What is alcohol tolerance. Symptoms of alcoholism The maximum increase in tolerance corresponds to which stage of alcoholism

With prolonged systematic use, alcohol not only affects the behavior and thinking of a person, but also contributes to changes in the functioning of various body systems. Many of these changes lead to the fact that the body develops alcohol tolerance - addiction to the effects of alcohol.

This phenomenon leads to the fact that the effect of alcoholic beverages on the body begins to weaken, and further intake of the same doses of alcohol no longer has the desired effect. Therefore, a drinking person has to consume more and more portions of booze in order to get drunk.

It must be said that during the formation of alcohol tolerance, not only the sensitivity to the intoxicating effect of alcohol decreases, but the defense mechanisms that protect the body from excessive intoxication with ethanol and toxins that result from its metabolism are weakened. In addition, addiction to alcohol gradually transforms the behavior of a drunkard in a state of intoxication.

Due to the various conditions in which the alcoholization of a person occurs, different types alcohol tolerance.

The most common type is functional tolerance. With it, the brain simply adapts and seeks to compensate for the discomfort caused by alcohol intake, and this is expressed both in the behavior of the drinking person and in the functions of his body. Often in chronic alcoholics one can observe, practically complete absence symptoms of intoxication even with a large amount of alcohol. At the same time, their blood may contain such an alcohol content that a non-drinking person could cause serious health problems - up to and including death.

A constant increase in the dose of alcohol in this case leads to the formation of physical dependence, intoxication of the body and related damage. internal organs. Often such patients are no longer able to stop drinking on their own, and in order to stop drinking, one has to resort to coding for alcoholism.

Another type of tolerance is acute tolerance, which is characterized by extremely rapid development - literally, during one binge. At the beginning of a binge, the body's sensitivity to alcohol (and, accordingly, its protective functions) is higher than closer to completion. The drinker also feels that he is getting less drunk, which encourages him to drink more and more portions of alcohol. Alcohol accumulating in the body has a pathological effect on human organs, causing multiple disorders in them.

In this case, you should also start treatment for alcoholism - the sooner the better.

There is a kind of tolerance to alcohol, which doctors call metabolic tolerance - it is formed due to the rapid processing of the alcohol taken by the body and the same rapid removal of its decay products from the body. This is achieved by activating the liver and reducing the intoxicating effect of alcohol in the body.

The phenomenon itself prevents the body from being poisoned by alcohol products, but the reverse side of it is that the forced work of the liver just as accurately accelerates metabolism and excretion from the body. medicines, reduces their effectiveness, which can also lead to damage to human health. So, in the treatment of alcoholism, drugs are prescribed that regulate blood clotting, because of their rapid removal from the body, the effect of treatment may be insufficient.

Another kind of tolerance to alcohol arises under the influence of the environment of the drinking person. A person becomes addicted to the effects of alcohol faster if the intake of alcohol always takes place in the same environment. Simplified, the mechanism of this phenomenon can be reduced to the fact that being in an appropriate situation, the body is mobilized and more successfully resists the sedative effect of alcohol.

Behavioral tolerance can also be considered as a variation of this tolerance - with it, a person gradually gets used to performing any actions while in a state of drunkenness. However, if a person goes beyond certain actions or situations, alcohol tolerance can drop dramatically.

As we noted earlier, the development of tolerance to alcohol is an alarming symptom of approaching alcoholism - in order to achieve the desired state of intoxication, a person must take increasing doses of alcohol, as a result of which the dependence of the body is gradually formed.

In addition, tolerance to alcohol is not a sign of health, as some believe, flaunting the fact that they can “overdrink” many. This is one of the signs that dangerous changes occur in the body under the influence of alcohol, that the body's defense against alcohol is gradually weakening.

In this case, you should stop drinking, but if you can’t do it yourself, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible and undergo a course of treatment for alcohol dependence.

In this article, you will learn all Stages of alcoholism". Having received the information, you will be able to easily determine alcohol addiction both in yourself and in another person.

According to recent studies, it is the model presented below, where you will see the stages of alcoholism, that should be considered as a new standard.
And perhaps alcoholism will be much closer than you thought before.
And this is good! Because the sooner you recognize what stage of alcoholism you're in, the sooner you can do something about it.

I wrote about the signs of alcoholism in a previous article.

Stages of alcoholism

Stage 1 alcoholism

At the first stage of alcoholism, a person consumes alcohol, and it seems to him that he only enjoys it, without experiencing any negative consequences.
In the first stage, alcohol provides a strong short-term benefit to the individual, thereby causing the individual to perceive alcohol as not only harmless but also desirable.
A person does not yet have a hangover, headache and others.
It seems to him that he has bypassed him, and he can drink alcohol safely.
Also, at the first stage of alcoholism, a person completely denies his dependence. He believes that he drinks in moderation, for company, and just for fun. He also uses other excuses. I wrote about them in detail in the article.
In the first stage, alcoholism is socially acceptable, which masks the problem, allowing the addiction to gain more and more strength.

Stage 2 alcoholism

The following symptoms are characteristic of the second stage of alcoholism:

Periodic nature of use

The use of alcohol acquires a constant and periodic character. For example, once a week a person necessarily gets drunk to a “good” state, accompanied by total loss control. The presence of alcohol in life becomes a necessity.

Deprivation of freedom of choice.

If at the first stage of alcoholism a person could still choose to drink or not, then at the second stage a person loses this opportunity. Dependence itself dictates how much and when a person will drink alcohol.
To test whether you have freedom of choice, try, for example, not drinking alcohol for at least a year.

Consumption protection

Consciously or unconsciously, a person comes up with reasons to protect their drinking. He believes that he just relaxes on the weekends, relieves stress and so on.

Increasing Tolerance

Also, the second stage of alcoholism is characterized by an increase in tolerance to alcohol.
Tolerance to alcohol means that a person now needs to drink more alcohol to feel the same way. The old norm ceases to bring the same effect of pleasure.

Adaptation to alcohol

The body adapts to alcohol, the natural reflexes of alcohol rejection are removed. The body stops resisting.
Again, it seems to a person that he can drink alcohol without serious consequences.

Loss of ability to control drinking

Increasingly, a person loses control over alcohol consumption.
It is the loss of the ability to control what you drink that is the main symptom of the second stage of alcoholism.
Outwardly, everything looks good in a person's life. He leads a social lifestyle, has friends who, by the way, also drink.

3rd stage of alcoholism

The third stage of alcoholism is characterized by several features:

Reorienting your life to alcohol

In the third stage of alcoholism, a person's whole life begins to be built around the use of alcohol. Other things lose their importance and fade into the background.

Even if a person continues to go to work, to engage in external affairs, he is in a "waiting mode" for use.
He waits for the day when he can drink to relieve stress.
Drinking alcohol becomes the only desired goal, a source of pleasure.

The birth of other addictions

A person begins to form and intensify other addictions.
A person begins to use more, use all sorts of things, watching porn, fantasizing about "obscene" topics, overeating, drinking coffee. Often he applies addictions at the same time in order to get a greater “high” effect, since applying individually stops “inserting” a person.

Discomfort in real life

The real life of a person, when he is deprived of the opportunity to use, becomes uncomfortable. A person begins to be accompanied by internal pain, constant anxiety and irritation.
Only when a person drinks does he become unreasonably cheerful and super-energetic for a while.

Increasing Crisis

In life, more and more problems begin to appear that did not bother before. due to the fact that a person ignores other areas of life in favor of drinking alcohol.
At this stage of alcoholism, a person does not recognize his addiction, he believes that new problems have appeared due to the evil fate of fate, external causes, but not because of addiction.
A person zealously defends his drinking, considering alcohol as the only source of joy.

Destruction of social ties

In the third stage of alcoholism, changes occur in:
Selfishness, pride, sharpness in communication with loved ones appear.
There is also aggression towards other people.
The desire for isolation from society.
The person becomes annoyed by other people.

Increasing the frequency of use

Increased frequency of alcohol consumption.
A person can consume several days in a row, for example, on Friday and Saturday.
Drinking in the middle of the week.

4th stage of alcoholism

At the fourth stage, mental problems begin due to alcohol use.

At the fourth stage, the mental problems caused by alcohol begin.
There is, imperceptible to the person himself, the degradation of personality.
The skills of sober living, the ability to get along with people and cope with problems are lost.
The frequency of alcohol consumption becomes constant and does not change for some time.
Irreversible changes begin to occur in the human psyche, in physiology.
Prolonged abstinence without alcohol gives rise to internal discomfort, increased heart rate, and bad thoughts.
Irreversible consequences appear in thinking, which acquires a mostly negative and repressed character.
A person begins to think that the whole point is in his use of alcohol.
He attempts to stop drinking, but suddenly realizes that it is difficult for him to do without alcohol and returns to drinking. He begins to realize his mental and physical dependence on alcohol, but does not know what to do with it. He tries to reduce the dose, drink less often, or stop drinking altogether - but all attempts fail.

It is at the fourth stage of alcoholism that the consequences end, when a person is still able to get out of addiction on his own.

What to do?

If you notice that you or your loved one is on one of the stages of alcoholism This is already a signal to sound the alarm.
It is at these stages that you need to stop denying your own as soon as possible. You need to admit to yourself that you are at one of the stages of alcoholism and start doing something about it.

These were the 4 stages of alcoholism.
Already in these stages, it is quite difficult to stop drinking.
Alcoholism is only terrible when you don't know what to do with it.
But in this case there are specific

Alcohol addiction can develop at different times, and the speed of this process is influenced by a variety of factors.

Sometimes a drinking person simply does not notice how he receives a medical diagnosis from the stage of drunkenness.

It is important to remember that alcoholic beverages begin to adversely affect the human body literally after the first serving. This is due to the high sensitivity of tissues and organs to substances contained in alcohol.

All information on the site is for informational purposes and is NOT a guide to action!
Give you an ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS only DOCTOR!
We kindly ask you DO NOT self-medicate, but book an appointment with a specialist!
Health to you and your loved ones!

Domestic drunkenness

This is the initial stage of alcoholism, which is characterized by a rather blurred border between the absence of the disease and a pronounced painful dependence on alcohol.

The first stage of alcoholism can have several types:

episodic	This term is commonly understood as the use of alcoholic beverages, which is not associated with any events and has an unsystematic character. At this stage, the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption is not regular. A person cannot accurately determine the amount of alcohol that is required for intoxication, as resistance to drinks is constantly changing. At this stage, poisoning or toxic intoxication occurs. In the morning, nausea and vomiting often occur, increased sweating. The smell of alcohol or memories of this drink can significantly worsen well-being.
ritual	Ritual drunkenness is characterized by the use of alcohol during family holidays or corporate parties. At this stage, a certain connection between alcohol and a celebratory event is usually formed, and ritual actions are characteristic of it. They consist in discussing the menu, inviting guests, buying alcoholic beverages. Often these activities continue for several days. After that, the expected feelings of good mood are replaced by increased fatigue and a feeling of weakness.
Habitual	This type of drunkenness is characterized by more frequent use of alcohol. Any life events are an occasion to drink. During this period, resistance to alcohol increases significantly. It does not have a permanent character, since after breaks it can decrease. As a rule, this stage is characterized as alcohol abuse, since the frequency of its use is 2 or more times a week.

Chronic stage of alcoholism

The transition from fun drinking to addiction, which significantly changes the life of a person and those around him, usually happens imperceptibly. This disease makes you constantly make excuses, lie to get another dose, and suffer from a lack of alcohol.

The second stage of alcoholism has 3 varieties:

Neurasthenic	This stage usually occurs after prolonged alcohol abuse. It has increased stability human body to alcohol, the loss of the gag reflex, which serves to protect. A person can drink quite a lot and still not achieve a feeling of euphoria. After prolonged use of alcohol, psychological dependence often develops. It consists of an obsessive desire to drink and a sudden revival at the mention of alcohol. Such thoughts become dominant. Over time, the craving for alcohol increases. Consciously increases the desire to obtain satisfaction, and it is accompanied by an unconscious desire to achieve alcohol intoxication. This significantly changes the nature of intoxication. Instead of feeling light and carefree, there is increased irritability and depression, a person can become withdrawn. Very often there are amnestic forms of intoxication. Alcoholics have a vague memory of their own emotions. Separate episodes completely drop out of memory. This condition is called perforation amnesia. At this stage of alcoholism, a strong attraction to alcohol is clearly manifested. After the first glass, you want to drink the next one. At the same time, people cannot control the amount of alcohol they drink. In an attempt to achieve a feeling of euphoria, alcoholics try to drink faster than others. At this stage, there are pronounced changes in the personality of a person - he becomes overly importunate, talkative, deceitful. If there is a barrier to alcohol, melancholy and irritability may occur. A person begins to look for funds that will help him get the next dose.
drug addict	At this stage, there is an abstinence syndrome, which consists in the appearance of a hangover. This means that there is a physical dependence of a person on the consumption of alcohol. Hangover syndrome usually appears within 2-10 years after the onset of symptoms of alcohol dependence. This condition is characterized by pain in the region of the heart, tremor of the limbs, arterial hypertension. Often a person develops nausea and vomiting, sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, dizziness. The mental health of people also suffers significantly. They become more anxious and fearful, are often depressed and have a tendency to self-abasement. The hangover syndrome becomes less pronounced when drinking a small dose of alcohol. As chronic alcoholism develops, it is more pronounced. If at the initial stage of the pathology it lasts just a few days, then after a certain time it can last 2 or more weeks. To cope with this syndrome, the patient has to drink alcohol constantly. He may have binges for 4-10 days. As a result, toxic dependence becomes pronounced. As the disease progresses, personality degradation develops, which is characterized by memory loss and deterioration of intellectual abilities. The person becomes selfish and rude. He constantly deceives, stops caring for loved ones, often changes jobs. Often such people are forced to sell things in order to buy alcohol. Many of them do not disdain the consumption of surrogates. When drunk, such people are faced with a state of emotional imbalance. In this case, the fun is abruptly replaced by anger and irritability. Quite often, alcoholics have a specific humor, which manifests itself in the form of a predisposition to ridiculous jokes and anecdotes. Approximately 13% of patients with this diagnosis have.
encephalopathic	This stage is characterized by a decrease in the body's resistance to alcohol. A person can become drunk after a small amount of alcohol. That is why alcoholics often stop drinking vodka and switch to fortified wines. They often drink alone. As the disease progresses, a pronounced degradation of the personality occurs. A person loses the ability to work, he has no interest in family members. Alcoholics are characterized by slovenliness and untidiness. They often sell things to buy alcohol. Psychopathic traits appear in the personality of such people, which are characterized by the development depressive states, suicidal tendencies, inappropriate humor. The process of personality degradation is characterized by a pronounced decrease in mental abilities, memory impairment,. Often such people experience insomnia. They may also have mixed symptoms. The second and third stages of the chronic form of alcoholism are characterized by the appearance of pathological jealousy in a person. He may develop impotence and confidence that the partner is cheating - given state called Othello's syndrome.

Third degree

At this stage, the symptoms of the previous stages are present, but they become much stronger.

signs

There are quite a few symptoms of the third degree of alcoholism:

Hypertrophied craving for alcohol	This manifestation consists in the deterioration of a person's condition in the absence of alcohol. Upon receipt of the required product, intoxication sets in very quickly, and small doses become sufficient for a person. At the same time, the total amount of alcohol consumption remains the same or even increases, since the frequency of its use increases. Often people with this diagnosis get up several times a night to get drunk. In this state, a hangover always occurs. Moreover, it occurs even when taking low-alcohol drinks or a small amount of alcohol consumed. Because of this, a person is forced to drink alcohol again in order to constantly maintain its content in the body.
Reducing the degree of alcohol consumed	At the third stage, a person has pronounced changes in the functioning of internal organs - especially the liver and brain. This leads to a decrease in the tolerance of strong alcohol, which forces a person to switch to drinks with a low alcohol content.
Prolonged memory lapses	This symptom is characteristic only for the third stage. From alcoholic damage to brain cells, pronounced changes in its work occur. As a result, a person completely forgets quite long periods when he was in a state of intoxication. This happens even with a slight consumption of alcohol.
Behavior change	It may have different forms. Some alcoholics have pronounced aggression, while others behave quite passively. People who have aggressive behavior, after drinking another dose of alcohol, begin to find fault with others and get annoyed over trifles. Such people often experience insomnia, which can be overcome solely through alcohol.

Some patients experience a state of alcoholic stupor. In this case, the person becomes lethargic and inhibited. With an increase in the amount of alcohol consumed, he can fall into oblivion for a long time. Sometimes such people completely lose consciousness.

This symptom is a consequence of the toxic effect of alcohol on the functioning nervous system. In this case, there is a need for immediate medical intervention that will help to cope with alcohol intoxication.

Flow

People with this diagnosis completely lose interest in what is happening if it is not related to the opportunity to drink. At this stage, the value of relationships with loved ones disappears, a person often sells valuable things.

There is also a certain systematicity in the use of alcohol - for example, binge is replaced by non-alcoholic periods. This is due to the oversaturation of the body with alcohol, which makes it impossible to consume new doses. However, this stage lasts a short time, after which a new binge occurs.

During this period, the alcoholic completely loses his appetite, his body is depleted. Along with this, his personality is degrading. Such people cannot work or perform certain duties, they often break promises.

Also, in the third stage of alcoholism, signs of antisocial behavior increase. In this case, a person drinks alone or with casual acquaintances. He can also do it in inappropriate situations.

This stage is characterized by an emetic reaction to alcohol. It is associated with intoxication of the body, which is constantly maintained by an alcoholic. In this case, a protective reaction occurs in the body against toxic substances. However, this does not make it possible to protect internal organs from further destruction.

At this stage, the hangover syndrome is seriously expressed, the functioning of the nervous system is often disrupted, which can even manifest itself in the form of epileptic seizures. At this stage, the patient's psyche suffers significantly.

Changes in the body

At this stage, the work of organs and systems is seriously disrupted, which poses a real danger to human life. Even if he manages to cope with alcoholism, the consequences are usually irreversible.

In this case, almost all systems and organs suffer:

Nervous system	With such a diagnosis, brain cells change and regenerate. Due to the constant oxygen deficiency, which is associated with circulatory disorders, die nerve cells, because they are highly sensitive to toxic damage and lack of oxygen. As a result, a person develops hallucinations, memory impairment and other symptoms. Often, such people experience cerebral edema, which makes the painful manifestations more pronounced.
Respiratory system	In the third stage of alcoholism, people are very often diagnosed with chronic inflammation lungs. Due to disruption of the brain, problems arise when inhaling and exhaling. Complete paralysis of the respiratory center can also develop, which causes death.
The cardiovascular system	Since alcohol is always present in the blood, the rheological properties of the blood change, which provokes its thickening and rupture of the capillaries. Such processes occurring in the heart muscle provoke myocardial hypertrophy, and therefore there is a significant load on this organ.
Liver	It cleanses the blood of toxic substances. At the third stage of alcoholism, the work of the liver suffers so much that it practically does not neutralize alcohol. As a result, damage to other organs only intensifies. Liver tissues change so much that there is an irreversible loss of organ function. This condition is called cirrhosis.
kidneys	This organ also takes part in cleansing the body of toxins. With prolonged use of alcohol, the kidneys function in an accelerated mode, which often causes kidney failure. As a result, this organ loses its ability to perform an excretory function, which provokes the retention of toxins in the body. deal with kidney failure quite difficult - as a rule, it is irreversible.
Stomach	The mucous membrane of this organ is constantly irritated due to alcohol consumption and malnutrition. As a result, its inflammation occurs, and a person develops a chronic form of gastritis. Systematic epigastric pain often occurs in the third stage of the disease.
reproductive system	Problems with blood circulation in the capillaries provoke a state of erectile dysfunction in men, which can cause complete impotence. The quality of the seed also suffers significantly. In addition, both sexes have germ cells that have chromosomal abnormalities. In women, the functioning of the ovaries is disturbed, which leads to the development of infertility.

Treatment

Alcoholism is a serious disease that needs treatment. It is advisable to contact a specialist as soon as possible - this increases the likelihood of a complete recovery with minimal consequences for the body.

Since the third stage of the disease is considered the most neglected, it is very difficult to cure it. It rarely goes without serious consequences and can even lead to death. However, this does not mean that there is no chance of recovery.

There is hope for a full recovery. In addition, it is often possible to eliminate individual violations in the work of internal organs.

For therapy to be as effective as possible, a person must completely abandon alcohol. However, the last stage of alcoholism is often accompanied by a complete loss of will, and therefore it will not be possible to cope with the disease without medical help.

To modern ways therapies include the following:

stopping binge drinking and drug elimination of the withdrawal syndrome is the first aid that will help to cope with the manifestations of the disease;
diagnosis of the disease with laboratory tests it is possible to determine which treatment is suitable for a particular patient;
development of aversion to alcohol - for this, the patient is given no drink a large number of alcohol and inhale its vapors in combination with medicines that cause vomiting;
increasing the body's sensitivity to alcohol - is carried out through the use of sensitizing agents;
general recovery - in this case, the methods are selected individually;
restoration of mental disorders - is carried out with the help of rehabilitation and psychotherapy.

A person who has the third stage of alcoholism cannot cope with this problem on his own without the help of others. Close people must definitely help the patient, because his life can be interrupted at any time.

Table of symptoms

Symptoms	First stage	Second stage	Third stage
alcohol tolerance	At this stage, the person does not pay attention to the increase in tolerance to alcohol. Often he has a strong desire to drink.	Alcohol tolerance increases. The person has a strong desire to drink.	At this stage, there is a decrease in tolerance to alcohol, which leads to a decrease in a single dose. In this case, the daily amount remains the same.
Addiction to alcohol intoxication	A person feels calm in a state of intoxication. This reduces the gag reflex. The patient cannot control the amount of alcohol. The forms of intoxication are changing.	The patient becomes habitual in a state of intoxication. At the same time, in a sober state, increased irritability occurs, he feels overwhelmed. However, these sensations disappear after a dose of alcohol.	A person is not able to stay sober without a pronounced desire to drink. This forces him to make every effort to get a dose of alcohol.
withdrawal syndrome	At this stage, the person does not experience withdrawal symptoms. He may be suffering from a hangover, which has similar symptoms. However, this condition passes rather quickly, which cannot be said about the withdrawal syndrome.	At this stage, an abstinence syndrome is formed. This state goes through several stages: In the first stage, a person feels dryness in oral cavity and tachycardia. He may experience increased sweating and inhibition of the hangover stage. At the second stage, hyperemia may develop, blood pressure drops sharply, vomiting occurs and a feeling of heaviness in the head. Often there is a tremor of the hands and gait is disturbed. A person loses the ability to lead an active lifestyle. In the third stage, the patient has increased aggression towards others, sleep becomes restless, he often has a feeling of melancholy or guilt.	There are quite a few mental and physical problems that are associated with alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
Mental condition	The patient begins to think about alcohol all the time. Before the feast, he feels euphoria. If drinking is not possible, dysthymia appears, which is a nervous disorder. For a person, the company or the environment means nothing. The reason for drinking doesn't really matter either.	The patient has mental disorders that are associated with addiction to constant intoxication. This condition manifests itself in the form of increased aggression, insomnia, depression, anxiety when it is impossible to drink.	Arise alcoholic psychoses acute and chronic. As a result, sober people simply cannot be around an alcoholic.
physical health	The body is saturated with toxic substances, which negatively affects the state of internal organs. A hangover with associated symptoms may occur.	There is a physical dependence, which manifests itself in the form of headaches, a feeling of thirst, pain in the heart, tremors of the hands, as well as trembling of the entire body. These symptoms lead to the fact that a person goes into. At the same time, the dose of alcohol increases.	The functioning of all internal organs is disrupted - the liver, heart, etc. suffer. The content of toxic substances is very high, which prevents the restoration of the organs even after giving up alcohol.
social behavior	At this stage, a person is not considered an alcoholic because his social behavior remains almost normal.	The personality of a person changes significantly, which becomes noticeable to others. The patient is considered an alcoholic. He develops acute alcoholic psychoses.	Personality completely degrades, as a person goes into true binges. He can get out of them only with a pronounced depletion of the body.

Alcoholism is serious illness, which can have irreversible consequences for the body. In its development, it goes through several stages, which are accompanied by characteristic manifestations.

In order for the treatment of this pathology to be as successful as possible, it is very important to diagnose it in a timely manner.

Collapse

Ethyl alcohol causes serious harm to human health. But, unfortunately, this does not stop everyone. It is believed that it is quite normal to take 100 grams in honor of the holiday, in the company of friends, on the occasion of a birthday or at a family celebration. Since ancient times in Rus', not a single feast was complete without cups of wine. Rare use of alcohol is harmful, but does not lead to irreversible consequences, but systematic drinking radically changes the functioning of all organ systems. Often changes lead to the development of tolerance to alcohol.

The concept of tolerance

FROM medical point vision is the body's ability to tolerate a certain dose of ethyl alcohol. If we talk about healthy person who does not abuse alcohol and allows himself to drink quite rarely, then this amount is about 150 grams of strong drink. In this dosage, ethyl alcohol in a single use will not cause significant harm to the body.

As tolerance develops, the effect of ethyl alcohol on the body weakens, so each time you have to take more and more in order to achieve the desired intoxication.

Alcohol tolerance reduces not only susceptibility to alcohol, but also protective mechanisms that protect against poisoning by ethanol and its decay products.

Types of alcohol tolerance

Taking into account the conditions against which alcohol resistance develops, tolerance is formed. There are several types of it:

Functional. The brain, when alcohol enters, tries to compensate for the harm caused by the intake of ethyl alcohol. This can be expressed not only in a change in the behavior of an alcoholic, but also in the functioning of internal organ systems. It is a common occurrence when a chronic alcoholic has absolutely no symptoms of intoxication while taking a large amount of alcohol. The same amount of alcohol consumed by a non-drinker can provoke serious violations, even death.
Acute tolerance. Develops after the first serious binge. In the first days of alcohol intake, the sensitivity is high, and towards the end it decreases, which provokes the use of even more alcoholic beverages.
metabolic type. It is formed against the background of an accelerated metabolism, when the alcohol taken is quickly processed and excreted. On the one hand, this type of tolerance prevents poisoning of the body, and on the other accelerated work The liver quickly removes medicinal substances that are prescribed in the treatment of alcoholism, which may affect the effectiveness of treatment.
Resistance to alcohol under the influence of the environment. A person quickly gets used to the negative effects of alcohol if it is taken in the same environment. This includes the behavioral type. With him, the drunk gets used to doing certain actions in this state.

The development of tolerance is an alarming symptom that indicates approaching alcoholism.

Factors affecting tolerance

A person is born with already existing metabolic features that affect susceptibility to alcohol. But tolerance also depends on other parameters:

From age. The pattern is as follows: the younger the body, the smaller the dose required for intoxication. For example, a teenager needs 40-60 g of alcohol, in terms of vodka 150 grams. After taking 300-400 grams of strong drink, vomiting occurs.
Body mass. The lower the weight, the lower the dose will provoke intoxication, this is due to the high concentration of alcohol in the blood.
Affects tolerance and gender. As a rule, women are more difficult to tolerate the effects of alcoholic beverages on the body. For intoxication, they need half as much alcohol as men.

Often in children of alcoholics, initially high tolerance to alcohol is determined. This can be attributed to an unfavorable prognosis regarding the development of alcohol dependence in them.

What does the decrease and increase in tolerance mean?

With the development of alcoholism, the change in alcohol tolerance has its own patterns. At the initial stage, tolerance increases by about 4-5 times. This means that it is required to increase the dose of alcoholic beverages in order to achieve intoxication. The peak of the disease is characterized by a 10-fold increase in alcohol tolerance, at which time the drinker can drink up to 1 liter of vodka.

A decrease in tolerance after a while indicates that the disease develops and the body reduces its resistance to it. An alcoholic at this stage needs much less alcohol, he is simply not able to drink more.
An increase in tolerance and a subsequent decrease are two clear symptoms of the development of alcoholism. A non-drinker is simply not able to consume such an amount of alcohol, especially systematically.

The development of alcoholism is also determined by the decrease in the body's ability to include protective mechanisms in case of an overdose. For example, in a healthy person, an excessive amount of alcohol provokes intoxication, to which the body immediately reacts with vomiting, an aversion to alcohol.

In alcoholics, at the first stage of the development of the disease, the feeling of satiety disappears, then the feeling of disgust disappears, and at the last stage, vomiting does not turn on as a defense mechanism.

Tolerance is an unfavorable symptom that indicates approaching alcohol dependence. A person is forced to consume an increasing amount of alcohol, this ends with the fact that the body experiences withdrawal symptoms in a sober state.

It is believed that resistance to alcohol is good, a certain sign of a healthy and strong body that can “outdrink” many, but it is also a symptom that irreversible changes occur under the influence of ethyl alcohol, the protective properties weaken. A person must realize that this is already a line that should make him give up alcohol and switch to a sober lifestyle. Most often, it is no longer possible to do this on your own and you have to seek medical help.

Video

as a progressive disease in its natural course proceeds in three successive stages. The transition from one stage to another occurs smoothly and imperceptibly. First stages of alcoholism necessarily preceded by a seductive stage of regular “cultural” drinking, which has a different duration (from one to 10 years). People predisposed to alcoholism go through this stage very quickly, sometimes in just a few months, then there comes a period of loss of situational and quantitative control when drinking alcohol, which means a transition to the first stage of alcoholism.

The first stage of alcoholism (initial, neurasthenic)

The duration of the first stage is from 3 to 10 years. At the initial stage, a pronounced craving for alcohol appears, which becomes one of the leading and most active cravings among others. The attraction to alcohol arises already in a state of intoxication. In intoxication it is much stronger than in a state of sobriety. The quantitative control of alcohol consumption is lost, but the situational control of one's behavior is preserved. External circumstances may interrupt the realization of the need for alcohol.

In patients, in anticipation of the feast, the mood rises, enthusiasm and activity are manifested, while the failed intake of alcohol causes irritability and aggressiveness. Patients often compensate for the delay in taking alcohol with a larger dose at the next intake. Non-alcoholic motives of behavior remain, but become dull and simplified, although patients can still keep their jobs and social activity. There is an increase in tolerance to the intoxicating effect of alcohol.

One of the first and characteristic signs of the first stage of alcoholism is the disappearance of the gag reflex. . If at the beginning of his "drinking practice" a person drinks more alcohol than is tolerated, the body's defense systems are triggered in the form of a gag reflex. As the disease progresses, this protective reflex is lost.

Memory lapses appear - amnestic forms of intoxication, when patients, even with outwardly not deep intoxication, after sobering up, cannot remember the events of the previous day. Such hard-to-recover memory lapses are called "palimpsest" by narcologists. Alcoholic palimpsests - second feature first stage of alcoholism .

Further, the use of alcohol becomes regular, up to 2-3 times a week. At the same time, disgust disappears, which is natural for a healthy person the next day after deep intoxication.

Another sign of the development of the first stage of alcoholism is an increasing tolerance to alcohol. This means that if in the past a person needed 100-150 grams of a strong alcoholic drink for intoxication, now he needs 3-4 times more. There is an ability to drink more than one day in a row.

At this stage in the development of the disease, mental addiction from alcohol, which is expressed in the following complex of changes in behavior, feelings and feelings:

From time to time, a sick person is visited by pleasant memories of intoxication and circumstances associated with

him; are thoughts about liquor.

The search for reasons to drink and the struggle of motives "to drink - not to drink" begin. In dealing with others, such people

involuntarily start talking about drinking, about alcoholic beverages, presenting themselves as "experts".

The expression of the arisen mental dependence is the justification of the absurdity of one's behavior in a state of

alcohol intoxication, the presence of a state of intoxication.

In anticipation of intoxication, there is a noticeable uplift and revival.

Due to the formed mental dependence, a person experiences real satisfaction and

psychological comfort only from intoxication; everything else becomes noticeably less important.

As a rule, already at this stage of alcoholism, conflicts appear in the family and at work. If the patient is condemned

and he cannot suppress his desire, he has to "dodge", lie. At the same time, bitterness arises

relatives, who, it seems to him, find fault in vain, do not understand, but he drinks "like everyone else!"

Already at the first stage of the development of the disease, in a state of euphoria caused by alcohol intoxication, negative emotions may appear - irritability, some depression of mood, pessimistic statements. The states of deep intoxication appear and become more frequent. Alcohol consumption becomes more prolonged, it tends to continuous form, but is often interrupted by external objective circumstances.

The hangover syndrome has not yet formed, but after drinking the condition worsens noticeably: weakness, irritability, unpleasant somatic sensations, etc. There is a tendency to sleep disorders, which patients try to eliminate by taking alcohol as a sleeping pill. In the morning there is a tendency to self-stimulation with strong tea, coffee, if there is no possibility to drink alcohol.

The direct consequences of alcohol abuse against the background of mental dependence on it are the weakening of the body, the deterioration of well-being in a sober state, increased irritability, and a slight decrease in overall performance.

This is what alcoholism looks like at the first stage of its development. In the second stage, all these phenomena remain and deepen, and in addition, new symptoms appear.

The second stage of alcoholism (drug addiction)

The duration of the second stage is from 5 to 15 years. The craving for alcohol becomes more pronounced. Tolerance to alcoholic beverages continues to increase and reaches its maximum value by the end of the second stage (from 500.0 to 1500.0 ml of vodka). At this stage of alcoholism, during periods of time free from drinking alcohol, patients change their mental and physical state. It is difficult for them to concentrate, fatigue is observed during intellectual stress, irritability, anxiety, and various unpleasant somatic sensations appear. The use of the first dose of alcohol in such a state gives a feeling of physical and mental comfort, significantly improves working capacity and causes a constant desire for repeated, frequent and massive alcoholic excesses, which leads to a change in behavior, conflicts in everyday life, at work.

At the same time, personal changes become more noticeable, imbalance, rapid exhaustion, a change in motives and motives become noticeable, which indicates a defeat of the volitional sphere. This is also confirmed by the manifestation irresistible craving for alcohol . Emotions become lightweight, superficial, "alcoholic humor" appears. Such "humor" is a sign of coarsening in psychopathic personalities due to the weakening of self-control during alcohol intoxication. The general moral and moral roughness is also expressed, patients are overexcitable, aggressive. Emotions are superficial, affectivity is characterized by lability, instability. The circle of interests narrows, the ability to memorize decreases.

AT addictive stage episodic psychotic disorders alcoholic delirium, hallucinosis or paranoia. They often develop during the period of abstinence after prolonged alcohol abuse. Manifestations indicate the first organic symptoms, followed by an increase in signs of toxic alcoholic encephalopathy. It also cannot exclude the risk neurological and somatic disorders: cardiopathy, fatty degeneration of the liver, hepatitis, gastritis, arterial hypertension, development of the first symptoms alcoholic polyneuropathy.

In the second stage, in addition to all the signs of dependence characteristic of the initial stage, there are at least three more of the following syndromes:

Withdrawal state or withdrawal syndrome - a severe psychophysical condition that occurs in patients with alcoholism. Includes numerous disorders - a strong, most often irresistible craving for alcohol, sweating, nausea or vomiting, tremor of fingers of outstretched hands and, often, tongue, tachycardia, increased blood pressure, headache, lack of appetite, sleep disorders. In this state, episodic visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations may occur, depressed mood, irritability, incontinence, alcoholic psychosis (delirium, paranoid, hallucinosis), convulsive seizures, depressive and dysphoric disorders are often observed.

Post-withdrawal syndrome - a condition manifested by a complex of unpleasant symptoms in the form of general physical weakness, malaise, low mood, sometimes depression, fatigue, lack of desire to work, low efficiency, obsessive thoughts about alcohol and the desire to drink. Occurs after the elimination of acute effects of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, usually 4-5 days after the last alcohol intake. Duration 10-15 days.

Total consumption of alcoholic beverages - most of the daily time is spent on activities aimed at acquiring, drinking alcohol and recovering from the consequences of drunkenness.

Appearance alcohol withdrawal syndrome allows you to diagnose the second stage of alcoholism. At first, patients are forced to get drunk after drinking large doses of alcohol the day before, then there comes a stage when it becomes forced after drinking medium and small doses of alcohol. The hangover syndrome as the disease develops occurs after decreasing periods of time: first after 8-10 hours, then after 1.5-2 hours after drinking alcohol. The shorter this latent interval, the more severe the condition. The duration of the withdrawal syndrome is initially 1-2 days, then increases to 3-4 days (average duration) and sometimes reaches a maximum of 6-10 days.

Symptoms of withdrawal syndrome consists of somatovegetative, neurological and mental disorders. The acute period of the withdrawal syndrome manifests with somatovegetative disorders and ends with their disappearance (the average duration is 2-3 days).

Autonomic disorders some are considered as manifestations of a sympathoadrenal crisis. Tachycardia, tachypnea, arterial hypertension, profuse sweating, chills, discomfort in the head, body. Perhaps the appearance of extrasystoles, arrhythmias, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Appetite is absent, there is an aversion to food. The tongue is coated white or brown, the face looks swollen, and there is often increased thirst.

Neurological symptoms includes the following symptoms: trembling of fingers, eyelids, tongue, whole body and head; intentional tremor, static and locomotor ataxia; poor coordination of movements; decrease in muscle tone, revitalization of tendon and periosteal reflexes with the expansion of reflexogenic zones; pupil dilation and weakening of their photoreaction; convergence weakness eyeballs; restlessness of the facial muscles. The most severe abstinence syndrome that develops after especially prolonged binges may be accompanied by the occurrence in the first three days after the cessation of alcohol intake of single or serial extended convulsive seizures with biting of the tongue and loss of urine. Seizures come on suddenly. Post-seizure stupor does not last long. Seizures are amnesic. As an exception, seizures occur during sleep. On the electroencephalogram, there are no changes characteristic of epilepsy; if they are, then binge drinking and withdrawal syndrome are considered as factors provoking epileptic seizures.

Mental disorders. During the withdrawal syndrome is always violated night sleep, its duration is shortened, absolute insomnia may occur. Often there are nightmares with a feeling of failure, falling, the participation of animals. The content of dreams can be scenes of chase, pursuit, attack.

The thinking of patients is distinguished by a large number of alcoholic associations that arise with extraordinary ease. This indicates the intensity of attraction to alcohol, which distorts the thoughts and feelings of patients, deforms the basic spiritual and social values and ideas. The level and productivity of thinking are reduced, there are a lot of clichés in judgments, there is no creativity and humor. Violated the dynamics of thought processes.

The harder it goes withdrawal syndrome the more disorganized thinking becomes. With a sharp increase in anxiety, sometimes there is a fear of death due to cardiac arrest, which is usually immediately reflected in the behavior of patients (call a doctor at home, demands to immediately give cardiovascular drugs). Usually cardiophobic syndrome is combined with a feeling of palpitations, pain in the region of the heart. Less commonly, at the height of anxiety, there is a fear of death, combined with a feeling of lack of air. withdrawal syndrome in some cases provokes the occurrence of panic attacks.

Severe hangover may be accompanied by the appearance in the evening or at night of single elementary deceptions of perception, hallucinations. At closed eyes people, animals, strange creatures are seen. During falling asleep, there is a feeling of touch, sometimes it seems that someone is leaning in and choking. With abundant hypnagogic delusions of perception withdrawal syndrome quite often qualify as a predilirious condition.

The attraction to intoxication can sharply increase in a state of a hangover. To satisfy him, patients are ready to sell things for nothing, run away from relatives, descending on ropes or tied sheets from the window of an apartment, and commit illegal acts.

After the disappearance of the manifestations of the hangover syndrome, the restoration of the quality of mental activity and its pace begins. The timing of the restoration of normal mental functioning is determined not so much by the severity of the withdrawal syndrome as by the duration of the disease, i.e. depth of encephalopathic disorders.

On the second stage the development of the disease is the formation hard drinking or systematic (permanent) alcohol abuse. Frequent single drinks are replaced by pseudo-binge drinking (periods of daily alcohol abuse), which subsequently turn into true ones. binges(a sign of the formation of the third stage of alcoholism). The periods of pseudo-drinking last from several days to several weeks.

At first, pseudo-binge drinking is due external causes such as getting paid, holidays, weekends. Their completion is also associated with external reasons - the lack of alcohol (money for its purchase), family conflicts, the need to go to work. It should be noted that despite the cessation of pseudobinge, the willingness to continue drinking alcohol (need) in patients persists. The intervals between pseudobinges are individually variable.

A permanent form of alcohol abuse is due to a high tolerance to alcoholic beverages. At the same time, alcohol is consumed daily for a long time (months, sometimes years). The main dose of alcohol is taken in the afternoon or evening. Breaks between doses are usually short. The intermittent form of alcohol abuse is characterized by the fact that against the background of constant use of relatively low doses of alcohol, binges develop when the patient drinks the maximum amount of alcohol for him for several days.

The search for alcohol during the period of binge often leads to the use of a surrogate, in this case the risk of alcohol poisoning is very high.

The third stage of alcoholism (initial, encephalopathic)

Approximately 10-15 years after the formation of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, the second stage of chronic alcoholism is replaced by the third.

The cardinal sign of the third stage is a persistent decrease in tolerance to alcohol. Seizures are more common, neurological signs are more common alcoholic encephalopathy. Therefore, the third stage of the disease is referred to as encephalopathic.

The primary attraction to alcohol (attraction in a sober state) and secondary (in intoxication) amplifies. withdrawal syndrome often becomes more severe, more prolonged, often accompanied by weakness and a persistent decrease in mood. Psychoses, including delirium, develop 2 times more often than in the second stage. Intoxication proceeds with brutality, aggressiveness or is characterized by passivity and stupor, lack of euphoria, total amnesia of events in intoxication is more often noted. The form of alcohol consumption is changing: true binges and intermittent drunkenness prevail.

The formation of true binges goes through several stages: first, endurance to alcohol drops at the end of the binge, then in the middle of the binge. In some cases, it becomes permanently low. Then it is possible to switch to daily consumption of alcohol in small doses. Due to intolerance to strong alcoholic beverages, the patient switches to weaker wines. The use of alcohol is permanent - alcoholic beverages are taken in small doses several times a day, while the alcoholic is constantly in a state of intoxication and experiences an irresistible craving for alcohol. There are few "sober days" and they are associated with the fact that the patient is not able to get alcoholic beverages.

At the beginning of the binge, the patient consumes fractional portions of a relatively large amount of alcoholic beverages per day - up to 0.6 - 1 liter. In the following days of binge, alcohol tolerance decreases sharply, the patient drinks only 0.3-0.5 liters of vodka or wine during the day, and then even less, until complete alcohol intolerance sets in and the binge is interrupted. When leaving the binge, there are often pronounced somato-vegetative disorders. After a few days or weeks, the craving for alcohol reappears, which is usually spontaneous. The very first attempt to drink alcohol causes an unbridled craving for alcohol and a new binge.

Almost 80% of patients have alcoholic degradation of personality and distinct intellectual-mnestic disorders (impaired memory, attention, reduced level of generalization, loss of the ability to abstract, stupidity). This or that degree of family, social and labor disadaptation is characteristic. In 60% of patients, liver pathology is detected, such disorders as alcoholic myocardial dystrophy, chronic pancreatitis become more frequent, 75% are diagnosed with polyneuropathy. Often found chronic forms alcoholic psychoses, including such severe alcoholic lesions as Gaye-Wernicke encephalopathy.

At this stage of alcoholism, the ability to work is lost, spiritual interests are lost. The family is destroyed, the sick become a burden for relatives. The main goal of an alcoholic's life is to get money for vodka. There is no desire to get rid of alcohol addiction, patients in every possible way resist the treatment of alcoholism. Often there are chronic forms of alcoholic psychosis.

Personality changes alcoholics go in three main directions:

Degradation by alcohol-psychopathic type:

Such patients are characterized by affective instability, explosiveness, anger, incontinence of affects along with deceit, coarse alcoholic humor, euphoria, a complete loss of ethical and moral standards of behavior. Mentally-intellectual changes in these patients are slightly expressed, but they shy away from work, often come into conflict with society and are subject to administrative and judicial persecution for this.

These persons, as a rule, evade the treatment of alcoholism, actively involve others, including young people and adolescents, in drunkenness. They are especially “jealous” towards their former drinking buddies who have undergone treatment for alcoholism and abstain from alcohol, trying at all costs to force them to resume drinking. The social danger of such persons is obvious.

Degradation by organic-vascular type:

This form of degradation is observed mainly in those patients in whom alcoholism is combined with vascular or traumatic diseases of the brain. It manifests itself in a mental and intellectual decline: deterioration of attention, memory, decreased performance, weakness, sleep disorders, depressive mood background.

During withdrawal, these patients may experience severe depression with suicidal attempts, and, unlike patients of the first group, in whom suicidal attempts are hysterically demonstrative (inflicting superficial wounds on themselves), patients in this group often commit suicide.

These patients are willingly treated for alcoholism, however, due to numerous diseases of the internal organs, they can not carry out all methods of active treatment of alcoholism. Due to the weakening of volitional qualities, mood swings in such patients, it is difficult to count on a long-term remission.

In advanced cases, when alcoholism is combined with severe atherosclerosis of the cerebral vessels, attention is drawn to the depletion of knowledge and extreme degrees of weakness. These signs and the lack of criticism of their condition indicate the occurrence of dementia of the organic-vascular type.

Mixed degradation option:

In a number of patients in the initial stage of alcoholism, mixed symptoms are observed, in which the features of alcohol degradation are combined both in the poichopath-like type and in the organic-vascular type. During the development of the disease, the severity of certain symptoms in one patient can vary significantly.

The third stage of alcoholism This is the final stage in the progression of alcohol dependence. The average life expectancy of such patients does not exceed 5-7 years. Death occurs both from complications of alcoholism itself (alcoholic psychosis, Gaye-Wernicke encephalopathy, etc.), others somatic diseases against the background of reduced resistance (pneumonia, acute pancreatitis, peptic ulcer, liver failure, myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke), and as a result of an antisocial lifestyle (violent death as a result of injuries, poisoning, suicides). It's believed that average age life of patients with alcoholism is reduced by 10-15 years.

Alcoholism cannot be cured. It can only be stopped by refusing to drink alcohol for life.