The culture of alcohol consumption in our country is not very high. According to the statistics of narcological clinics, the age of patients is rapidly decreasing. If twenty years ago the second stage of alcoholism was diagnosed, as a rule, only in people over thirty years old, then today it is already observed in twenty-year-olds. Chronic alcohol intoxication is an inevitable companion of all those who prefer to abuse alcoholic beverages. The consequences of this condition for he alth are the development of fatal incurable diseases of internal organs (cirrhosis, fatty hepatosis, pancreatitis, peptic ulcer, oncological diseases). For the psyche and nervous system, chronic alcohol intoxication is also not in vain: psychosis and delirium often develop.
Stages of development of alcoholism
Narcology is a branch of psychiatry that deals withwithdrawal from pathological conditions of drug addicts, polydrug addicts and people with alcohol addiction. Chronic alcohol intoxication with multiple organ manifestations makes itself felt immediately. A person often has to literally forcibly stuff the body with alcohol, overcoming the gag reflex and many acute periods of intoxication.
The first experience of taking alcohol most often leaves a negative mark in the memory: severe poisoning, vomiting after abuse. Only after that, the society of "cultural use" does not leave the future patient of the narcologist alone: he drinks again and again - receiving a certificate, diploma, then corporate parties and numerous birthdays, weddings … As a result, a person does not notice how he begins to "relax" alone with bottle of your favorite spirits.
Narcology identifies three stages in the development of alcoholism:
- The first stage is the most harmless. It does not require therapy and so far does not bring problems to the patient. From the outside, the first stage looks like a relatively cultural use. A person does not yet suffer from memory lapses, he does not develop depression and aggression towards others and himself. The main criterion by which the first stage of alcoholism is diagnosed is the indispensable desire to get drunk and achieve fun and relaxation through drinking.
- The second stage is characterized by the appearance of memory lapses. In medicine, such a pathology is called "palimpsest" - a person in the morning cannot remember what he did while intoxicated. Symptoms become habitualalcohol intoxication. The patient most often rejects the treatment: he does not consider himself sick and in every possible way resists the attempts of loved ones to alleviate his condition. In the middle of the second stage, the patient begins to drink in the morning to avoid a painful hangover.
- The third stage is characterized by a state of chronic alcohol intoxication. A person loses social status and appearance. As a rule, such an employee is no longer tolerated at work, and relatives refuse him. Multi-day binges begin, which inevitably lead to irreversible damage to internal organs. Due to chronic alcohol intoxication, diseases develop: cirrhosis, ulcerative pathologies, pancreatitis, pancreatic necrosis, toxic hepatitis, liver fibrosis, diabetes mellitus, mental disorders.
Acute and chronic alcohol intoxication: symptoms
Treatment should always be done with the consent of the patient. It is important to understand: damage to internal organs is a consequence of the underlying disease, alcoholism. First of all, it is this ailment that must be treated.
Depending on the nature of drunkenness and the stage of alcoholism, acute or chronic alcohol intoxication is distinguished. The first is characteristic of alcoholics at the initial stage. It is characterized by the following symptoms:
- nausea and vomiting (the body is trying to get rid of poisoning in this way);
- severe headache;
- raising the temperature by a few degrees;
- due to a large load on the pancreas, pain may appear in the leftside;
- diarrhea;
- pain in the epigastric region.
Acute alcohol intoxication becomes chronic over time. An alcoholic in the first months after the onset of the second stage, as a rule, begins to get drunk. This leads to drunkenness. Chronic alcohol intoxication leads to the development of incurable diseases of internal organs.
Symptoms of this type of intoxication:
- poor performance;
- inability to concentrate;
- delayed response;
- inappropriate behavior and sleep problems (since the nervous system is affected by ethyl alcohol);
- frequent severe pain in the left side;
- nausea and vomiting are almost gone, but in the morning there may be an eructation of bile and ichor;
- frequent and severe pain in the epigastric region.
Exit from hard drinking is often accompanied by delirium. This condition requires urgent medical intervention and hospitalization, otherwise the patient may injure himself or others. With the help of special medications, tranquilizers and antipsychotic drugs, delirium can almost always be avoided.
Which doctor to contact and is sick leave possible
After poisoning with ethyl alcohol, a person is not able to perform his duties with high quality. The opportunity to take sick leave is provided, since chronic alcohol intoxication (ICD code 10 - F10.2.4.3) makes the work process impossible. Especially if the patient is expectedthe manifestation of reaction speed or work requires cognitive effort. Heavy physical labor is also forbidden: it can provoke a heart attack.
The sick leave will indicate that the reason for not showing up for work is chronic alcohol intoxication, ICD code 10 - F10.2.4.3. Some employers, having seen such a diagnosis, will soon try to part with the employee for one reason or another. In addition, the receipt of such a certificate indicates registration with the PND. In the future, this fact may prevent obtaining a driver's license or the ability to keep and use weapons.
If a patient has a psychotic state or delirium, then the certificate will indicate chronic alcohol intoxication, the ICD labels delirium under the code F10.4. At the same time, the fact of a psychotic state will not be reflected in the sick leave.
Chronic alcohol intoxication (ICD 10 marks it with code F10.2.4) is a reason to turn to a narcologist or psychiatrist. These are the doctors who treat alcoholism. Consequences (diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, neurological problems) are treated by doctors of the required specialization, depending on their profile. A gastroenterologist, neurologist or therapist will prescribe the necessary medications after tests and additional examinations.
The consequences of intoxication for the liver
Everyone knows the fact: the liver takes over the neutralization of the toxic effect of ethyl alcohol on the body. As a result, the cells of the body suffer,fatty degeneration of the liver begins. Over time, if a person does not stop drinking, fibrosis develops, toxic hepatitis, and after a few years cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis, in turn, inevitably leads to death. After receiving this diagnosis, many alcoholics finally begin to take their he alth seriously and refuse to voluntarily inject poison into their bodies.
Treatment of the liver after alcohol intoxication
Modern pharmacology offers a wide range of drugs that can stop or reverse the process of fatty liver. Such drugs are called hepatoprotectors. To treat alcohol intoxication at home, you can choose your own medicine to maintain liver function. But it is better to undergo an ultrasound and determine exactly what condition the liver is in. After that, the doctor will prescribe the drug that will show the greatest effectiveness for a particular patient.
List of the most popular hepatoprotectors:
- "Ursosan" - will help to establish the outflow of bile;
- "Geptral" - the most modern drug for the restoration of liver cells in the syndrome of chronic alcohol intoxication;
- "Karsil" contains silymarin - a substance that effectively restores liver cells in case of minor damage;
- "Essentiale" contains essential phospholipids, normalizes fat metabolism and is used both for the prevention and treatment of existing liver diseases.
Disruption of the kidneys and bladder due to intoxication
The urinary system suffers the most in beer alcoholics. There is an opinion that you can sleep by drinking only strong drinks. In fact, beer alcoholics can consume about six to seven liters of beer per evening, which is equivalent to 0.5 liters of vodka.
If you drink so much beer every night, then a chronic inflammatory process in the kidneys begins to develop very quickly. This is pyelonephritis, which can be asymptomatic for quite a long time. Chronic alcohol intoxication is not manifested by pain in the kidneys, since there are simply no nerve endings in this organ. Most often, pyelonephritis or kidney failure is a "surprise" for a person with alcohol dependence. Meanwhile, these are very serious diseases that indicate a partial or complete impairment of kidney function. Kidney failure requires regular visits to hemodialysis or an organ transplant from a donor.
The consequences of intoxication for the functioning of the pancreas
The pancreas is also exposed to the poisonous action of ethanol in chronic alcohol intoxication. The standards of therapeutic medicine do not provide for the possibility of restoring this organ. If the pancreas completely loses its functions, it is resected, that is, completely or partially removed. As a rule, patients after such an operation do not live long, especially if they continueabuse alcoholic beverages.
Almost all people with alcohol dependence in the second stage are diagnosed with pancreatitis. This is an inflammation of the cells of the pancreas, which is accompanied by severe pain in the left hypochondrium and indigestion. Over time, the disease progresses to pancreatic necrosis, in which the organ gradually completely loses its functions.
How does the psyche and nervous system react to alcohol poisoning
People without medical education believe that alcohol harms directly the internal organs. Narcologists say the opposite: the nervous system and psyche often get even more damage. A single case of alcohol abuse leads to multiple death of neurons, making a person irritated, aggressive, nervous, incapacitating his psyche.
There is no alcoholic beverage that is not a poison to the nervous system. And craft beer, and expensive noble wines, and high-quality cognacs of many years of aging can be gentle on the liver, but any drink affects the psyche in the same way - destructively.
Development of delirium and first aid to the patient
If a person suffering from binges is forced to abruptly give up alcohol, he has mental problems. The most serious possible complication is delirium. This is a consequence of chronic alcohol intoxication, which can be more or less pronounced depending on the stage:
- The first stage is insomnia, which is accompanied byauditory hallucinations. The patient hears songs, TV or radio noise. Often he sees a certain voice that threatens to harm him or loved ones.
- A more serious stage is accompanied by dim visual hallucinations. It seems to a person that insects are crawling around the room or animals are running.
- The third stage is characterized by persistent visual hallucinations, almost always of an aggressive nature. It seems to the patient that the people around him are monsters who are eager to kill him. He shows aggression, maybe, unwittingly, injure himself or his loved ones.
To prevent trouble, at the first symptoms of a psychotic state and the appearance of hallucinations, an ambulance should be called. They will refer the patient to a psychiatric hospital. The patient will be helped by the introduction of strong tranquilizers - he will fall asleep, and the appearance of hallucinations and acute delirium will be avoided.
Can alcoholism be cured? Ways to solve the problem
Narcology recognizes alcoholism as an incurable disease. If tolerance to a certain amount of a drink with ethyl alcohol in the composition has been formed, then it will not go anywhere. It is possible to achieve complete remission - this can only be done by completely refusing to drink even a minimal amount of alcohol.
Narcologists confirm that it is impossible to "cure" alcoholism in the usual sense of the word. Remission (that is, a complete voluntary refusal of alcohol) can last for years. Buteven if a person starts drinking again after a decade, he will almost instantly return to the previous doses, and he will be overtaken by chronic alcohol intoxication.
There are several ways to solve the problem:
- attending psychotherapy sessions, and they should be conducted by a specialist in working with people with an addictive personality type;
- coding;
- attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings;
- own decision to achieve remission (not everyone can do it).
Effectiveness of coding in alcoholism
Coding is carried out using an Esperal ampoule or another drug containing disulfiram. The doctor makes an incision in the muscle and fixes the ampoule with the drug in it. The incision is then sutured.
After the coding procedure, a person will not be able to drink even a small amount of alcohol. Disulfiram, getting into the blood from a sewn-in ampoule, reacts with ethyl alcohol. As a result, a person may begin to suffocate, his pressure rises, and there is a threat to life. The patient is faced with a choice: either drink or die.
