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Alcoholism has now reached epidemic proportions and there is no stratum of society that is not affected by it. However alcoholism is not an urban age problem. It has been in existence since the starting of human civilization. . Alcohol is a serious health problem with quite dangerous ramifications to it. It not only affects the person but also his family, his friends and every one around him.
The proper definition of alcoholism is the continuous use of alcohol despite physical and mental difficulties. He might express the desire to quit but he would never be able to do so and also his tolerance to the dreaded liquid increases with time causing more and more serious problem to his health.
Alcoholics are the termed used for people suffering from alcohol related disorder. Alcoholics are vastly categorized into three broad
classes:
Alcoholism Categories
NIAAA categorizes heavy drinkers into three groups: at-risk drinkers, problem drinkers (parallel to the DSM-IV diagnosis of "alcohol abuse"), and alcohol-dependent drinkers (parallel to the DSM-IV diagnosis of "alcohol dependence").
At-risk Drinkers
In the absence of medical, social or psychologic consequences of drinking, men who have more than 14 drinks per week or more than four drinks per occasion are considered "at risk" for developing problems related to drinking. Similarly, women who have more than 11 drinks per week or more than three drinks per occasion are "at risk." Because some drinkers significantly underreport their alcohol use, physicians should define patients as "at risk" when they have a positive CAGE score or a personal or family history of alcohol-related problems.
Problem Drinkers
Patients who have current alcohol-related medical, family, social, employment, legal or emotional problems are considered "problem drinkers" regardless of their drinking patterns or responses to the CAGE questions. Typically, these patients score 1 or 2 on the CAGE questionnaire and drink above "at-risk" levels.
Alcohol-dependent Drinkers
Patients drinking above the "at-risk" level who have CAGE scores of 3 or 4 should be questioned about their drinking compulsions, tolerance to alcohol and withdrawal symptoms. Those who display these traits are considered "alcohol
dependent". once a person become a regular drinker there are several physical malfunctioning that are bound to occur .however even though his continues apparent discomfort he still continues to drink .these are the most
Severe cases of alcoholism and require immediate treatment. This kind of people cannot stay without a drink for long and come under the category of chronic alcoholics. It’s very difficult for this kind of people to leave alcohol. Even if they try to leave it they suffer from deliriums. deliriums is one of the most serious forms of alcohol related disorders and if not diagnosed early and treated properly might lead to serious ramifications .normally these affects starts within 72 hours to one week of recession of chronic alcohol us.It is a very serious abnormality and has a 20% mortality rate.
Some of the symptoms of this alcohol withdrawal disorder
are
• Autonomic hyperactivity which is marked by excessive sweating
• Severe malfunctioning of the sensorium which results in disorientation and clouding of consciousness.
• Visual distortions which leads to hallucinations at times
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