For a social drinker, a little too much beer, or mixed drinks, and either make him quieter or more boisterous. Alcohol can make a person think he can still do what he can when he is sober. I had a few people in my cab the night after drinking a little too much wish they had taken a cab the night before when he had peen pulled over by the police for D.U.I.
A little bit of alcohol on occasion does not make one an alcoholic, it is the drinking of it through out the day starting after the first few cups of coffee in the morning, having some alcoholic drinks at lunch then at supper. There is one person I know that there has not been an hour of any day of my life that he didn't have a beer in his hand. Alcohol also works on the memory of the alcoholic. He/she could promise one thing to a child, but doesn't fulfill that promise, or at times forgets he even said anything to a member of the family. However, there are, what is called, functional alcoholics. They work day and day out and drinks alcohol.
Alcoholism in some families can be genetic. I was told by my father that his father was an alcoholic and it is passed down to him. I, myself, saw what it can do to a person and to the people around him, so I rarely drink. If one does not think what it can do, or what effect it has. Look in a large city. You will see them in alley ways holding a bottle in a paper sack, or in a door way asking for money to get a “pack of cigarettes”. They might actually buy a pack, but chances are it is to buy liquor.
One of the effects it has on the body is cirrhosis of the liver. It refers to a progressive scarring of the liver, in which fibrous bands and hard nodules replace healthy tissue. This organ, which filters toxic substances from the blood and performs numerous other chemical and metabolic tasks, can function when a large number of its cells are destroyed, but left unchecked cirrhosis is eventually fatal.
The usual symptoms of cirrhosis are loss if weight and appetite, jaundice, nausea and vomiting, weakness, and abdominal pain. Generalized itching and intestinal bleeding may also occur. Excessive alcohol intake is the most common cause of cirrhosis; a liver infection, chronic hepatitis, and a congenital defect are other possible causes.
Alcohol can be dangerous for young people, whether a result of a single “binge” in which too much alcohol is drunk, or as a regular habit. If you drink, it is unreasonable to try to ban your teenager from drinking at all. However, you can ensure that he or she learns to drink sensibly by limiting alcoholic drinks to special occasions or small amounts at some mealtimes. Drinking to excess should always be clearly condemned.
Some alcoholics are episodic drinkers who go on several sprees a year with intervening periods of sobriety. Others increase their drinking gradually and continually and merge into alcoholism insidiously. It is popularly believed that alcoholics are somehow allergic to or peculiarly poisoned by alcohol. But no definitively differences in body chemistries of alcoholics and non-alcoholics are known. There are apparent cultural factors; alcoholism is more prevalent in some ethnic groups and occurs in some families more often than others.
The cure for alcoholism is abstention, which obviously requires great motivation on the part of the alcoholic. Chances are successful are reasonably good if the alcoholic is not to old and has emotional support of family and friends, not so good if he has been drinking to excess for many years, is lonely most of the day and night, has nobody who depends on him (or her) and nobody who cares.
According to Dr. Morris Fishbein, serious addiction to alcohol is best treated in a hospital or sanitarium under care of an expert. Arrangements may be made with such groups as the National Committee on Alcoholism or Alcoholics Anonymous for assistance and for the recommendation of suitable institutions. A drug called Antabuse is valuable in creating a dislike for alcohol but cannot, of course, be taken permanently
