1) Alcohol consumption can damage nearly every organ system in the body over time, including the brain, heart, liver, and gastrointestinal tract. It is especially harmful during pregnancy and can cause fetal alcohol syndrome. 2) Chronic alcohol abuse is linked to health issues like cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, hypertension, cirrhosis, hepatitis, and various cancers. It also takes a psychological toll, increasing risks of depression, anxiety, memory loss, and suicide. 3) In addition to personal health problems, alcoholism often has serious social consequences for families and societies, contributing to issues like child abuse, accidents, crime, and intergenerational harm. Seeking treatment including counseling and medication can help people recover from alcohol

1. Alcohol : An Erosive Substance of the Body and Mind
The time is closer to midnight. The site is a restaurant at a well known sports club in the
city.
“Oolu pipeelaa vila lela denavaa sudata sudey nango..”
The silence in the night has been changed with the sound of a popular song which is
singing by a group of people who are sitting around the tables. The group is represented
by almost equal number of young and middle aged men who are seeking a relaxation for
a moment. The friendly conversations are continuing while singing. The bottles of
alcohol in different shapes and colours which has made them to get together, are mixed
with some soft drinks and spicy bites in order less manner.
We had to come there with a request from a kind hearted friend, while traveling home
after attending a social function. The conversations that we hear in this unfamiliar
environment are very cordial and genuine. The interpersonal communication that is an
essential component in mental and social wellbeing is existing there clearly. Nevertheless
we could feel the risk , hindering in this environment as we are familiar with the ill
looking faces of the alcoholics who are lying in our hospital beds.
Currently, many people are taking alcohol as an easy way in erasing worries and
unpleasant incidences from their mind. Some day they will realize that this habit has
paved the way to receive more burden to their mind and body instead of expected relief.
It must be emphasized that alcohol has the ability in damaging the brain and heart, which
are essential and important components in everyone’s life .
Alcohol consumption has become a major problem in many countries of the world.
Excess consumption of alcohol leads to two major problems, namely alcohol dependence
syndrome and physical damage to various tissues. The effect of alcohol on different
organs, varies in different individuals. As such , in some patients the liver is affected, in
others brain or muscles. These differences may be genetically determined.
Effects on pregnant women

2. The effects of a given intake of alcohol is usually worse in women. It should be
completely avoided in during pregnancy as it may lead to small babies. Fetal alcohol
syndrome, occurs in fetuses of alcohol dependent women, is characterized by mental
retardation, dysmorphic features and growth impairment.
Effects on the heart
Chronic alcoholics are liable to have adverse effects on the myocardium of the heart ,
leading to a disease state, called dilated cardiomyopathy. There is a reduction in
contracting force of the heart , resulting in dilatation in this condition. Alcohol is a known
cause for an abnormality in heart rhythm, called cardiac arrhythmia which is a result of
an increased secretion of hormone epinephrine and decreased amount of magnesium in
the body of them. It may lead to a sudden death in alcoholics. High blood pressure or
hypertension is another unwanted effect of an alcohol.
Effects on the nervous system
Alcohol can damage the nervous system either through direct poisoning or associated
vitamin deficiencies. The thiamine of the vitamin B complex is deficient in alcoholics
mainly due to their inadequate diet. This deficiency can cause two clinical problems,
namely alcoholic peripheral neuropathy affecting peripheral nervous system and
Wernicke- Korsakow syndrome. The numbness , pain in the feet and hands, weakness,
wasting of the distal muscles of the legs and arms are the main clinical manifestations in
alcoholic peripheral neuropathy. They can manifest, loss of memory, altered
consciousness, disorientation in time and place in Wernicke- Korsakow syndrome.
Some alcoholics may develop progressive unsteadiness of gait and leg movement, called
ataxia in alcoholic cerebellar degeneration. Alcoholic dementia is another problem of
those who take excessive amount of alcohol habitually. The change of personality, loss of
memory, impairment of intellectual capacity, emotional instability are the manifestations
of this condition.
The damage of the organs and systems of the body is proportionate to the amount of
alcohol , taken by the subject. It will take about eight hours to complete the absorption
from the stomach, metabolism at the liver and go through the kidneys to pass out from
the body, after drinking alcohol. When the amount of alcohol and frequency of taking it
goes up gradually , the body has to bear the extra burden which invariably influence on
nervous system to greater extent.
Effects on the Gastrointestinal system

3. The term cirrhosis is very familiar to our people. It reminds the picture of ill looking
person with bloated abdomen to everyone. The journey to reach this stage of cirrhosis is
commenced with the deposition of fat in this organ. Fatty change of the liver is a
reversible disorder but the next stage, alcoholic hepatitis is considered to be the precursor
of cirrhosis which results from continued loss of liver cells with progressive replacement
by fibrous tissue. Then the liver architecture becomes diffusely abnormal to interfere with
it’s blood flow and function. The resultant manifestations would be jaundice or yellowish
discoloration of the eyes and skin, haemorrhage or bleeding from the gasro intestinal tract
, ascites or accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity with resultant abdominal
distension and neuropsychiatric complications due to progressive liver failure.
Acute gastritis, osteoporosis , hyperlipidaemia, hypoglycaemia, obesity and even cancers
of the upper respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract are among the associated possible
problems of alcoholism. It may also increase the risk of breast cancer.
Social issues
Above all which affected the person consuming alcohol. Perhaps it has serious
implications on the family and the society concerned. An alcoholic family member can
influence the future generation seriously in a adverse manner.
Many physical, social and psychological problems are associated with the dependence
of alcohol. Marital and sexual difficulties, family problems, child abuse, employment
problems, financial difficulties, accidents and crime are among the social issues, relating
with alcoholism.
Psychological anomalies
The psychological manifestations in alcoholism include, depression, anxiety and
phobias, memory disturbances, personality disturbances and even attempted suicide. An
alcoholic may develop pathological jealousy which partly as a result of their own sexual
difficulties with their delusional conviction as they conceive that their partner is
unfaithful . They repeatedly cross question the wife and suspect all her action. An
impaired psychosexual function and sexual impotence are common in alcohol
dependence.
The family and social help is essential for an affected person to recover from alcohol
dependence. Many people are able to forget their drinking habit and rebuild their lives
with support and treatment which includes counseling and medications.
It is true that the adverse results of alcoholism are gaining in different magnitudes in
different people. Therefore some people may think that they can continue their drinking
habit further without much danger for their life. It is necessarily a misconception and a
cheating the mind, themselves. It is more important in trying to solve day to day
problems instead of taking alcohol to forget the matters temporally. There is a necessity
to gain the proper knowledge of the consequences in taking these bad addictives but the
developing attitudes to reject them is more important.

4. Dr. SHANTHA HETTIARACHCHI