliminate toxins - even after a month it is unable to completely remove the decay products. Alcohol acts differently on different parts of the head, but always negatively.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is responsible for coordination and balance. Most of the ethanol is concentrated here, so the drinker human has poor control of his movements and loses his sense of balance. The vestibular apparatus poorly performs its functions, the sharpness of the reaction is dulled.

head cortex

The cortex is responsible for thinking, the ability of a person to be responsible for his actions, to plan actions. It is easy to disrupt the work of the site with any dose of ethyl. As a result - memory impairment, poor object recognition, reduced concentration . A decrease in intelligence occurs when drinking alcohol, contributing to the process of degradation.

parietal region

Ethyl suppresses the parietal part. Reactions of reflexes are violated, due to which a person sharply removes his hand from the fire or bypasses an obstacle in time. A drunk person does not control himself well, is not able to carry out complex movements, that is, the process of inhibition begins to prevail over the process of excitation.

Medulla

This department is responsible for breathing, maintaining normal body temperature and consciousness. Toxins provoke the death of nerve cells, which is expressed in drowsiness, low temperature, and sometimes loss of consciousness. Because of this, there are frequent cases when a drunk person falls asleep in a snowdrift and freezes.

After the breakdown of harmful products, a hangover period begins, which is accompanied by a severe headache and thirst. This is due to the fact that the body is trying to remove dead cells, as a result of which the pressure rises and there is an influx of fluid.

Irreparable damage is also done to the vessels. First, they expand, and then sharply narrow, which leads to a stroke and disability; in some cases, to death. Due to impaired blood supply, destruction of neurons and the development of hypoxia, a hangover occurs, the psyche changes.

Effects

The constant intake of drinks containing alcohol destroys the nervous system. In just 4 years of uncontrolled alcohol intake, the gray matter decreases, the mental abilities of a person are violated. Alcohol directly affects the performance of important functions:

Mental work becomes difficult, critical thinking decreases, the thought process worsens.
Irritability prevails in the character of a person, aggression appears.
Habituation is formed, which leads to dependence that is difficult to treat.
Prolonged alcoholization leads to degradation, diseases such as dementia and dementia.

Very little is needed to come to a state in which a person is unable to think normally. It is enough to drink about 5 liters of beer or 0.7 liters of vodka once a week.

Alcohol and teenager

Ethyl is extremely dangerous for a teenager, as he is still growing and developing. The sooner a young man begins to take alcohol, the sooner destruction will begin. A high metabolism contributes to the rapid absorption of ethanol into the blood and several times enhances the harmful effects of the poison on brain cells. They lose water, shrink and are completely destroyed. Emotional and intellectual development is inhibited, brain activity is reduced, degradation occurs. After exposure to alcohol, young people often commit illogical and stupid acts, up to and including crime. Dependence is formed in a short time, and as a result - neurological and mental disorders. The sooner a child tries alcohol, the more likely it is that he will become an alcoholic in the future. It takes about 10 years of systematic alcohol consumption for an adult to reach alcoholism, and for a teenager it takes only about 1-2 years.

Effect on the woman's brain

The harm of alcohol on the female body is disproportionately higher than that of the male. Cirrhosis, deterioration of the nervous system, heart failure and other consequences occur many times faster than in the stronger sex. The greatest harm is caused by the passion for strong drinks during gestation. The consequences will show themselves in diseases of the child's brain, and in some situations in fetal alcohol syndrome. This will happen if a woman abuses during pregnancy. In this case, it is highly likely that the child will be born with a defect in the external organs, will lag behind their peers in development and growth. Sometimes it is noted that in such children the gray matter exceeds the norm in size, but the number of cells in it is much less than in healthy ones.

Diseases

The detrimental effect of ethyl is striking in its scale. The work of all internal organs is destroyed, various diseases appear, many of which lead to death. These pathologies are aggravated due to the destruction of neurons, cellular structures of the brain and a lack of vitamin B1. Uncontrolled intake of harmful drinks is also fraught with the following manifestations

Alcoholic encephalopathy is expressed by severe memory impairment, mental disorders, apathy and complete indifference to everything that happens. The last sign speaks of the extreme stage of alcoholism.
Korsakov's disease is dementia, amnesia and polyneuritis. It is difficult for the patient to answer a simple question about what year or day it is, what is his name. Muscle tissues are completely depleted, and the person becomes disabled.
Alcoholic epilepsy - seizures that occur only during a hangover. With frequent seizures, dementia and complete degradation are formed.
Delirium is more commonly known as delirium tremens. Most often, it develops with a sharp refusal to drink. A person during an attack loses control and can cause irreparable harm to himself or others. Urgent hospitalization required.
Hallucinosis - a person hears voices and sees various creatures. It needs to be treated immediately.
Paranoia comes during the sudden refusal of libations. Symptoms are similar to delirium tremens or hallucinosis.

Alcohol destroys the nervous system, leads to problems with sleep. Prolonged insomnia can lead to hallucinations.

Alcohol kills brain cells, physical and mental functions, nullifies a person's ability to reason, express thoughts and think logically.

It has long been proven that alcohol-containing drinks adversely affect all organs and systems of healthy life support. The brain is the most damaged. Alcohol addiction is also terrible because it is difficult for a person to realize the extent of the disaster.

You can often hear the statement that in small doses alcohol is useful, it promotes vasodilation and improves blood circulation. For a long time, studies have been conducted on the effect of alcohol on the human brain, comparing the vessels, heart and brain of an alcoholic with the organs of a non-drinking person. Studies have found that ethanol has a detrimental and often irreversible effect on the brain.

It has been established that ethyl alcohol affects the human nervous system and brain in 3 stages:

at the first stage, there is a feeling of euphoria or aggression;
at the second stage, millions of neurons die and the organism is poisoned;
on the third comes the degradation of the central nervous system and the brain. It is very difficult to restore the full functioning of the brain after the onset of this stage. Often a person permanently loses some abilities.

Euphoric stage

Any alcoholic drink - beer, wine, vodka, cognac, brandy, rum - contains ethyl alcohol. Once in the stomach, it is partially cleaved under the action of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, the remaining ethanol is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and carried by the bloodstream throughout the body. The liver takes the first hit. It produces a large number of enzymes called acetaldehyderogenase, which neutralize some of the toxins to acetic acid, but the remaining alcohol continues to travel through the circulatory system. Ethyl alcohol is primarily absorbed in the reproductive and nervous system.

Under the influence of ethanol, the vessels of the brain expand. The rush of blood has a stimulating effect on all brain centers, the medial forebrain bundle or pleasure center is especially sensitive. As a result, the production of endorphins, the hormones of happiness, is stimulated, so the drinker has a feeling of euphoria. Depending on the individual physiological and mental characteristics, stimulation of this group of neurons causes aggression in some people.

Expansion of blood vessels and filling them with blood at the first stage causes a short-term decrease in pressure, so doctors do not prohibit alcohol in small doses for hypertensive patients. But vasodilation lasts an average of 30 minutes, and the complete breakdown of ethyl alcohol to safe components in the human body occurs at an average rate of 30 grams per hour, so the second stage soon sets in - toxic, when the harmful effects of alcohol on the human brain are noted.

Stage of poisoning

Enzymes continue to slowly break down ethanol, so alcohol continues to poison the body (the breakdown products also have a toxic effect). After the expansion of blood vessels, it begins to act on the blood. Ethyl alcohol dissolves the membranes of red blood cells, as a result of which they stick together, forming clots, a process called "sludge". When blood is sludged, the formed clots clog the capillaries, including those in the brain. Unable to withstand the blood pressure, such capillaries burst, many microscopic hemorrhages form in the brain.

In addition, "spoiled" blood can no longer fully perform its functions and fill tissues with oxygen and nutrients in sufficient volume. This is especially detrimental to the brain, since oxygen starvation leads to massive death of nerve cells. Literally, alcohol destroys the brain.

Dead cells are excreted from the body with urine in about one day. Brain recovery is very slow, which explains the inhibition and poor reaction of a person, a decrease in his intelligence for 2 weeks after taking a large dose of alcohol.

The harmful effect of alcohol on the brain is accompanied by a malfunction of the entire central nervous system. The subcortical centers and frontal lobes perceive impulses chaotically, which causes changes in behavior - drunk people cease to control their actions: euphoria is replaced by apathy (the emotional background is reduced) or aggression, consciousness is confused, thoughts lose clarity, reflexes slow down, the language is spun.
Already at this stage, the harm of alcohol is very pronounced, but ethyl alcohol does not stop its action. It is absorbed into all parts of the brain - the hypothalamus, thalamus, cerebellum, midbrain and medulla oblongata, disrupting their functions.

Fact! At high doses of alcohol, blood slugging becomes irreversible, which causes strokes and heart attacks.

Stage of degradation

Damage to brain cells, the death of millions of neurons, massive hemorrhages cannot pass without a trace for a person. With prolonged use of alcohol in large quantities, brain cells die faster than they are restored. As a result, they become less and less, the brain of an alcoholic seems to dry out. Autopsies confirm that the brain of a chronic alcoholic is smaller in size and weight compared to the brain of a healthy person. Histological studies have revealed that serious destructive changes occur in the brain of a drinking person, which entail an accelerated transmission of nerve impulses. In life, it looks like overexcitation, nervousness, aggressiveness. The described mechanism of action of alcohol includes 3 stages of impact on the human body in general and the brain in particular.

But sometimes events develop in a different way: a single intake of a large amount of alcohol does not give the body time to cope with the toxins that are released during the first stage of ethanol breakdown, the poison damages the medulla oblongata, which is responsible for respiratory function. This is very dangerous, as the destruction of this section can cause respiratory spasms, coma and death. However, too much alcohol often provokes vomiting. In this case, vomiting is a protective reaction of the body, which allows you to quickly remove excess ethanol from the body.

Effects of drinking alcohol on the brain

Here is what happens to the brain when drinking alcohol:

Drinking alcohol in any amount leads to the death of brain cells - neurons, and the number of dead cells is directly proportional to the alcohol consumed.
The slugging (gluing of red blood cells) of the blood causes thrombosis of the capillaries, which causes numerous small hemorrhages in the brain or stroke.
Over time, the appearance of the organ changes: the brain decreases in size, its convolutions are smoothed out.

Intense alcohol poisoning of the brain leads to the following consequences:

impaired coordination of movements;
an adequate assessment of reality is reduced;
memory and intellect are impaired;
thought processes slow down;
vision and hearing are dulled;
there are difficulties in orienting on the ground;
a person is not able to cope with outbursts of anger;
heartbeat quickens, dizziness appears;
loss of sensitivity to pain.

In severe poisoning, alcohol acts as a hallucinogen: a person begins to see unrealistic images and non-existent objects.

After 3-4 years of constant drinking, the effect of alcohol on the brain causes:

difficulties even with simple mental work;
the thought process becomes extremely limited;
reduced critical thinking;
a person becomes extremely unstable emotionally: bouts of irritation are replaced by apathy, alcoholic depression may develop;
as a result of the fact that alcohol kills brain cells, diseases such as dementia, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease develop.

The process of brain recovery is possible, although it is extremely slow.

Prevention and recovery of the brain after alcohol

After giving up alcohol, returning to a normal life is very difficult, but possible. First of all, it is necessary that ethanol no longer enters the body, and over time it will be cleared of harmful substances. For the fastest cleansing of the body, it is recommended to detoxify it with the help of medications. Next, you need to lead a healthy lifestyle, drink a course of vitamins, if possible, take a course of sanatorium treatment. This will help the body poisoned by alcohol to regain strength and health.

After giving up alcohol, all organs recover in different ways, but the nervous system and brain are the slowest to return to life. To fully restore their functions, it will take several years after the complete cessation of drinking alcohol. Scientists, studying the effect of alcohol on the brain, come to the conclusion that it will not be possible to completely return the former opportunities to 100%, and even after 10 years, by characteristic behavior and reduced intelligence, it will be possible to recognize someone who once abused alcohol. But this applies only to chronic alcoholics. If a person takes moderate doses of alcohol, then the brain will be disturbed only slightly and recovery is not required.

Safe doses of alcohol depend on the individual capabilities of the body. Average permitted alcoholic beverages per day for a man aged 30 to 40 weighing 75 kg:

beer - 0.5 liters,
fortified wine - 200 grams,
vodka - 50 grams.

For women aged 25 to 35 years weighing 70 kg per day without harm to health, you can drink:

beer - 0.3 liters,
fortified wine - 150 grams,
vodka - 30 grams.

At the same time, at least 3 days a week should be completely “sober”.

The destructive process of the action of alcohol on the brain and central nervous system can lead to irreversible consequences and complete degradation of the personality. You can return to a full and healthy life after a complete rejection of alcohol, while the brain recovers completely within a few years.

Alcohol has a negative effect on the entire body, but its effect on the central nervous system, in particular on the brain, is especially negative. It is alcohol abuse that causes various disorders, including mental ones, that are difficult to treat.

The negative effect of alcohol on the brain becomes the reason that its cells begin to break down, they do not recover, the functions of the entire nervous system are disrupted, and the personality quickly degrades. Such a negative effect on the brain can be prevented, treatment in the late and advanced stages does not always give results.

Vitamin B deficiency

For those who abuse alcohol, a lack of vitamin B1 is a great danger. It is also known as thiamine, if its deficiency is not replenished, this can lead to the development of a dangerous syndrome. When it is running, irreversible damage is observed.

Vitamin B1 is necessary not only for the functioning of the brain, but also for the whole body. However, it is the brain that suffers the most damage when it is deficient. Approximately 80% of alcoholics begin to suffer from memory loss, coordination disorders and other disorders.

With alcohol abuse, there is no proper diet, metabolic processes are greatly disturbed.

This leads to the fact that the content of all vitamins is minimized. Therefore, during and after strong libations, attention must be paid to nutrition. Thiamine is found in large quantities in foods such as nuts, grains, and legumes. You can not refuse meat, cereals, vitamin B1 can also be taken in the form of medications. For men, the recommended dose per day is 1.2 mg, it cannot be lowered in any way.

How alcohol affects the brain

How does alcohol affect the brain and can its harmful effects be stopped? The alcohol contained in the drink is very quickly absorbed into the blood. Together with the blood flow, alcohol reaches the brain, where its gradual destruction begins. With regular use of alcohol, the blood thins, and this negatively affects the mobility of red blood cells. The state of cell membranes changes greatly, which negatively affects the transmission of information within not only nerve cells, but also other organs. Further, the effect of alcohol on the brain is even more detrimental. Cells lose their protective membranes, erythrocytes stick together, which clog all capillaries, and oxygen supply is hindered. The sticking comes from ethanol, and not from the products of the oxidation produced: ethanal, acetic acid. For the brain comes oxygen starvation, dehydration. Such an effect is well felt during intoxication, a person can feel lightness, a feeling of “flying”, all decisions seem extremely simple. But in fact, this is all the consequences of oxygen starvation. Such a state is dangerous because a person simply does not understand all the consequences, they seem to be a trifle at the moment. Bleeding of the brain, or ischemic stroke, occurs quite often.

Alcohol affects the human brain and thus:

The occipital part, i.e., the vestibular apparatus, is severely damaged, the coordination of movements is disturbed.
The cells that control a person's behavior, his morality are destroyed, that is, "alcohol emancipation" occurs.
Memory, perception of information - all this is not only violated, sometimes there are irreversible consequences that can no longer be restored.

The effect of alcohol on neurons

The negative effects of alcohol have a bad effect on the general condition of the nervous system. In this case, the reaction itself can be different. All this depends on the body's sensitivity to alcohol, on how much and how it will affect a particular person. A separate role is played by the state of health, the level of alcohol consumption, the effect of which can cause various disorders. Complacency and inexplicable bouts of generosity are replaced by unmotivated aggression, irritability. Such people are dangerous to others, as their mood swings are unpredictable. Most often, a person prefers the relaxing effect of alcohol, which allows you to forget about responsibility. Alcohol has a deplorable effect, it is necessary to act in a timely manner so as not to aggravate the situation.

It is the effect of alcohol on the brain that in most cases becomes the cause of conflicts, when aggression from verbal turns into physical. And the stronger the degree of intoxication, the worse the consequences will be for all participants in the feast or others. What does alcohol do to a person? The patient ceases to take into account the consequences of his actions, the decision-making mechanism, understanding the situation simply does not work. All the worst comes out, often an alcoholic becomes aggressive, suspicious, for no reason he can beat even his own children, completely unaware of what exactly is happening.

It is for these reasons that doctors recommend isolating the alcoholic from others so that appropriate treatment can begin. At any stage of alcoholism, when the patient is not aware of his condition, alcohol continues its destructive effect even if alcohol is not available. The problem is that toxins have already managed to penetrate into the internal organs, they continue their destructive effect. Treatment always begins with the fact that the body is cleansed of toxins, only after that it is possible to begin therapy aimed at restoring all functions.

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

The impact of alcohol is quite dangerous, studies show that about 80% of all those suffering from alcoholism are prone to such a disease as a lack of thiamine. This syndrome is also called Wernicke-Korsakov syndrome, it manifests itself in one of the following forms:

Wernicke's encephalopathy, characterized by short-term exacerbations.
Korsakov's psychosis, a calmer long-term condition that greatly depletes the body.

As a result, a person has problems with coordination, paralysis of the optic nerve, severe clouding of consciousness. At the same time, seizures are observed more and more often, they disrupt normal life, become the reason that a person literally turns into a disabled person.

In difficult cases, a person cannot even leave the room, move around without assistance. But this disease is dangerous because not all symptoms can be observed at the same time. Therefore, when contacting a doctor, you must immediately undergo the most thorough examination, do not delay it. Sometimes it turns out that it was the Wernicke-Korsakov syndrome that caused the death, although during life its classic symptoms were not observed in full.

The effect of alcohol on the brain in 80-90% of cases leads to the fact that Korsakov's psychosis becomes severe. A person has strong and prolonged lapses in memory, the assimilation of new information is difficult. The patient quickly loses his temper, becomes forgetful, there is an almost constant depression. Coordination of movements is difficult, often a person cannot even walk independently. Also, the effect of the disease lies in the appearance of retrograde amnesia, anterograde amnesia, gradually the patient ceases to think coherently, to realize what is happening around him.

How to treat Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome?

The problem in this case is that the lack of thiamine greatly affects the perception, processing of information. The effect of alcohol on the brain lies in the fact that attention, concentration deteriorate greatly, memory lapses are observed. In order for the treatment to be effective, doctors prescribe special preparations with thiamine. But recovery is possible under the following conditions:

complete renunciation of further alcohol consumption;
initiation of treatment in the early stages of the syndrome.

If the effect of alcohol has already become the cause of an organic change, that is, the nature of the damage is irreversible, then the treatment already pursues completely different goals. It is not the restoration and normalization of the general condition that is carried out, but only the care of the patient, the maintenance of the maximum possible life activity. The effects of alcohol are so detrimental that nothing can be changed. Therefore, you can not start the disease, knowing how alcohol affects. Treatment must be timely.
A small percentage of patients suffering from thiamine deficiency may have a genetic predisposition to this. A person who begins to abuse alcohol and has a similar predisposition is more likely to have a problem with a lack of thiamine. Regular examinations are required so that the disease does not go into the stage when it can no longer be cured.

Thus, alcoholic beverages have an extremely negative effect on the brain. With alcohol abuse, various disorders can be observed, including a lack of vitamins, trace elements, memory loss, and a lack of thiamine. All this leads to the fact that the quality of life is greatly deteriorating. If you do not start treatment and do not give up alcohol, then the central nervous system will undergo irreversible changes that cannot be treated. Only timely refusal of alcohol will help to avoid numerous troubles, completely undermined health and destroyed family relationships.

Thanks for the feedback

Comments

Megan92 () 2 weeks ago

Has anyone managed to save her husband from alcoholism? Mine drinks without drying up, I don’t know what to do ((I thought of getting a divorce, but I don’t want to leave the child without a father, and I feel sorry for my husband, he’s a great person when he doesn’t drink

Daria () 2 weeks ago

I have already tried so many things and only after reading this article, I managed to wean my husband from alcohol, now he doesn’t drink at all, even on holidays.

Megan92 () 13 days ago

Daria () 12 days ago

Megan92, so I wrote in my first comment) I will duplicate it just in case - link to article.

Sonya 10 days ago

Isn't this a divorce? Why sell online?

Yulek26 (Tver) 10 days ago

Sonya, what country do you live in? They sell on the Internet, because shops and pharmacies set their markup brutal. In addition, payment is only after receipt, that is, they first looked, checked and only then paid. And now everything is sold on the Internet - from clothes to TVs and furniture.

Editorial response 10 days ago

Sonya, hello. This drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence is indeed not sold through the pharmacy chain and retail stores in order to avoid overpricing. Currently, you can only order official website. Be healthy!

Sonya 10 days ago

Sorry, I didn't notice at first the information about the cash on delivery. Then everything is in order for sure, if the payment is upon receipt.

Margo (Ulyanovsk) 8 days ago

Has anyone tried folk methods to get rid of alcoholism? My father drinks, I can not influence him in any way ((

Andrey () A week ago

I haven’t tried any folk remedies, my father-in-law both drank and drinks