Alcohol-Effects, Uses and Abuses

The alcohol also called ethanol, is a chemical compound that can be obtained in various ways, mainly by fermentation of sugars derived from plants and grains. The first records we have of the fermentation of fruit are the year 800 BC in Arabia, and then in the Middle Ages used the alcohol derived from fermentation of fruits to cure diseases.
At the same time it began using for medicinal and religious purposes. They diversified the sources to cover a wide variety of fruits and grains from which alcohol was obtained, and mixed with various ingredients to create different drinks. Currently, main use of alcohol and snuff is recreational along with the legal drugs  most commonly sold throughout the world.
The amount of alcohol you drink in beverages is very variable. It ranges from relatively low alcohol beverages, including beer, in which the concentration of alcohol is 4' to 7'per 100 milliliters, to whiskey and champagne
in which the concentration of alcohol is 40 'per 100 milliliters.

Alcohol has many effects on different organ systems of the human body. Because of its chemical properties,it is rapidly absorbed in the stomach and small intestine, so soon after reaching a high level of alcohol in blood it shows its effects on the body. Although alcohol has effects on virtually all-organs, organ systems, the most important are the changes that occur in the brain and behavior, on the cardiovascular system and liver.

Alcohol has significant effects on the esophagus and stomach, and directly damage the mucous layer that protects them, and also causes lesions on the outer cell layer of the mucosa, favoring the occurrence of ulcers and gastritis.
In the brain, changes caused by alcohol are directly proportional to the dose ingested, and become completely opposite: low doses cause a state of joy that comes to euphoria, while high doses cause drowsiness, sleep and even coma or death (see box). The amount of alcohol that causes the symptoms is variable, as everyone processes it differently: Some people experience very little alcohol intoxication data, while others may consume large amounts without apparent symptoms of severe alterations.

The consumption of small amounts of alcohol in its several  forms, wine, beer, spirits, has been shown to have beneficial effects on health, as it helps to process fats and stimulates the digestive system and brain. However, consumption of high doses of alcohol is associated with an increased risk of many diseases, and greater likelihood of having an accident.
Alcohol abuse is very serious implications, not only physical but also mental and even social. One is that the growing body needs greater amounts to achieve the desired feel, which makes alcohol levels become increasingly hazardous and toxic. Alcoholism occurs when an individual can not control himself the amount of alcohol consumed and not stopping until they almost lose consciousness. It is a public health problem, because it causes significant damage to the health of individuals and affects the society in which we live. Alcohol intoxication is a problem that may endanger the life of an individual for the treatment of these cases there are drugs to counter the effects of alcohol and thus reduce their toxicity. In such cases, it is always necessary to go to a hospital seeking professional care.

Beware of the breathalyzer


This device is like a small bag with a tube at one end, which the police is used to detect people who are driving vehicles while intoxicated. With this simple measure police has prevented many accidents, especially in the early hours of the holidays. What you do is put the driver of the car to a simple test in which he blows into a device that measures the level of alcohol in the air leaving your lungs and the level of alcohol in the breath is equivalent to the alcohol level in blood, and from a certain point it is considered that this person can not drive a car, as your reflexes and mental state in general are not optimal and may cause an accident . The Breathalyzer does not measure the level of alcohol in the mouth, so the use of pills or gum to try to fool the device is useless, because what is detected is the alcohol out of the lungs.

Methanol- Danger for Sight

It is a compound very similar to alcohol, not only from the molecular point of view, but also physically: both has lack of color and evaporated and dissolved in water easily. Despite their many similarities, there are  very important differences between these two compounds, the main one is that if the methanol comes into contact with the agency (either through the skin or ingested in adulterated drinks) causes alterations in blood and irreversible damage to the retina of the eye, causing blindness. 15 ml enough to cause blindness, and between 70 to 100 ml to cause death if the patient does not receive timely care. Methanol is cheaper than alcohol, so it is sometimes used illegally in the production of alcoholic beverages to cut costs and increase profits. It is therefore very important not to drink bottled that are not properly labeled.


The spirit of the pharmacy is not for drinking

We often think that alcohol sold for clinical use (in drugstores), also called "Spirit of 96", we can drink and it is not, even though it is derived from sugar cane (such as rum and some spirits).Industrial process which is subjected during its production to add (glutaraldehyde) to produce large quantities quickly is highly toxic . Drinking this type of alcohol can cause irreversible damage to the liver and kidneys.

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