How the stage of alcoholism is determined by the amount of alcohol. Stages of development of alcoholism and their characteristic symptoms. Alcohol dependence syndrome, or A-dependence

Alcoholism is madness, so this state can be compared. People are not born with this condition. Such “happiness” is acquired in the process of life. In addition, there are stages of alcoholism in men.

They manifest themselves in the patient’s need to drink, the inability to stop himself, psychological dependence, and degradation as a person. Each period has its own characteristics, all kinds of influence on a person. Medicine divides three stages.

The latter can be initial, or moving into the fourth progressive, irreversible. So, what is alcoholism, degrees, causes? We'll talk about this today.

The impact of alcohol disease on humans

Where does addiction come from? Why do healthy men lose their dignity, destroy families, and deprive their children of childhood? Nowadays, the problem of drunkenness is very serious. No ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages can stop it. You can talk about the dangers of alcohol with those who don’t drink.

It is practically impossible to explain to an alcoholic, unless early stages diseases. It is necessary to talk more often with children and teenagers.

Medicine calls 3 stages of alcoholism. Each has its own characteristics. A lot depends on the man’s body. Why do some people become drunkards very quickly, having gone through all the stages in a short period of time? Others can keep the situation under control, free to quit drinking once and for all.

It all starts with home feasts, as they are also called, when after a hard day, in order to relax, a man brings booze home. At first once or twice a week, then more and more often.

This is not a disease yet, the man is aware of his addiction and can stop on his own, with the support of his family. If “good friends” come to the rescue, then this condition will become a disease.

First stage of alcoholism

You can already recognize the signs:

• At the initial stage, there is always a reason for another drink that a non-drinker would not even pay attention to. This is already a psychological addiction.
• When drunk, aggression and swagger are manifested.
• In the morning I feel unwell, no mood. The details of yesterday's drinking session disappear from memory.
• There is no desire to get hungover yet.
• Contradictions in behavior appear. On the one hand, he drinks, on the other, he condemns this activity and understands that it is harmful.
• He promises not to drink anymore, but he drinks again.
• There is anxiety, nervousness, if the planned drinking session goes wrong, there is no way to buy a bottle.
• The amount of alcohol increases to achieve “nirvana”; it is typical that the patient considers this his victory.
• He is proud of this, not realizing that the disease is progressing and has a detrimental effect on the body.

The initial stage of alcoholism is characterized by the patient's psychosis. This becomes noticeable to the naked eye. The patient is nervous, easily excitable, and is in search of alcohol. The development of alcoholism can last from two to seven years.

Factors that influence the course of the disease:

1. The patient's psyche. In men with a strong character, this period can last a long time and not progress to the second stage. Weak-willed individuals who can be influenced become drunkards very quickly.
2. Surroundings: family, friends. If there is no support, family problems, bosom comrades who are always ready to help, all this accelerates the process of the disease.
3. For initial stage inherent in the fact that there are no visible health problems. An alcoholic enjoys life without thinking about the consequences. Therapy with positive dynamics is possible here.

Treatment of the first stage

Now is the easiest time to help the patient. The main thing is to have a desire to get rid of the bad habit. When a man realizes that he drinks and his family suffers, this will be the main incentive to quit. The support of loved ones in this matter is better than any pills.

• At this stage, treatment can be done at home. It is good to start on vacation to give the patient relief from the effects of alcohol in the blood.

We should not forget that alcoholism is a disease. With frequent consumption of alcoholic beverages, alcohol begins to take part in the patient’s biological processes.

• Organs such as the liver, pancreas, and stomach should be examined. Visit a narcologist or neurologist to check for nervous disorders.
• Traditional medicine is very helpful in treating alcoholism.
• The main thing is to prevent a breakdown and transition to a more difficult stage.

Second

Characterized by a persistent attraction to alcohol. Clinical picture:

• Daily consumption of large doses of alcohol (about 500 ml) leads to withdrawal syndrome (the need for a hangover), which is the main symptom of the second stage. If there is no dose, headaches begin, hands shake, and the nervous system becomes overexcited. This can lead to delirium tremens.
• Mental disorders leading to depression. Without alcohol, the patient becomes aggressive and angry. Sudden mood swings. All thoughts are about where to get the bottle. After taking a dose, rapid intoxication and a feeling of satisfaction.
• At this stage, addiction to drinking is not only psychological, but also physical. Alcohol already takes part in physiological processes in the body. Its deficiency causes “withdrawal”, like in drug addicts. This stage is called the narcotic stage.
• Mental abilities are reduced, personality degradation begins. Thus, alcohol affects the brain.
• The patient cannot stop drinking on his own. He needs drug treatment support.

Treatment

It takes place in a hospital using various techniques. Alcoholics at this stage almost never voluntarily want to recover. Methods of influence:

1. The aversion technique is used. Drugs are prescribed that cause aversion to alcohol. The most commonly used drug is disulfiram, which is safe without alcohol consumption. But as soon as it is mixed with ethanol, it causes severe intoxication and severe vomiting.
2. When entering a medical facility, it becomes necessary to cleanse the body of toxins that are in the blood. Therapy is prescribed as for any poisoning. Having cleansed the body, it is freed from physical and alcohol addiction.
3. One of the important elements of therapy is psychological help. It will be effective when the patient himself wants to be healed. At this stage most of patients are treatable.
4. Some require social adaptation. Many people quit their jobs or were kicked out, so they need this kind of help.

Third stage of alcoholism

This is the home stretch. A normal person turns into a creature to whom everything human is alien; his existence henceforth depends on the “green serpent”. Brain destruction and complete degradation develop, with the appearance of a bunch of diseases.

The forms of drinking alcohol are very diverse. An alcoholic lives on the last edge of his body's capabilities. Such patients are easily excitable, aggressive, and clashes often arise between them. Their faces have a tan color and a puffy shape. Sinking lower and lower, these people lose their human appearance.

The last stage shortens life expectancy, and irreversible processes develop. With cirrhosis in the third degree of alcoholism, when the body is completely destroyed, it is very difficult to treat, in most cases impossible.

This stage is characterized by the fact that they already exist with their own lives, which are very different from human ones. Alcoholics do not want to undergo treatment if they wish. At the third stage of alcohol addiction, a person has very little to drink; it is impossible to live long under such loads.

Signs of stage 3 disease

1. Prolonged binges that stop after the body rejects alcohol.
2. Rapid intoxication. A small dose quickly leads to hopping.
3. A sharp deterioration in health - the development of cirrhosis, heart disease, renal failure, vascular pathologies.
4. Severe hangover (withdrawal syndrome). Without a dose of alcohol, a person loses control over himself.
5. Delirium tremens develops and convulsions appear.
6. Complete personality degradation.

At stage 3 of alcohol intoxication, a person has no more than 5 years to live. Those who abuse alcohol do not even imagine that this could happen to them. If you don't stop drinking in time, it will lead to a disastrous ending. The three stages do not have clear time boundaries.

Some travel this road like sprinters, very quickly, while others may linger. No matter what path the drunkard takes, the ending is the same.

How to determine the stage of alcoholism? It is very important to start treatment in the early stages. To do this, you need to see whether the person just drank to relax, or whether this is already a necessity.

The first and second stages are treatable; the alcoholic himself can make a decision, which helps in rehabilitation and eventual recovery. This disease largely depends on the environment and family. With the support of loved ones, the result will be positive.

Alcohol intoxication level

To determine, the value used is ppm, which translated from Latin means “per thousand.” It is considered as 1/10 percent. This measure of calculation is used to determine drunkenness while driving, in medicine, and when committing a crime.

All stages are dangerous for the life of the driver and pedestrians. Driving while drunk is already a crime. This is the main cause of accidents on the roads.

Alcoholism is a disease that requires treatment in its early stages. Read other articles on our website.

Alcoholism is a disease that develops against the background of frequent alcohol consumption and the formation of a pathological craving for it, psychological and then physical. Alcohol disrupts metabolic processes in the body; the cumulative effect of alcohol poisoning provokes the development of psychosis. In the later stages of alcoholism, dementia develops.

The numbers demonstrating the dangers of alcoholism are disappointing:

• For every 10 adults, one person has serious problems caused by alcohol use.
• One third of emergency calls are due to alcohol intoxication.
• In psychiatric hospitals, half of the patients are alcoholic men.
• Alcohol poisoning is the cause of every two out of three deaths.
• Half of the deaths and serious injuries in road accidents are caused by alcohol intoxication.
• 50% of murders, 40% of robberies, 35% of rapes and 30% of suicides are caused by someone's alcoholism.
• The cause of 80% of fires is sleeping with a cigarette while intoxicated.
• There has been an increase in alcoholism due to the consumption of beer and the involvement of women and adolescents.
• Among teenagers, 88% of boys and 93% of girls drink alcohol. At this age, maximum alcohol consumption is observed.
• 22 teenagers out of 100,000 suffer from alcoholism, 827 teenagers suffer from psychological dependence.
• In Russia, 3,500 people die from alcohol per year (as a result of “binge drinking”).
• Alcohol shortens life by an average of 10 years.
• It has been proven that the tendency to drink alcohol is genetically transmitted. Even the conditions for raising children of alcoholics in a foster and prosperous family do not guarantee success.

Thus, alcohol itself is dangerous, but its socio-psychological consequences are even more dangerous. It is worth noting that alcoholism differs from everyday drunkenness. Drunkenness is a precursor to alcoholism. It doesn’t necessarily turn into it, but it happens often. Drunkenness is not viewed as a pathology or addiction. It's a drinking habit. Alcoholism is a disease that requires complex treatment, including medication.

Forms of alcoholism

According to the risks of transition from drunkenness to alcoholism, G.V. Starshenbaum identified the following stages of alcoholization (1 dose - 30 g of vodka or 150-200 g of dry wine, or 300-500 g of beer):

• One to two doses 6-8 times a year – low risk.
• One or two doses 10-20 times a year – moderate risk.
• One to two doses 6-10 times a month or three to four doses 20-40 times a year is a dangerous level.
• Three to four doses 6-10 times per month (the beginning of alcoholism).

In the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), alcoholism belongs to the code F10. Moreover, several alcohol-related disorders and disorders with characteristic stages for each have been identified.

Acute alcohol intoxication

Alcohol intoxication. It can be simple, complicated and pathological. In simple terms they distinguish:

• mild stage (euphoric excitement, or hypomania);
• middle stage (euphoria alternates with dysphoria, speech and coordination of movements are impaired, excitement is replaced by sleep with depression, headache and partial amnesia after awakening);
• severe stage (severe incoordination of movements, urinary and fecal incontinence, vomiting, grimacing, blue and icy extremities, unconsciousness, complete amnesia after awakening, loss of appetite and weakness).

A complicated form of intoxication is accompanied by a dysphoric, depressive or hysterical mood mixed with drowsiness:

• With dysphoria, a person exhibits (breaks things, bullies other people, loses self-control in fights, hurts himself when alone).
• In a depressed mood, a person cries, blames himself or reproaches others. Sometimes this turns into a gloomy mood, silence and unexpected suicide attempts.
• The hysterical mood is manifested by “performance”, “performances”, suffering and hysterical attacks.

Alcohol dependence syndrome, or A-dependence

Pathological consumption of alcohol, leading to disturbances in the social and professional functions of the individual. A person cannot stop drinking on his own, despite obvious somatic disorders. A person functions normally only if he regularly drinks small doses or goes on binges. Obviously, this is not welcomed by society in the family and at work.

Dependency syndrome is indicated by:

• increased tolerance to alcohol (increasing the dose required to achieve the desired and previous effect);
• withdrawal syndrome (hangover).

There are 4 types of hangover (any of them signals addiction syndrome):

• Psychopathological: anxiety, vague fear, pessimism, dysphoria, suicidal ideation, insomnia, self-blame, auditory and visual hallucinations.
• Neurovegetative: insomnia and difficulty falling asleep, edema, sweating, asthenia, thirst, hypertension and hypotension, loss of appetite, tremors of the limbs, rapid heartbeat.
• Cerebral: nausea, cephalgia, fainting, dizziness, seizures similar to epileptic ones.
• Somatic: nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, cardiac arrhythmia, bloating, colic, arrhythmia.

Withdrawal syndrome

Manifested by alcoholic epilepsy or delirium tremens, it occurs as a result of complete cessation of alcohol consumption after prolonged use. Withdrawal syndrome is diagnosed when at least three of the following symptoms are present:

• tremor of fingers on outstretched arms or the tip of the nose, or eyelids;
• sweating;
• nausea and (or) vomiting;
• high blood pressure or rapid heartbeat;
• psychomotor agitation;
• headache;
• insomnia;
• malaise, general weakness;
• hallucinations and illusions (auditory, visual, tactile);
• convulsions and fainting.

Alcohol delirium

Severe form of withdrawal syndrome. It is observed in alcoholics with at least five years of experience and frequent binges. Delirium occurs 2-7 days after stopping prolonged and intense alcohol intake. The following violations appear in turn:

• weak and rapid heartbeat;
• increased sweating;
• hypertension and hyperthermia;
• insomnia;
• motor excitement;
• vague fears;
• irritability;
• tremor of the lips, tongue and hands, speech disorders;
• convulsions and seizures;
• vivid visual and tactile hallucinations in the form of insects and animals dangerous to humans, anxiety and confusion of thoughts;
• disorientation in time and place, confusion;

The last two points are typical signs of delirium. Symptoms continue for 3-7 days from the moment of the first manifestations, and after that the patient falls into a long and deep sleep. After waking up, the symptoms disappear, leaving only asthenia. Without treatment, delirium ends in death in 25% of cases.

Alcoholic hallucinosis

As a rule, it occurs in middle-aged alcoholics with physical dependence, after long binges. Manifests itself as auditory hallucinations. Consciousness remains clear, but already on the second day after the binge the patient hears sounds, calls, calls, and later threats uttered by some voices. As a result, delusions of persecution are formed with a characteristic physical activity, psychomotor agitation and affects. The person becomes socially dangerous.

Hallucinations last from several hours to several weeks. Without treatment or under unfavorable circumstances, hallucinosis becomes chronic. The patient hears voices constantly, but they are neutral in nature and do not make the person socially dangerous. The patient's fear and excitement disappear.

Paranoid

Delusional state with feelings of persecution and defensive behavior. The patient everywhere hears threats and thoughts about his murder (finds this meaning in the words of others or suffers from auditory hallucinations). In order to protect themselves, the patient may contact the police or attack first. The duration of the condition is from a couple of hours to 2-3 weeks.

Delusional state accompanied by aggression. Most often jealous delirium. It is precisely because of paranoia that domestic murders occur. An alcoholic with paranoia is capable of causing bodily harm to a partner, killing him or his relatives and friends. Characteristic signs of jealous paranoia:

• distrust of the partner and disappointment in him;
• quarrels that flare up under the influence of alcohol;
• feeling of humiliation;
• problems in relationships with others;
• guilt;
• increased sexual activity (need) against the background of decreased capabilities (impotence).

Jealousy takes on inappropriate proportions. Your own feelings of inferiority are projected onto your partner. Without correction, regardless of the further frequency of alcohol consumption, delirium becomes chronic.

Depression

Alcohol and suicide are a classic combination, occurring as often as murder motivated by alcoholic jealousy. The specificity of the phenomenon is that depression and alcohol are interrelated, that is, both depression can lead to alcoholism, and alcoholism can cause decadent and self-deprecating motives, suicidal thoughts and actions.

Pathological intoxication

State of delirium. The alcoholic appears detached from the real world, displays senseless aggression and cruelty, runs aimlessly somewhere, acts alone and silently. It is noted:

• pale face;
• dilated pupils;
• relatively adequate appearance (you can’t say he’s very drunk).

In the end, the person falls soundly asleep and truly forgets about everything that happened. At the moment of delusional intoxication, consciousness changes, unexpected insights with erroneous interpretation occur, the person is tormented by fears, hallucinations (visual), and illusions.

Types of alcohol addiction

German researcher Georg Jellinek identified several types of addiction:

• Alpha addiction. Alcohol is used as a means of escaping troubles, relieving tension, and improving mood. This type of addiction forms quickly.
• Beta addiction. A person drinks because of or when it is impossible to resist temptation. Addiction forms more slowly. Somatic changes are noted: vascular disorders, deterioration of work internal organs, decreased immunity, exhaustion ().
• Gamma dependence. A combination of psychological and physical dependence. Withdrawal syndrome and alcohol tolerance occur. The patient can go without alcohol for a long time, but if it gets on his tongue, he won’t stop.
• Delta dependency. Severe psychological and physical dependence. During the day, the patient maintains a constant blood alcohol concentration. Withdrawal syndrome appears more often and easier, tolerance to alcohol increases.
• Epsilon dependence. Binges with breaks for up to several months. The beginning of the binge will coincide with the end of the week or month, salary. The patient drinks alcohol for several days in a row large quantities.

Stages of alcoholism

In total, it is customary to distinguish 3 stages of alcoholism.

First stage

At the first stage the following are noted:

• vivid and positive memories of alcohol;
• transition to strong drinks;
• difficulty refusing and constant willingness to drink;
• drinking in one gulp;
• loss of control;
• use impulsively, secretly, for physical relaxation, before and after an important task;
• avoiding conversations about alcohol;
• thrifty attitude towards alcohol (there is always something at hand);
• canceling plans to drink;
• the gag reflex and the need to snack disappear;
• tolerance increases;
• euphoria is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve (after for a long time and (or) after large doses);
• light sleep, frequent awakenings in a state of asthenia;
• discomfort without drinking;
• “dose collapse” (an adequate state after the first dose and a state of deep, sharp intoxication after the second dose).

Later, memory loss and mild amnesia occur the next day. A person develops fears that he will do something unwanted while intoxicated. Symptoms develop gradually, in the sequence indicated above.

Second stage

The second stage is characterized by false binge drinking or constant alcohol abuse. Physical dependence is formed. Withdrawal syndrome is observed, and the craving for alcohol increases. In addition, it is noted:

• decreased appetite;
• general weakness;
• impotence and decreased libido;
• jealousy on this basis;
• justification of alcoholism (search for reasons);
• concealing the source of alcohol intake;
• lying about everything related to alcohol;
• drinking alone, neglecting social contacts;
• the distinctive personality traits that predominated before the illness are sharpened;
• aggression, touchiness, attempts to impress and earn authority, to be impressive;
• job loss or frequent job changes;
• guilt.

The more problems a person accumulates, the greater his desire to regain control over alcohol. Attempts to abstain and control the volume and frequency of intake begin. Often thoughts arise about changing place of residence (“from scratch”). Of course there's a change external conditions will not solve the problem.

Third stage

Chronic alcohol abuse persists, but tolerance decreases. As a result, the patient switches to low-alcohol drinks, smaller doses and surrogates. Together with that:

• personal degradation is observed (immorality, weakness of memory and intellect, strengthening of the lower);
• euphoria with black, rough and vulgar;
• dysphoria abruptly replacing euphoria with aggression and delinquency;
• health deteriorates;
• performance decreases;
• alcohol consumption occurs in the morning;
• drinking with people of low social level and status;
• loss of job, family, friends.

The patient experiences remorse, he is tormented by vague and, but he does not admit the existence of a problem (alcoholism). A person needs treatment in a drug treatment hospital.

Alcohol personality change

This is an independent diagnosis, which is assigned code F07.0 in ICD-10. In essence, this is the personal degradation discussed above. Alcohol change personality is diagnosed if at least two of the following signs are present:

• a noticeable decrease in the ability to perform purposefully, especially with delayed results;
• emotional swings (euphoria and emotional flexibility, inadequate humor mixed with irritability, anger, aggression or apathy);
• satisfaction of needs and drives in any way, disregard for norms and consequences;
• suspicion or paranoia, preoccupation with one narrow and abstract topic;
• changes in the tempo and speed of speech, random associations, hypergraphia;
• changes sexual behavior(activity, passivity, illegibility, change of preferences).

Features of alcoholics

The psychological aspects of alcoholism, the characteristics of future and current alcoholics have been studied for a long time. The main idea that researchers agree on is that alcohol is an analogue of family. Alcohol gives a feeling of confidence, security, warmth, peace, that is, it performs functions.

The following are more susceptible to alcoholism:

• personality with antisocial personality;
• infantile and immature;
• suggestible;
• people with dysthymia;
• unsure of themselves;
• with an increased need for power;
• anxious;
• dependent or demonstratively independent;
• individuals with figurative meager ability for abstractions and analytical thinking;
• with an unsatisfied need for affection and care, love.

Often alcoholism is an unconscious revenge on parents. It arises as a result of a destructive parenting style.

Drinking games

Alcoholism is often viewed within the framework. Its founder, Eric Berne, described the game of an alcoholic this way:

• The goal of the game is torture with a hangover and self-flagellation.
• The psychological reward is drinking. It is also rebellion and consolation, a pleasant procedure, a replacement for sexual and emotional intimacy.
• A quarrel with a wife or loved ones, which is biologically (in terms of body reactions and hormones) identical to anger and love and existentially reinforces the alcoholic’s attitude “no one understands me, everyone is against me.”
• Shame, guilt (beginning of the game).

If we consider the involvement of three personality selves (child, parent, adult) in the process of alcoholization, we can identify the following patterns:

• The position of an adult is always skillfully ignored or it is simply not developed initially. A person cannot adequately assess himself, his life and the problem.
• The child is ruled by fear of alcohol and a feeling of joy from taking it, the removal of barriers and prohibitions, the fulfillment of all desires, euphoria. The child's position predominates at the first stage of use.
• The parent criticizes behavior, shames, prohibits. This position is noticeable at the second stage of alcoholization. The position of a parent is often contradictory depending on the models and authorities learned in childhood.

Treatment of alcoholism

Treatment of alcoholism is possible only in the conditions of comprehensive work with a narcologist and psychologist. It is important to understand that even under professional supervision, relapses occur in 75% of cases. But a qualified doctor is able to recognize an approaching breakdown and prevent it. There is an extensive classification of criteria for an impending breakdown, which is used by specialists.

Alcoholism is a disease, not a disease. It is impossible to get rid of it on your own. Psychotherapy is selected strictly individually, taking into account the conditions and characteristics of alcoholism, the individual and personal characteristics of the patient. Depending on the case, rational psychotherapy, directive, social, indirect or psychological, is used:

• Rational psychotherapy is indicated for patients with (the cause of alcoholism), who do not understand their problem, an inferiority complex, and who are skeptical about treatment.
• Directive psychotherapy is prescribed to people without demands and claims, incapable of reflection, infantile, subordinate to orders and outside influence.
• Social psychotherapy is used in the treatment of people who need social activity (they are looking for recognition, prone to), changing social circles, changing social status (profession, place of residence, family, business and friendly relationships).
• Indirect psychotherapy is indicated for trusting, suggestible and fearful patients, anxious, infantile and pedantic individuals who feel the need for direction and accompaniment in life.
• Psychological therapy is prescribed to people who need self-education and pedagogical correction, self-improvement, distraction, and switching attention (changing the direction of activity).

In addition, aversive therapy and suggestive, autogenic training, muscle relaxation, neurolinguistic programming, supportive therapy (assistance in social recovery), correction of noted personality disorders, and family psychotherapy are used. Group therapy is used, the most popular methods of which are:

• affective counterattribution;
• collective emotional stress therapy Rozhnov;
• coding according to Dovzhenko;
• mass emotional-aesthetic psychotherapy;
• creative expression therapy;
• Alcoholics Anonymous group.

The diagnosis of alcoholism in Russia is determined by the presence of the following symptoms in the patient:

• lack of a gag reflex when taking large amounts of alcohol;
• loss of control over the amount of drinking;
• partial retrograde amnesia: the patient does not remember what happened the day before, during or after drinking alcohol;
• presence of a morning hangover;

Stages of alcoholism

Prodrome

Prodrome - zero stage of alcoholism, in which there is no disease yet, but everyday drunkenness is present. A person drinks alcohol according to the situation, usually with friends, and does not get drunk to the point of memory loss or other serious consequences. As long as the prodrome stage has not turned into alcoholism, a person can easily stop drinking alcohol for any time.

In the prodrome stage, a person often indifferent to whether there will be drinking in the near future or not. Having drunk in company, a person usually does not require continuation and then does not drink on its own i>. But, with daily drinking, as a rule, after 6-12 months the prodrome stage passes into the first stage of alcoholism.

First stage of alcoholism

First stage of alcoholism characterized by a change in the body's sensitivity to alcohol (development of alcohol tolerance). A person starts using more alcohol.

The main signs of the first stage of alcoholism:

• The gag reflex disappears. The patient switches to drinking alcohol alone (in the evenings, on weekends, “before dinner”). The attraction to alcohol becomes obsessive, sometimes at the most inopportune moment - at night or on the road. The type of intoxication changes - when drinking a significant amount of alcohol, memory loss appears.
• At the first stage, scandals often arise in the family, problems at work, loss of interest in various aspects of life: politics, literature, hobbies, etc. If it is impossible to drink alcohol, the craving for alcohol temporarily goes away, but if you drink alcohol, control over the amount of alcohol consumed becomes dulled.

Second stage of alcoholism

Second stage of alcoholism: endurance (tolerance) to alcohol increases significantly; a person discovers that, unexpectedly, he can take very large doses of alcohol. Even after consuming a small dose of alcohol, the patient ceases to control the amount of alcohol consumed. When drunk, he often behaves unpredictably, pretentiously, and sometimes even dangerously for himself and others.

Symptoms of the second stage of alcoholism:

• When the second stage of alcoholism occurs, a hangover appears: in the morning after drinking alcohol the day before, you feel sick, there is definitely a physiological dependence. The desire to drink becomes more and more noticeable and obsessive. A person is aware of the harm, but does not fight, submits to desire. There is a loss of control, and cases of pathological intoxication may occur.
• A hangover in the second stage is accompanied by an irresistible urge to drink alcohol in any way. This occurs against the background of a gloomy, tense and depressive mood combined with nausea, increased blood pressure, rapid heart rate, increased body temperature, trembling of the limbs (tremor) and a painful hostility to any external stimuli, even to light.
• The second stage of alcoholism is characteristic change in a person's personality: The patient becomes deceitful, sometimes uninterested in his social status. Hot temper, anger, assault appear, and signs of decreased intelligence are noted. In a state of intoxication, self-control is lost, there is no feeling of shame, embarrassment for what has been done, and poisoning with alcohol substitutes is possible due to loss of active attention.

Third stage of alcoholism

Third stage of alcoholism:- this is the binge stage of alcoholism, in which endurance for alcohol decreases, drinking alcohol becomes almost daily.

Signs of alcoholism in the third stage:

In the third stage, binges with a certain rhythm begin to appear. Visible personality degradation and mental changes often occur.

All of the above is accompanied by diseases of the liver (alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis of the liver), stomach (alcoholic gastritis), pancreas (alcoholic indurative pancreatitis), heart (alcoholic cardiomyopathy), brain (alcoholic encephalopathy), peripheral nervous system (alcoholic neuropathy), etc. . Disturbances from the internal organs are increasing and can take irreversible nature. Irreversible changes often occur in the nervous system, leading to paresis and paralysis, to conditions where hallucinations last long time(Kandinsky-Clerambault syndrome).

In the third stage, complications of alcoholic illness are observed, such as alcoholic delirium of jealousy and alcoholic delirium, the so-called “delirium tremens”. Delirium ends with dementia or even the death of a person. Alcohol is especially dangerous if you have diabetes. Take care of your family and friends!

Alcohol-containing drinks pose a hidden threat to the health of everyone who chooses to drink them outside festive table or in the evening hours as a stress reliever. All this can lead to the development of alcoholism, which can hardly be called a weakness or a bad habit of a person. After all, such a condition is considered a rather serious disease of a chronic nature.

According to statistical studies, almost 90% of people have tried alcohol at least once in their lives. But only 10% of them developed dependence due to the use of these drinks. So why does the disease only affect certain people, and how can degrees of alcoholism be determined?

The emergence of addiction

Alcoholism is a disease that is simply impossible to contract. A person himself takes this path if he begins to drink alcohol frequently on significant dates, holidays and other life events. And every glass of an alcohol-containing drink drunk is a direct road to torment and suffering not only for him, but also for his loved ones.

According to narcologists, not all people can become alcoholics. As a rule, the disease affects those who are weak morally and mentally, as well as those who have weak willpower. For such people, alcohol-containing drinks are a real salvation. After all, when drinking vodka or wine, a drunkard gets real pleasure, feeling a surge of energy and strength. So maybe such people should constantly take an intoxicating product? No!

Such use most often develops into addiction, which, like many other diseases, is very dangerous to health. What are the main reasons for its appearance? According to scientists, alcoholism primarily threatens those who:

1. Has a genetic predisposition to it. These are people whose families have a history of drinking or drug use. In this case, the likelihood of addiction increases by 6 times.
2. Had early contact with alcohol. Very often, people who start drinking alcohol in adolescence become alcoholics.
3. Smokes. This factor increases the likelihood of alcoholism five times.
4. Subject to frequent stress. In unpleasant situations, a person’s mood decreases, anxiety arises and performance decreases. Many people try to get rid of such unpleasant sensations with a glass of vodka or a glass of wine.
5. Drinks for company. If a person’s friends regularly drink alcohol or are already susceptible to alcoholism, then he himself begins to reach for a glass more often.
6. Suffering from depression. To eliminate the symptoms of a depressed state, people often resort to self-medication using alcohol as a medicine.
7. Exposure to advertising. Very often in the media, alcohol is portrayed as an attribute of a “beautiful” life. According to experts, such advertising, which mentions alcohol in a positive way, creates confidence among certain audiences that its excessive consumption is acceptable.

Alcoholism develops gradually, passing through certain degrees and manifesting itself with specific symptoms. By observing the existing signs of the disease, a specialist is able to accurately determine the stage of the pathology. This will allow him to offer the patient the most effective treatment regimen.

Signs of alcoholism

In order to understand that a person who drinks alcohol has become dependent on it, it is necessary to notice specific symptoms of the disease. And for this it is important to know the degrees of alcoholism and their signs. The latter include the following conditions:

1. A person begins to drink alone. He doesn't need company for this. In addition, an alcoholic is capable of “taking” any amount of alcohol alone.
2. The emergence of a clearly felt desire to drink. Drinking alcohol ceases to depend on situations, that is, holidays or the presence of company. There is only a need for drinking strong drinks.
3. Drinking alcohol in secret from family and friends. Such a person increasingly begins to go “to the dacha” or “to picnics”, and in his pockets there appear lollipops, chewing gum, as well as means to fight off the smell of strong drinks.
4. The alcoholic begins to make a “stash”. He hides already drunk bottles of alcohol in secret places, sometimes pouring it into unusual containers - jugs, decanters or plastic bottles.
5. Lack of quantity control to the extent that he can do this. He loses the ability to protect himself from raising another glass, and all sense of proportion is lost.
6. Memory lapses that occur while drinking. Having already sobered up, a person sometimes cannot even remember some of the events that occurred while drinking alcohol.
7. The emergence of the drinking ritual. We can talk about alcoholism if a person drinks alcohol, for example, before or after work, “for appetite” or while watching TV and gets irritated if he does not succeed or if someone present allows himself to comment on such actions.
8. Loss of interest in what you love. A person abandons his long-term hobby, does not communicate with family, does not care for pets, and refuses to travel and travel.
9. The appearance of aggression. Drinking alcohol is a direct path to family quarrels and scandals. At the same time, a person suffering from alcohol addiction shows aggression towards friends and relatives.

Health status

Depending on the degree of alcoholism, a person may experience:

Diseases of internal organs that have close contact with alcohol entering the body;

Sharp development of psychoses;

Depression;

Disturbances in metabolic processes;

Malfunctions of the central nervous system.

The signs and symptoms listed above characterize the development of pathology. That is why, if they are detected, you must immediately consult a doctor. Only timely therapy will allow you to cure the disease within a short time and without complications, restoring the functioning of the body.

The mechanism of addiction

With regular consumption of alcohol, the metabolic processes of gamma-aminobutyric acid, which controls the impulsiveness of glutamate, which stimulates the nervous system and the pleasure hormone dopamine, are disrupted in the brain. What follows? Over time, changes affect the metabolism of dopamine, which occurs in the “pleasure” centers. Without these substances, a person ceases to be satisfied with life. This provokes the human brain to consume alcohol, which, when taken, can get rid of unpleasant sensations and begin to feel good.

What do those suffering from addiction hide?

How many degrees of alcoholism do experts distinguish? The disease has 4 phases. At its initial stages, it is very difficult to judge the presence of one or another degree of alcoholism. Drinking alcohol is often mistaken for everyday drunkenness. It is difficult to determine this even from a test.

This occurs because the drunkard denies or downplays his addiction to alcohol. But it is worth noting that such behavior is one of the symptoms of the development of alcoholism. They call it dissimulation. This symptom is characterized as anonymous alcoholism. The person doesn't just tell lies. He hides the fact of his illness.

First stage of pathology

It is possible to determine that a person has reached the 1st degree of alcoholism by the most important symptom of this phase of the disease, which is the loss of the gag reflex. And this, in turn, leads a man or woman to exceed the dose of alcoholic beverages, leading to severe intoxication.

How to determine the degree of alcoholism in the initial phase of the disease? The second scientifically proven symptom of this period is memory loss. Moreover, it becomes impossible to restore a person’s previous state even after turning to psychiatry specialists.

The first degree of alcoholism is characterized by a certain regularity and duration of drinking alcohol. This frequency is 2 to 3 times a week. Moreover, in this phase, the aversion to drinking, which previously appeared on the second day, disappears. In the presence of the first degree of alcoholism in men and women, the feast can last more than one day.

The next sign of the first phase of pathology is an increase in the number of strong drinks that are required for intoxication.

Mental dependence at the first stage

This phase of alcoholism is characterized by:

The patient has pleasant memories of being intoxicated, which provokes thoughts about alcohol;

A person’s search for any reason to start drinking, as evidenced by the mention of this topic in conversation with people;

Justifying not only your own behavior, but also the actions of other drunkards;

Increased mood with an approaching feast;

Mental satisfaction from drinking;

The emergence of conflicts in the family and in the work team due to alcohol abuse.

Mental illness leads to poor health. The person becomes irritable. His performance deteriorates. All this clearly indicates the presence of first degree alcoholism.

Second stage of pathology

All the symptoms described above are typical. However, they become even more aggravated and, in addition, new signs appear. They are able to indicate the development of second degree alcoholism.

A person on a mental level is able to partially realize that he is dependent on alcohol. However, he is no longer able to refuse it.

Upon reaching the second degree of alcoholism, a person becomes maximally productive only after he has taken a large number of strong drink. In addition, the dose of alcohol that he needs to become intoxicated becomes 6-10 times greater than the amount that a healthy person would drink.

In psychology, the second degree of alcoholism is called a pseudo-drunken period. After all, the patient can go on a binge for several days, and then take a short break. Very often it is difficult for such a person to fall asleep without a glass of strong drink.

At the second stage of alcoholism, memory loss becomes even deeper. A person, as a rule, forgets exactly what is associated with his bad behavior. In addition to mental dependence, physical dependence on alcohol also develops. When drinking a large amount of strong drinks, a person begins to feel:

Trembling in the limbs;

Increased heart rate;

Severe pain in the temples;

Weakness in the body;

Increase in blood pressure level.

At the initial stage of development of phase 2 of the pathology, alcoholics suffer from seizures, similar in nature and course to epileptic seizures. The most difficult for a person are the first 2-4 hours after he has taken an impressive dose of alcohol. This is a period when he does not think well, cannot think adequately and speak clearly.

The third stage of pathology

What symptoms are characteristic of third degree alcoholism? At this stage, withdrawal symptoms begin to develop. It manifests itself in persistent mental and physical dependence and drug delirium. Alcohol blocks the production of various hormones, which does not allow a person to independently give up addiction.

Symptoms of alcoholism of the 3rd degree are expressed in the fact that even when taking an unsafe dose of alcohol, a person completely lacks a gag reflex. To eliminate a hangover, he takes a new dose of strong drinks, which leads to long-term drinking bouts. In case of alcoholism of the 3rd degree, the liver is affected. Pathological disruptions in the functioning of the nervous system begin to appear. When forced, the state of an alcoholic is similar to the withdrawal symptoms of drug addicts. This is the period when the drinker becomes aggressive, violent and unpredictable. That is why this degree of alcoholism is very dangerous for human health, which requires immediate treatment.

The fourth stage of pathology

This degree of development of the disease is characterized by loss. This is due to the occurrence of dysfunction of many organs that are of vital importance. In order to become intoxicated, such a patient needs a small amount of strong drinks.

In the fourth phase of the development of alcoholism, the gastrointestinal tract and liver. They begin to develop malignant tumors. Pathological changes also affect blood vessels.

At this last stage of alcoholism, a person completely loses all interest in the life around him. All his thoughts and actions are aimed at finding the next dose. Women who have reached this state stop worrying about their natural destiny. They are not at all concerned about pregnancy. Teenage female alcoholism, which has reached the fourth stage of its development, poses a particular danger. Medicine is practically powerless against this condition.

Very often, this stage of pathology is characterized by indifference to the type of alcoholic drink consumed. Such people have the same attitude towards alcohol, cologne and windshield cleaner. Physical dependence becomes very strong. If such patients are abruptly and forcibly forced to give up strong drinks, they may simply die.

In addition to the symptoms of the fourth phase of alcoholism described above, its signs are manifested in impaired coordination of movements and incoherent speech. In addition, muscle shrinkage occurs. That is why alcoholics are distinguished by pronounced thinness.

Update: October 2018

No matter how many people would like to believe it, alcoholism is a disease. It, like any disease, is characterized by a stage-by-stage development and, as with other pathologies, only reasonable and proven treatment can save you from it.

The problem of alcoholism begins when a person - no matter whether it is a woman or a man - begins to enjoy alcohol and associate pleasant moments in life with it. At this time, ethyl alcohol reacts with fat molecules present in the body and is gradually integrated into the ongoing metabolism. To “remove” it from there, you need to completely remove alcoholic beverages from consumption and, one by one, correct emerging metabolic disorders. Then, within about a year, metabolic reactions will be restored to their original state, the structure of blood vessels will return to normal, and work will begin to “correct” damaged internal organs. The main thing is that no alcohol enters the body during this time.

Effective treatment of alcoholism is only possible if the patient himself wants to get rid of addiction. This is what therapy is aimed at in specialized clinics and centers, where, in addition to removing toxic products of alcoholism from the body, work is carried out with the altered human psyche. Forced and “unauthorized” treatment produces poor results.

Alcohol, or more precisely, ethyl alcohol (ethanol), has a toxic effect on almost all human organs. The more often it appears in the body (in higher doses than it is found in some fruits), the more harm it causes.

Ethyl alcohol is absorbed very quickly, and after 60-90 minutes its maximum concentration is observed in the blood. The rate of absorption increases if:

• the person has an empty stomach;
• alcoholic drink has high temperature(drinks based on heated wine, for example, mulled wine);
• the drink contains sugar and carbon dioxide in the form of bubbles (for example, in champagne).

If alcohol is taken with a large amount of food (not on an empty stomach), especially fatty food, its absorption slows down.

Having entered the blood, ethanol enters mainly 2 organs: the brain and skeletal muscles, and this is already 70% of body weight. Alcohol enters adipose tissue and bones in a smaller volume.

The liver and, to some extent, the stomach try to neutralize ethanol. The liver tissue produces the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which converts ethanol into very toxic acetaldehyde. It must be converted to safe acetic acid by aldehyde dehydrogenase. After this, thiokinase “turns on”, which converts acetic acid into acetyl-coenzyme A. It produces ketone bodies that are toxic to the brain.

With constant use, the level of alcohol dehydrogenase decreases. Then the enzyme catalase takes over to neutralize ethanol. It works more slowly and oxidizes alcohol to more toxic derivatives.

In addition to these enzymes, the conversion of alcohol in the liver is carried out using the enzyme cytochrome P450. This enzyme is also involved in the processing of most drugs, especially antibiotics. Therefore, if you take drugs together with alcohol, there is a high risk that the drug will take up space in the enzyme system, and the alcohol will remain “underprocessed.” This can be life-threatening.

The end products of ethanol conversion in the liver are carbon dioxide and water. As a result, energy is generated: 60 g of alcohol produces 477 kcal.

Is the possibility of becoming an alcoholic “written” in the genes?

The 2 “major alcohol” enzymes—alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase—can be produced in “fast” and “slow” forms. What forms a person will get is programmed by genes. It is the forms of these enzymes that 90% determine whether a person will become prone to alcoholism or not.

So, if both enzymes are “fast” (for example, among Indians South America), a person hardly gets drunk and quickly sobers up without feeling any signs of a hangover. The slower these enzymes are, the more a person needs to drink to get drunk (this is typical for Europeans, Slavic and African peoples). They feel all the effects of alcohol: euphoria, relaxedness, sociability, and after a while (it depends on the dose of ethanol) they begin to suffer from a hangover. In order for such people to become alcoholics, they need to drink “hard” and often.

Representatives of the Mongoloid race - Asians and residents of the Far North - are characterized by the production of “fast” alcohol dehydrogenase and “slow” aldehyde dehydrogenase. It is enough for them to take a small dose of alcohol to become intoxicated (with almost no signs of euphoria), and very soon a severe hangover sets in (acetaldehyde has already formed, but will not be neutralized). Alcoholics are rare among these peoples: 91 times less common than among Europeans.

In Russia, about 10% of residents have fast alcohol dehydrogenase, and among the Chuvash - up to 18%. It is interesting that most of these people live in Moscow. Such people hardly feel intoxicated, which “insures” them against alcoholism.

Those peoples (Evenks, North American Indians, Chukchi) who were originally characterized by nomadic image life, when transitioning to a settled life, especially when moving to the city, they begin to drink too much. Latest Research showed that this is not associated with alcohol and acetaldehyde dehydrogenases. Scientists say that a change in the type of diet and the associated level of adrenal hormones is to blame. So, when it was fat and protein, which was necessary for the nomads to eat less often, they produced less stress hormones than with a carbohydrate diet. More stress plus a sedentary life, when alcohol consumption is cultivated by the media, has led to the emergence of a large number of alcoholics among these peoples.

Interesting. A predisposition to alcoholism can be recognized by two factors:

1. if your face does not turn red after drinking alcohol (redness of the skin is a sign of acetaldehyde release);
2. if after a heavy libation a person wakes up early on his own.

"Norm" of alcohol

Safe for health, without alcoholism you can drink a day:

• Women: 300 ml of beer or 130 ml of wine, or 50 ml of vodka.
• Men: 500 ml of beer or 200 ml of wine, or 75 ml of vodka.

This “dose,” equivalent to 25 g of ethanol in women and 30 g in men, can only be taken 5 times a week. Another 2 days should be without alcohol.

The maximum permissible dose is 60 g of pure ethanol for men, 50 g for women. The permissible amount of ethanol in women is lower than in men, which is due to the peculiarities of female anatomy: a large amount of fatty tissue, less muscle tissue. This is dictated by female sex hormones.

Blood alcohol concentration can be calculated by first multiplying 0.7 (this is the 70% that makes up the brain and muscles where most of the alcohol is absorbed) by body weight, and then dividing the amount of ethanol in grams by this figure. The lethal concentration is considered to be 3.5‰, although in practice there are people with higher levels who are not even in a coma, but in consciousness.

What alcohol “can” do

You can understand the consequences of alcoholism if you know how ethanol affects different organs.

Nervous system

Ethanol has a direct toxic effect on nerve cells and alters the production of various substances in the brain. Thus, the accumulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter, leads to relaxation, euphoria, and drowsiness. It causes the release of endorphins, which provoke the release of dopamine, and this whole “cocktail” that causes a feeling of bliss stimulates the desire to drink again.

Alcoholism reduces brain volume, especially in the frontal lobe. The death of neurons in this area leads to:

• decreased mental functions;
• attention disorders;
• slurred speech;
• changing the character and personality of a person.

The blood vessels are also damaged, and in these areas the brain is saturated with blood. Hemorrhage can be extensive and lead to death.

Alcoholism can also cause psychosis, damage to the spinal cord and cerebellum. At stage 2 of the disease, the nerve trunks leading to the limbs are affected. As a result, sensation and movement are lost in the areas of the legs and arms where socks and gloves are worn. This is called alcoholic polyneuropathy.

Liver

If you take large amounts of alcohol for just 1 year, it will cause liver disease. First, the level of acetyl-coenzyme A and the “energy” substance NADH will increase. They will slow down the reactions of fat metabolism, as a result of which fat will begin to be deposited in the liver. As long as there is still 5-50% fat, the process is reversible (you can stop drinking, and the liver will recover on its own, without “cleansing”). But after this, the death of liver cells begins, and tissue similar to scar tissue begins to grow in their place. This is liver fibrosis, the irreversible first stage of cirrhosis. This is followed by cirrhosis, in which the functions of the liver, important for the entire body, are disabled one after another.

Heart

Ethyl alcohol causes the destruction of red blood cells, resulting in hemolytic anemia, causing the accumulation of “bad” ones (causing atherosclerosis) fatty acids. This leads to the development of heart diseases (cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia), and also worsens the course of existing cardiovascular diseases. Alcoholics develop heart failure much faster than people with chronic heart disease, which quickly leads to death.

The American Heart Association urges people not to believe “advice” about the health benefits of red wine or cognac. All necessary vitamins and antioxidants, they say, can be obtained from healthy foods: berries, fruits, vegetables.

Metabolism

Alcohol leads to a decrease in the deposition of glycogen in the liver - a bundle of many glucose molecules that are a reserve of energy in case it is suddenly needed. At the same time, alcohol itself provides a person with a certain amount of energy, so when drinking it, a person, especially someone already suffering from alcoholism, does not eat food. If glycogen reserves are depleted, after another libation, acute hypoglycemia (a sharp decrease in blood glucose levels) may develop, which causes depression of consciousness and convulsions. It can even lead to death, especially if the person is sick diabetes mellitus.

Incomplete oxidation of fatty acids in the liver, which develops during alcoholism, leads to the accumulation of ketone bodies in the body. There are especially many of them if there is no longer any glycogen left in the liver. This condition is called ketoacidosis. It leads to symptoms such as weakness, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, drowsiness, and weight loss. If alcoholism is combined with diabetes mellitus, ketoacidosis can develop into a ketoacidotic coma.

Ethyl alcohol interferes with the absorption of B vitamins (especially B1 and B6), which is why Gaye-Wernicke syndrome develops:

• heat
• loss of mental activity, up to depression of consciousness to coma;
• memory loss;
• double vision;
• lack of coordination.

Gastrointestinal tract

Chronic alcohol abuse leads to damage to the stomach and small intestine. Diarrhea occurs due to impaired absorption of water and electrolytes, impaired absorption of lactase.

In addition, repeated vomiting may cause ruptures in the mucous membranes of the esophagus and stomach, accompanied by bleeding. Damage to the pancreas also develops - pancreatitis, which can acquire a necrotizing form (the gland tissue dies) and lead to death. Gastritis develops in 95% of patients.

Alcoholism significantly increases the risk of developing cancer: colon cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer.

Joints

Constantly taken ethanol leads to retention of uric acid in the body. Its excess accumulates in the joints, causing gout.

Impact on the gene pool

Ethanol poisons both female and male reproductive cells, increasing the risk of having a sick child or even fetal death. Drinking alcohol is especially dangerous for a pregnant woman.

Alcohol causes additional harm through harmful additives. They increase damage to the liver and kidneys, through which they are excreted, as well as to the blood vessels and heart, which ensure their passage through the body.

Why does alcoholism develop?

For the development of alcoholism, the combination of “slow” dehydrogenases alone is not enough. It is necessary for a person to begin periodically taking ethyl alcohol with the transition to more and more frequent use. This happens mainly with psychological problems:

• low (less often high) wages;
• stress at work;
• drinking friends;
• lack of friends;
• problems in family relationships.

Symptoms of alcoholism are more likely to be found in people of a melancholic nature, prone to depression and self-deprecation, as well as those who grew up in a family of alcoholics.

How to suspect alcoholism

Many families are accustomed to drinking alcohol on holidays or after significant events/major purchases. How can you tell if a relative may become an alcoholic?

There is such a thing as domestic alcoholism, also called domestic alcoholism. It is characterized by the absence of complete dependence on ethyl alcohol. For such a person, an everyday drunk, alcohol does not interfere with his work. A person, periodically making a promise to himself or his loved ones to “quit”, still drinks alcohol. If this habit is not dealt with, it will develop into a disease. In women this happens earlier, in men - later. It is easier to treat everyday drunkenness, but he definitely needs the help of a psychologist or psychotherapist: this way a person can find the reasons why he drinks and, together with a specialist, eliminate them.

Household drunkards are not only traditionally considered drinking people who drink alcohol up to 3 times a week, but can calmly give it up if they have another job that is pleasant for them. Drinking alcohol 1-2 times a week (systematic drunkenness), and 1-3 times a month (episodic drunkenness), and even “only on holidays” (moderate drunkenness) will be considered home drunkenness. The main criteria are:

• availability of an approximate measure when drinking alcohol;
• joy, excitement before drinking an alcoholic drink;
• the obligatory presence of a reason for drinking alcohol (a person will not create it artificially);
• severe hangover (severe and prolonged headache, nausea, weakness);
• feeling of guilt before relatives “for yesterday”;
• non-aggressive, rather, on the contrary, complacent mood when drinking small doses of alcohol.

Stages of alcoholism

The first signs of alcoholism are:

• attraction to alcohol even without reason;
• All holidays are celebrated and Friday is obligatory;
• if family members ask you to do some tasks that would prevent you from drinking, you may become hot-tempered, aggressive, and irritable.

If alcoholism is not stopped at this point, the person “slides downhill.” Depending on how much his personality and internal organs suffer, there are 3 stages of alcoholism.

Stage 1

It is called mental dependence: ethanol has not yet been fully integrated into metabolism, and there are limiting factors - family, friends, work. But free time happily spent over a glass. At first, a person still needs drinking buddies, but sometimes he can drink on his own, but in small quantities.

When Friday comes, you go to the garage, fishing or hunting (where there will be alcohol), joy appears, a sparkle in your eyes. The person himself does not notice this.

Drinking alcohol causes joy, talkativeness, and euphoria. A person becomes disinhibited, he wants to sing, dance, and meet the opposite sex. If he has “too much,” then nausea, vomiting, headaches appear, blood pressure rises and the pulse quickens.

Further progression of the disease is characterized by the need to gradually increase the dose of alcohol to obtain pleasure. The gag reflex is inhibited, which is why a person can greatly exceed the permissible dose of alcohol, getting drunk to the point of an alcoholic coma. Life values ​​are decreasing, principles are changing. Now it doesn’t make much difference to a person what to drink: he can buy cheap alcoholic drinks if he can’t afford the usual ones.

Stage 2

It is characterized by a worsening of the hangover syndrome: nausea and headache are accompanied by hand tremors, increased heart rate, arrhythmic heartbeats, and increased blood pressure. If you drink alcohol (for example, beer) against this background, the condition will return to normal. To differentiate: if there is no dependence, these symptoms will intensify, which is due to an increase in the number of alcohol substitutes.

Physical dependence on ethanol appears: if you do not drink it for 1-2 days, your head begins to hurt, nausea appears, the person does not want to eat anything, sleeps poorly, and is very irritable. He may have convulsions up to an epileptic seizure. When drinking alcohol, all these symptoms of withdrawal syndrome (withdrawal) disappear, everything returns to normal. While on a binge, a person hardly eats, he loses weight.

In order to prevent withdrawal, a person constantly drinks, and not necessarily in large doses: even a bottle of beer helps maintain the mood and well-being he needs. Usually, binges last for 2-3 weeks, then he stops drinking, his conscience torments him, a desire to code appears, but a new meeting with friends or a new reason to drink leads to repeated binge drinking.

At this stage, changes in the patient’s personality become noticeable: he becomes rude, he is irritated by any little things.

Binge drinking can cause complications: heart attack, stroke, gastrointestinal bleeding.

Stage 3

At this stage, a person drinks in small doses, quickly sobers up and continues to drink again.

Complications arise from internal organs: nervous system, liver, pancreas, heart, kidneys. They may develop into cancer or cirrhosis, but the problem can still be solved. Only a change in personality cannot be changed: a person loses life values, the ability to think productively, analyze, and conduct a conversation. There are hallucinations - visual and auditory. When alcohol is withdrawn, delirium tremens (delirium tremens) develops.

Why is it difficult to treat alcoholism?

Finding a cure for alcoholism is very difficult, which is due to changes in the patient’s psyche:

1. Inappropriate attitude towards one's own condition. An alcoholic either completely denies that he has an addiction (this is the hardest thing to deal with), or believes that he can stop drinking at any moment, or says that he is already extremely dependent and will not be able to stop alcoholism.
2. The patient becomes fixated only on himself (egocentrism), which leads to his alienation from close people.
3. Constantly changing your decisions, words, self-esteem.
4. The patient’s refusal to make independent decisions or perform any volitional efforts. He goes with the flow, not bothering himself with anything other than getting money for alcohol.

In all these cases, it is best to treat the disease in specialized paid clinics, where in the first phase of therapy, it is possible for psychotherapists who can interact with such patients to come to your home.

Treatment of alcoholism

Alcoholism in men and women needs to be treated as early as possible, even at the stage of everyday drunkenness - until there is no personality change.

Indicators that it is no longer possible to delay the help of a relative are the following signs:

• loss of drink;
• searching for reasons for alcoholism;
• relief of hangover symptoms that occurs with repeated consumption of alcohol;
• partial amnesia for the events that happened while drinking alcohol.

Stages of treatment

Treatment of alcoholism must be carried out in 4 stages:

Stage 1

It involves removing alcohol breakdown products from the body and relieving withdrawal symptoms. The stage is called detoxification. It is best to carry it out under medical supervision, as heart rhythm disturbances, blood pressure rises to high levels, and breathing problems are possible. Starting from stage 2 of alcoholism, detoxification is carried out only by narcologists or anesthesiologists who have experience in treating this particular addiction.

If, in your opinion, the drinking relative is healthy, has never complained of an irregular heartbeat, and there has been no breathing problems or loss of consciousness while quitting alcohol, you can start treatment at home, keeping your phone ready to call an ambulance.

Here's how to detoxify on your own:

• calm the patient;
• give him sorbents in the maximum possible dosages (Polysorb, Atoxil, Enterosgel);
• 1 – 1.5 hours after the sorbents, they give a vitamin B1 tablet and drink sweet tea. You can give 10 mg of the drug “Anaprilin” (for the heart), but provided that the pulse is more than 60 beats per minute, and the “upper” pressure is above 90 mm Hg;
• after another 1.5 hours the sorbent is given again;
• after another 1-1.5 hours, you can give a sleeping pill or sedative (Pavlov’s Mixture, “Barboval”, valerian tablets, “Somnol”). At this stage it is good to accept ascorbic acid(500-1000 mg), put the person to sleep.

All this time, the frequency and rhythm of the pulse (should be within 65-105 beats, rhythmic), and blood pressure (not higher than 150 mm Hg) are monitored. When the pressure rises above 140 mm Hg. you need to give ½ Captopress tablet and measure the value after half an hour.

Irrhythmic, frequent or rare pulse, high or low blood pressure (should be within 100-140 mm Hg), convulsions, irregular breathing, panic attacks, psychosis - a reason to call an ambulance.

Medical detoxification, especially if you called a paid drug treatment team from a clinic, can also be carried out at home. It is as follows:

• intravenous administration of saline solutions - to maintain water and electrolyte balance;
• intramuscular administration of vitamins B1, B6;
• intravenous administration of sedatives (also known as anticonvulsants), respiratory analeptics, antiarrhythmic drugs, nootropic drugs

If breathing problems, convulsions, or a threat of heart attack or stroke appear during withdrawal, the patient must be treated in a drug treatment hospital or a paid drug treatment center/clinic.

At the end of stage 1, the following goals must be achieved:

1. normalization of cardiac activity;
2. normalization of breathing;
3. restoration of appetite and sleep;
4. relief of nausea and vomiting.

Only after this can you proceed to the next stage.

Stage 2

It is called intervention and is carried out if the patient does not consider himself as such and does not want to be treated. For this purpose, a meeting is organized between the alcoholic and psychologists from specialized centers.

It is important at this stage not to exert any moral violence or psychological pressure.

The intervention can and should be carried out when the patient is still “under a drip”, but it is already much easier for him.

If for some reason you decide to treat alcoholism without the knowledge of the patient (and this is a much more difficult and long way), the intervention stage is skipped. You can immediately proceed to stage 3, but start it only in the absence of alcohol intoxication or withdrawal symptoms.

Stage 3

Here, negative conditioned reflexes are developed to the effects of alcohol - its taste and smell. This could be herbs, pills - if you decide to treat alcoholism at home. There may be suggestive influence, hypnosis, coding - if treatment is planned at home, but with the help of specialists (short-term hospitalization may be required during coding).

Also, this stage can be carried out in specialized paid clinics (not in a drug treatment or psychiatric hospital).

We’ll talk about all the methods of this stage – herbs, pills, hospital treatment and coding for alcoholism – a little lower.

Stage 4

It includes supportive treatment and social rehabilitation. Lasts 2-3 years. The stage is very difficult, requiring constant moral efforts on the part of relatives rather than the patient himself. It is held at home.

It is advisable for a former alcoholic to attend support groups consisting of people like him who were able to give up alcohol. He needs to be helped to find new hobbies and interests so that he has as little free time as possible, which he could use to return to old habits. Here it is important to exclude communication with old “friends,” but not by force, but by communicating with a psychologist to evoke such a desire in the patient himself.

The rehabilitation stage also involves work and periodic communication with a psychologist. If a person was treated at a clinic, he can periodically come there for examinations.

If the rehabilitation stage is successful, there is a high chance that the person will not drink again.

Forced therapy

At the moment, compulsory treatment of alcoholism has been abandoned as an ineffective and extremely costly method. This method of therapy is possible only in exceptional cases provided for by law. Russian Federation. The main indication for compulsory treatment is the patient’s danger to himself or others: attacks on relatives and neighbors, failure to switch off gas stove or water. At the same time, it is important that in a state of binge, the psychiatric hospital - and it is the one that deals with compulsory therapy - will not accept an alcoholic. Even if the patient was hospitalized in the drug treatment department of a state hospital or in a state drug treatment hospital during withdrawal or binge drinking, he will not be transferred to a psychiatric clinic without a court decision. He will be discharged home.

If an alcoholic is dangerous for relatives living with him, the order of their actions is as follows:

1. Go without a patient with alcoholism to a district or city psychiatric hospital, find a local psychiatrist, describe the situation to him.
2. The local psychiatrist will give an example of an application addressed to the chief physician of the hospital.
3. The statement will need to indicate examples of aggressive behavior, verbal threats, inappropriateness and disorientation that occurred.
4. This case will be considered by a commission of psychiatrists, they will visit your home and give an opinion on whether hospitalization is necessary or not.

Cases where the alcoholic lives separately are especially difficult for the legislation, and it will be difficult to indicate aggression on his part.

An alcoholic may also be sent to a prison for compulsory treatment. judicial procedure, but this is possible when a person, while intoxicated, has broken the law. If you testify that he regularly drinks alcohol, the judge can forcibly send him to a psychiatric hospital.

Treatment of alcoholism in a specialized clinic

A person suffering from alcoholism voluntarily goes to a clinic to undergo a course of treatment. Upon admission, specialists talk to him: narcologist, psychologist, psychiatrist. They identify the personality disorders that alcohol use has led to and choose how alcoholism will be treated. Methods can be different, for example:

• 12 step program;
• Minnesota Program;
• the impact of the Therapeutic Community;
• Deutop model.

The period of adaptation of a person to the conditions of the clinic lasts several days or weeks. He gets used to the environment, and the first individual and group lessons are held with him. He communicates with people who need to get rid of alcoholism, with people who have gotten rid of addiction. Relatives can come to the patient.

Next, the integration stage begins, during which an aversion to alcohol is formed. Individual classes are also conducted, the patient attends trainings and groups, and keeps a diary in which he notes his psycho-emotional state. Relatives come and cheer the patient up.

The next stage is stabilization. The person continues to keep a diary and communicate with a psychologist and in a group. Now his task is to strengthen the desire to lead a healthy lifestyle. He is already sharing his knowledge and experience with newly admitted patients.

Treatment at home

It needs to start with the fact that relatives (especially the person whose communication and opinion the patient values) convince the alcoholic to undergo treatment. If he is aggressive or too passive, he needs the help of a psychologist.

You need to convince an alcohol addict at the right time: after waste of wages, a fine for drunk driving, and so on. At the same time, it is important that the alcoholic is not nervous, and the conversation is not conducted in the manner of notation (with sobs, appeals to conscience). It is important to convey the message that treatment will return him to his family, but during treatment the family will support their beloved relative. You also need to outline a happy future for him without alcohol: a career, respect from colleagues, happy children and a wife. That is, the point of treating alcoholism is to make not only him happy (especially if he considers himself a “finished” person), but also those who depend on him and who love him.

Coding

Coding for alcoholism is one of the methods used in the complex treatment of the disease. It was invented back in the 30s of the 20th century in Russia, by scientists Sluchevsky and Fricken, who used apomorphine for this. Soon, apomorphine was replaced by disulfiram, and the technique was supplemented with suggestive influence and hypnosis.

Coding can be based on one of two methods of influence:

1. reciprocal – when it is formed negative impact the smell of alcohol itself;
2. operant – formed according to the principle of “punishment”. The patient can take alcohol, but after this he experiences serious side effects: vomiting, weakness, tachycardia, shortness of breath.

Encoding can be:

• medicinal: the patient is given medication or has it stitched in the form of an implant. When alcohol is consumed, the drug causes such vivid and unpleasant symptoms that the desire to continue alcoholism disappears;
• non-medicinal: for example, according to the method of Dovzhenko, Malkin, Rozhnov - using hypnosuggestive influence. This involves working with the patient's psyche;
• combined (for example, the “Double Block” method), when both medicinal and psychotherapeutic effects are performed;
• hardware: such physiotherapeutic techniques are used as artificially increasing body temperature, inducing convulsions using electricity. This effect is ineffective and unsafe, so it is rarely used. IN Lately Laser coding is offered, reviews speak of it as an effective method.

Medication coding

It involves one of several effects:

• adding alcohol blockers;
• administration of ethanol inhibitors in the form of injections;
• taking medications in the form of tablets.

Each of the effects has its own duration: injections last for several months, sutured implants last from several months to a year. If the drug is injected into fatty tissue, it remains there for several years. During this time it should be carried out psychological work upon the patient's refusal to drink alcohol.

The procedure is considered the most effective, but is “suitable” for repetition two or maximum three times. If an alcoholic cannot resist drinking alcohol, further “fixing” does not make sense: he will still drink. In this case, you need to choose a different method.

The following drugs are used:

1. Opiate receptor blockers (Naltrexone, administered intravenously or in tablet form). They block the release of endorphins in response to alcohol. Accordingly, drinking alcohol ceases to cause the usual joy and euphoria.
2. Drugs that, when combined with alcohol, cause pronounced toxic reactions: Disulfiram (Teturam, Antabuse, Esperal, Algominal, Aquilong). The dosage of medications is selected individually, depending on the patient’s health status, the usual dose taken, and the degree of dependence on alcohol. These drugs are not used for alcohol intoxication: first they relieve it with Naloxone or Naltrexone, then begin treatment with Disulfiram or its analogues. The ampoule is sutured under the skin of the interscapular region, buttocks, and axillary fossae to a depth of about 40 mm. When drinking alcohol, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, panic attacks, and surges in blood pressure occur.

Before filing disulfiram, an alcohol-disulfiram test is carried out: the person is given 1 tablet of the drug, after which he needs to drink 30-50 ml of vodka. After this, 4 stages of the test develop:

1. Starts in 10 minutes. It consists of redness of the skin, increased breathing, and the appearance of bad breath. Euphoria appears, similar to a similar feeling when intoxicated.
2. Appears after another 10 minutes. Euphoria passes, anxiety and fear appear. My head starts to hurt and my blood pressure drops.
3. Develops within 40 minutes. Blood pressure drops even more, which is manifested by a throbbing headache and numbness in the fingers.
4. After another 30 minutes the condition is restored.

Tests are carried out only in a hospital where emergency medicines are available and where anesthesiologists work.

Alcohol-disulfiram tests are usually repeated 2-3 times until an aversion to alcohol is formed. If a person is not sure that he can resist drinking alcohol, 8-10 tablets of this drug are sewn under his fascia.

It is necessary to take into account: the very first relapse after installation of a disulfiram implant can be difficult and even fatal.

The advantage of drug coding is that many doctors can work with these drugs - it is not necessary to look for a qualified narcologist. In addition, these anti-alcoholism pills can be given at home.

Disadvantages - high cost of drugs, pronounced aggression of the patient if these drugs were given to him without knowledge. Failures after such coding can lead to a worsening of the condition: an increase in the time of drinking bouts, an increase in the dosage of alcohol.

Contraindications to medication coding

It cannot be performed when:

• the alcoholic’s reluctance to get rid of addiction;
• allergies to disulfiram and its derivatives;
• diabetes;
• heart failure;
• cancer;
• mental and neurological disorders;
• tuberculosis;
• bronchial asthma;
• chronic renal and liver failure;
• pregnancy;
• peptic ulcer in the acute stage;
• lactation period.

Laser coding

This technique is used only in drug treatment clinics in large cities, which can afford to purchase expensive equipment.

The essence of the method is the impact laser beam to special points in the brain. The authors of the procedure claim that this way the data on addiction to alcohol is “erased”, that is, in a normal situation a person is not tempted to drink. This does not protect against relapse when meeting drinking buddies or celebrating at home, so laser coding must be supplemented with psychosuggestive or other type of influence.

The procedure is performed only by qualified specialists and has no side effects. Although it requires a course course that is strictly adjusted in duration, it does not require huge or lengthy financial costs. Effective only for stage 1-2 alcoholism.

Psychotherapeutic influence and hypnosis

It doesn’t matter which method – according to Dovzhenko, Malkin, Rozhnov or hypnosis – is chosen. The main thing is to find a qualified specialist who, with a word, can arouse in the patient an aversion to alcoholic beverages.

Hypnosis is carried out using proprietary methods that are not widely available. To select a hypnosuggestive effect, a psychiatrist must first examine the patient, talk with him, and then choose a technique for influencing his consciousness. The principle of hypnosis is in a state between sleep and wakefulness, with the help of a word, to extinguish an area of ​​excitation in the brain that is pathologically excited by the smell or taste of alcohol. The doctor convinces the patient that the smell and taste of alcohol causes nausea or vomiting.

Dovzhenko's method uses words that should cause a negative reflex to alcohol. This psychotherapeutic effect lasts 2 hours, while the patient does not fall asleep, but enters a trance state: his emotions remain, but the cortex turns off. Such coding requires highly qualified physicians.

The doctor performing the procedure repeatedly repeats to the alcoholic about the suffering of loved ones caused by alcoholism, about serious changes in internal organs associated with ethyl alcohol, and about the fear of death. An alcoholic is taught responsibility for his own actions, especially those related to family and children. He must feel a lot of negative emotions associated with his dependence on alcohol, feel the difference between alcoholism and a healthy lifestyle.

Before coding according to Dovzhenko, preparation is needed - cleansing the body of alcoholization products. To do this, the patient must take Activated carbon or other sorbents, foods with a lot of fiber, laxative teas and tablets are added to his diet.

The duration of the procedure is less than 3 years. It needs repetition.

It is important to know: after hypnosuggestive coding, relatives need to try as much as possible to occupy all the patient’s free time so that he does not have hours of idleness that he could devote to drinking.

There are situations when coding led to the opposite effect - the person began to drink even more. In this case, drug intervention was necessary.

"Double Block"

In this case, an implant is sewn under the skin of the alcoholic, after which a suggestive effect is carried out using Dovzhenko or another method. The method loses effectiveness after 2-3 repetitions.

Consequences of Coding

Any coding can lead to a change in the patient’s psyche: the person becomes irritable, picky, aggressive, and inattentive. His relationships with family members may worsen, and sexual desire often decreases. Trying to fill the resulting free time, a person comes up with a new addiction: he starts playing computer games, manically improves his own body, throws himself into work. Against this background, he often develops depression and suicidal attempts, including unexpressed manifestations (therefore it is important to continue communication with treating narcologists and psychiatrists).

This is a difficult stage for the family, during which it is important for relatives not to break down, but to continue to provide psychological support to the patient, sometimes through joint sessions with a psychologist. If relatives survive this stage, build new, but no less warm and trusting relationships with the patient, psychological problems gradually go away and the risk of relapse into alcoholism becomes extremely small.

Medication coding at home

Medicines taken at home must be agreed upon with a narcologist, as they can greatly harm the patient and your relationship with him.

Alcoholism pills

1. "Teturam" and analogues, discussed in the section "Medicine coding". These drugs block acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, as a result, toxic acetaldehyde is not converted into acetic acid, but accumulates in the body. They can not only be filed, but also taken in tablet form. Only short courses are practiced, since long-term use causes inflammation of the liver and nerve endings; there may be psychosis.
2. "Metronidazole" It is an antibiotic that also has an antiprotozoal effect. Its metabolism occurs through the liver, using the same enzymes that break down ethyl alcohol, so alcohol accumulates in the form of toxic metabolites. Drinking alcohol while taking metronidazole causes a feeling of fever, vomiting, and tachycardia. The antibiotic is not taken together with Teturam and its analogues.

For hangovers, aspirin-based drugs are used: “Zorex Morning”, “Alka-Seltzer”, “Alka-Prime”, “Alco-buffer”. To accelerate the elimination of acetaldehyde and other toxic products from the body, Enterosgel, activated carbon, Filtrum, and Rekitsen-RD are used.

Drops for alcoholism

Basically, anti-alcoholism drops act in the same way as pills. Their main advantage is that they can be dripped into food and drink. But many of them are not used without the knowledge of the patient: they can cause a reaction with alcohol, which is also contained in foods or medications taken by a person, as a result of which he will feel very unwell, he may even develop a stroke, heart attack, or severe rhythm disturbance.

1. Colma. The active ingredient is cyanamide. It blocks acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, as a result of which, after taking ethanol, a person develops fever in the face, nausea, shortness of breath, and tachycardia. After 1-3 such attacks, a negative reaction is formed even to the smell of alcohol. The dosage of the drug is prescribed by a doctor (usually 12-25 drops * 2 times a day). It is not used for heart disease, respiratory failure, liver failure, pregnancy and lactation.
2. Extra blocker. The substance also contains herbs, which when combined with alcohol cause unpleasant side effects, as well as B vitamins, necessary for the prevention of acute encephalopathy (Wernicke's syndrome), as well as a sedative - glycine. Taking this dietary supplement improves general state man and doesn't let him drink. Take it 35 drops * 3 times a day, stirring in 100 ml of water or soft drink without gas.
3. Proprothene 100. These are drops that interact with S-100 proteins located in the brain and responsible for information transfer and metabolism. It influences those brain structures that are involved in the formation of positive emotions when drinking alcohol; enhances the production of “calming” amino acids. The drug reduces the severity of withdrawal symptoms and reduces the desire to drink.

Herbs for alcoholism

When traditional healers are asked how to cure alcoholism, they advise taking herbs:

• after alcoholization - plants that have a detoxification effect: dandelion, chamomile, pueraria root, oat sprouts (before the appearance of spikelets), sweet clover, cyanosis root, speedwell;
• after relieving hangover symptoms - herbs that cause aversion to alcohol;
• during rehabilitation - plants that have a tonic effect: ginseng, eleutherococcus, Schisandra chinensis.

Consider recipes from herbs that cause aversion to alcohol:

1. Need 4 tbsp. thyme, 1 tbsp. herbs wormwood and centaury. Mix dry herbs, take 25 g of the mixture, pour 250 ml of boiling water, leave for 2 hours. Strain, give 50 ml * 4 times a day. The effect appears after 2 weeks.
2. Need 1 tbsp. cleft grass leaves. Pour 250 ml of boiling water over it, let it boil and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Give 1 tbsp. with food and when drinking alcohol. No more than 2 tbsp per day. infusion. The duration of treatment is no more than 3 days.
3. You need 5 g of club moss grass. They are poured with 250 ml of boiling water, simmered over low heat for 10-15 minutes, given 50-100 ml each, separately from food and alcohol intake. Course – 5-7 days. Before starting the course, you need to go without alcohol for 3-4 days. The herb has a toxic effect on the cardiovascular system and liver, so it should not be taken by a person who has had a heart attack, suffers from heart, liver and kidney failure, diabetes, tuberculosis, or bronchial asthma.

Rehabilitation after coding

The duration of the rehabilitation period is 3-5 years. The most difficult period is the first few months, so it is optimal if it takes place in a specialized clinic where:

• doctors monitor the patient’s behavior;
• meetings with visitors are supervised by staff;
• there is an example before your eyes - people who were able to get rid of addiction and can talk about their experiences, thoughts and feelings, which will be very useful;
• exercises must be performed physical therapy, taking into account the general state of human health;
• Daily individual or group lessons are offered.

If treatment in a clinic is not possible, rehabilitation is carried out at home. In this case, it is recommended to communicate with a psychologist or psychotherapist, and attend groups who have recovered from this addiction.

We need to help the recovering person find a hobby: get a pet, start growing something, making something, and so on. It is better to go through this stage together with the addict in order to share the joy of new achievements.

Treatment of alcoholism without the knowledge of the patient

This therapy is characterized by high risks that arise when side effects. It is ineffective because it does not include the will of the patient. In addition, there is a risk of breaking the relationship between the alcohol addict and the person who treats him this way.

Nevertheless, if you have chosen this particular path of treatment for a relative, we will give some advice:

• always keep your phone handy to call an ambulance (the doctors will have to tell you everything). IN mobile phone enter the city numbers of the ambulance substation at your place of residence;
• There should be nitroglycerin in the first aid kit - to eliminate heart pain. Give it to a person with blood pressure below 80 mmHg. it is forbidden;
• put vitamin C in your first aid kit, preferably at a dosage of 500 mg/tablet;
• There should also be tablets that reduce blood pressure (Captopress) and activated carbon.

For alcoholism without knowledge you can give:

• An aqueous solution of puppeteer that has no taste or odor. It is prepared like this: 1 tsp. ½ cup of herbs is poured hot water. Let it sit for an hour and strain. Add more water to make a total of 250 ml. It is given in a dosage of a few drops, adding them to food or alcohol, but not every day. If you drink 10 drops of puppeteer every day, even without alcohol, death occurs within a few days.
• Alcobarrier. These are drops made from acacia resin, artichoke extract and motherwort. It does not cause poisoning when taken simultaneously with alcohol; on the contrary, it alleviates the symptoms of a hangover and improves brain function by supplying it with vitamin B6 (prevention of Gaye-Wernicke syndrome). The drug still has a weak taste and smell, so it is recommended to add it to coffee.
• Extra-blocker (BAA). It is discussed in the “Drops for Alcoholism” section.
• Proprothene 100 in the form of drops. It eases withdrawal symptoms and reduces the urge to drink alcohol. Does not cause symptoms of intoxication when taken with alcohol.

Treatment prognosis for alcoholism

Starting treatment at the first stage, you can be 70-80% sure that the disease will be cured. With an expressed desire to quit drinking and with good relationships in the family, this chance increases. At stage 2, the chance of 1 year without alcohol is only 50-60%.

Female alcoholism

Female alcoholism is much more terrible than male alcoholism. Due to physiological, endocrine and mental characteristics a woman drinks herself to death much faster, and her chance of recovery is much lower. Men who drink are treated and tried to return to their families, but women, for the most part, receive constant negative communication from those around them and even close people. They turn away from her, although the right medication, psychotherapy and the love of her family can help her return even from stage 2.

Women start drinking as a result of various, usually moral and everyday problems:

• sick children;
• seriously ill elderly parents;
• constant monotony in everyday life and at work;
• domestic violence;
• divorce or infidelity of the husband;
• problems at work;
• the desire to be closer to the alcoholic husband, to control the dose he drinks.

The last reason is very common. Starting from codependency with an alcoholic, she soon becomes the initiator of drinking, and degrades almost 2 times faster than men. As a result, he initiates the divorce, leaving her with nothing.

Causes faster degradation:

• greater permeability of the barrier between the blood, where the alcohol enters, and the brain. As a result, neurons suffer faster and to a greater extent;
• a large amount of adipose tissue in women. Ethyl alcohol forms compounds with it, similar to ether for anesthesia, which causes pleasure from alcohol;
• Fewer enzymes that break down alcohol.

Stages female alcoholism have some differences:

Stage 1. Positive attitude towards drinking, self-initiation of occasions. A woman drinks equally with men, persuades others to drink, and mocks those who do not drink at all or drink small amounts. She ends up drinking herself into unconsciousness every time. She drinks only those drinks that she likes (wine, liqueur, cognac).

A woman can drink secretly, hide from others, snack on alcohol with sweets and chewing gum, but the next morning she is severely tormented by a hangover. Memory lapses gradually appear, and the gag reflex disappears when drinking alcohol. Pseudo-binges can develop: they stop as soon as an important occasion arises (vacation or money runs out, an urgent matter needs to be completed). They happen 2-3 times a year.

Stage 2. True binges appear: you need to drink, because without ethanol your health worsens. “Heavy drinks” are used. A woman can drink in unfamiliar company or even alone. Her is changing appearance: In an attempt to hide changes in her face and skin, she wears a lot of makeup, resulting in a vulgar appearance.

At this stage, alcoholic psychosis occurs. A woman becomes aggressive, her moral standards decrease. Internal organs suffer.

Stage 3. Small doses are enough to cause intoxication; further consumption of alcohol does not change the situation. Attractiveness is completely lost, as the “lady” stops taking care of herself, even bathing and washing clothes. Delirium tremens due to alcohol withdrawal makes a woman aggressive and dangerous. She, unlike men, does not understand that she is dealing with hallucinations.

Treatment of female alcoholism is carried out according to the same principles as male alcoholism. The best option for a woman is treatment in specialized clinics for a long time. At the same time, psychological work is carried out with the woman’s relatives so that they try to support her and not blame her.

Beer alcoholism

In medicine there is no such thing as beer alcoholism. Doctors admit that this problem is now significant, since beer is considered safe, and even healthy drink. Because of this, beer is drunk more often, in larger quantities. In the meantime, it is more difficult to detox from beer (due to the presence of additives in it) than from vodka, moonshine or diluted alcohol.

The permissible dose of beer for men is 500 ml/day, for women – 330 ml/day, and you cannot drink it 2 days a week. However, TV screens show that beer is drunk in much larger quantities while doing ordinary household tasks: cooking, doing repairs, talking with friends.

Women drink beer, even children are happy to give it to them. It is easy to buy in any store and kiosk, even for a teenager.

Phytoestrogens contained in beer suppress the functioning of women's own sex hormones, making them more masculine: the voice becomes rougher, the face, figure and gait change. Phytoestrogens make men effeminate: a “beer belly” appears, female breast, problems with potency arise. A child, having seen such an attitude from his parents since childhood, considers drinking beer to be the norm.

The stages of beer alcoholism do not differ from those when drinking more than strong drinks. His treatment is also not particularly specific; it should begin as early as possible, before the destruction of a person’s personality occurs.