The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse In Women
Alcohol is a poison that has a devastating effect on all living things. A particularly strong impact it has on those organisms that are weaker and younger. Therefore, it is a serious concern for women, children and teenage alcoholism. The effects of alcohol on the female body are more destructive in comparison to the effects on the body of men. There is a myth that alcoholism in women, unlike in men, is incurable. However, this is an absolute lie, and it is possible to overcome a terrible addiction. Of course, the war against alcoholism is long and hard, but it is not hopeless.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse In Women
It is undeniable fact that women drink less than men in every country and in every era. In Muslim countries, women are prohibited to consume alcohol at all. Although today the lead in the number of chronic alcoholics remains of men, women drinkers appears more and more every year. This trend is typical not only for Russia and the United states, but also for many European countries. Thus, the main thesis of the assignment is the following: drinking any alcohol, and especially the abuse of alcohol, necessarily causes negative changes in the body, as well as destroys women beauty and forces them to feel loneliness.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse In Women
At first, no one is scared by looming in the distance the specter – the notorious female alcoholism. People begin to think about the ways how alcohol affects the body only when the disease (alcoholism is a disease) has destroyed many of the values that have been in women’s life, including health and beauty. Some women are killed by alcoholism even earlier than they reach the middle-age and not waiting for grandchildren. More generally, some women become unable to experience the joy of motherhood by reason of alcoholism. Thus, the problem of alcoholism is actual in contemporary society, and to understand it better, we are going to make a specific research in the further discussion.
Observing specific features of alcohol abuse in women, especially in older women, it can be noted that drinking men are perceived in society as the phenomenon of the usual order, or the fact that we can see everyday. It is sad to admit such an attitude of our society to the problem, but in fact, the public opinion has long become accustomed to this problem. A woman, who is unable to control self in alcohol, experiences much more negative attitudes among others. Moreover, alcoholic husband has a loving wife who will help him in every way, even insist on the treatment. Moreover, in most cases, loving mother or wife would stay with drinking men under any circumstances, but when the speech is going about woman the situation is quite different because drinking woman loses any support from society almost immediately.
Colleran et al. (2007) mentioned that the constant need for alcohol in the body of a woman who is experiencing alcohol addiction has understanding almost nowhere. Instead of moral support that is necessary for the treatment of alcohol dependence, women lost her family and children. As a result, carefully hiding their problems with alcohol and drinking alone, many women force themselves to do it for the above mentioned reasons. In such a way, female alcoholism acquires specific features in a very fast way because the formation of the disease is hidden, and a call for help and treatment is very late.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse In Women
Observing the differences of alcohol influence on women’s health, it can be stated that differences between the influence of alcohol on the body in men and women are largely conditioned by the physiological level. For the occurrence of intoxication, women require a much smaller dose of alcohol, that is, ceteris paribus women get drunk faster. The reason is simple. Female body contains in 10% less water, i.e. the concentration of ethanol is higher than in the male body. A complementary fact can be also seen in the following: nervous system in men is stronger and more resistant to external influences. Thus, it appears that the initial difference in the effect of alcohol on the body of men and women is like a heavy blow to the less sturdy material. Naturally, such a material, and hence the natural resilience of women with alcohol, will give slack in women faster than in men. The researchers also noted that monthly cycles affect the tolerability and the intensity of the craving for alcohol in women.
Researching the ways alcohol influences on feminine, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2007) stated that the effects of alcohol lead to a change in hormonal levels in humans. In women, the presence of alcohol in blood increases the number of male hormones. Outwardly, it looks very uncomfortable because alcohol makes voice ruder and even increases the growth of coarse hair on the body and face. There is no wonder that in the context of such transformations woman’s body loses the ability to conceive a child over time because the reproductive system suffers as much as other systems of woman’s organism.
Statistics relentlessly show that women who drink are in many times more prone to premature birth of sick children and stillborn. But the worst thing is that the effects of alcohol apply to infants because they have a congenital abnormalities, deformities and diseases. The risks are greatly increased when alcohol consumption occurs in women during pregnancy and later during breastfeeding.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse In Women
Dwelling on the problem of alcoholism in older women, it can be mentioned that experts pay an attention of society to sharply increased level of people requiring medical care in the treatment of alcohol dependence. Especially the spread of alcoholism among women is becoming in the age group over 60 years. According to statistics, the amount of older women who are seeking for help in alcohol addiction is increased by 65% over the past 5 years.
Explaining the above stated fact, there can be found several groups of reasons. An increasing number of women who are already retired, addicted to drinking alcohol. They prefer not to drink in a bar or pub, but they do it at home. According to psychologists, the main reasons why older women start drinking are loneliness, boredom and isolation. The situation is also exacerbated by the intensive promotion of services to deliver products from the supermarket to your home. A growing number of older women are using this service, which, of course, simplifies access to alcohol and increases susceptibility to alcohol dependence.
To add, there is evidence that almost half of all cases of alcohol dependence at the age of 65 years are connected with the start of alcohol abuse only after 60 years. The disappearance of a number of constraining social factors, such as the need to come to work sober, wake up early, etc. contributes to the rapid formation of the elderly systematic abuse of alcohol in contrast to the working-age where is more and more common so-called “binge drinking over the weekend.” Moreover, senile depression, in which alcohol is a means of self-medication, causes alcohol abuse in the elderly in 15% of all cases of abuse. Agoraphobia in older women is often the cause of alcohol abuse, which is used by them to overcome the fear of open spaces every time before they leave home. They do not dare to leave their homes without alcohol.
Observing possible ways of treatment of alcohol abuse in women, it is important to remember that at the age of 55 years, aversive treatment of craving for alcohol by means of teturam (disulfiram) is contraindicated because of increased risk of serious complications in the elderly from alcohol-teturam reaction (violation of vascular tone, cardiac activity and respiration, resulting in the use of small amounts of alcohol). Paying a specific attention to the fact that older people are the main consumers of different drugs, impossibility to recognize regular users of alcohol in older patients may lead to the appointment of low- or incompatible with alcohol drugs which may lead to dangerous consequences.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse In Women
Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the fact that alcohol can interact with drugs, to significantly reduce or even neutralize their effects on the body. The action of alcohol on the medication can be even when some doses of alcohol and drugs are taken at different times of the day. Thus, it is possible confidently assert that alcohol complicates the treatment of some diseases, particularly such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and others. Elder women as well as men should be especially careful with the following groups of drugs: sedatives and opiates; antidepressants; antibiotics; antiepileptic drugs; diuretics; painkillers; cardiovascular drugs.
In conclusion, we have explored the problem of alcohol abuse in women, and proved that constant use of alcohol causes negative changes in the body, especial in elderly due to the use of different drugs, as well as destroys women beauty and forces women of all ages to feel loneliness. Thus, it should be remembered that regular consumers of alcohol in hazardous doses (if they are not promptly recognized and treated) die prematurely or continue to drink alcohol, not realizing a high risk of severe consequences.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse In Women