Question

According to our text, alcohol is the number one drug problem in the United States, accounting for nearly 100,000 deaths per year. Why do you believe that alcohol is the leading drug problem in the US? What changes do you feel should be made in the US with regard to alcohol? How does alcohol affect the body short-term? What signs and symptoms are associated with chronic alcoholism. Lastly, if you are someone you know has been affected in some way by alcohol, feel free to share a personal experience with the class

Answer 1

The alcohol is the leading drug problem in USA because of the following reasons like

• Peers:influenced by peers ,they usually age less than 30 and the adults who started it in 21s or less than that age are highly prone for abuse and long term problems
• Influenced by parental drinking makes a child to observe directly from their parents and develop an instinct atleast to binge it thinking that it can be beneficial because their parent drink for well being
• Stress and lifestyle habits increases the rate to drink in order to ffg forget the unpleasant things ,developing a social norms to drink with others to be the the leading drinker
• Availability of the drug in easy way

Some of the changes which can be done in regards to alcohol consumption are

• Health education and creating awareness on its ill effects
• Regular screening to identify the high risk and provide special care
• Making the availability and accessibility more complicated
• Strictly to be issued under an age proof of 21 years and above
• Family support for a healthy family environment for the growing child

The short term effects of alcohol in an abuser are

• CNS:Confusion, cognitive impairment, poor social interaction and judgement ,restless,
• Musculoskeletal:loss of balance and gait
• CVS :increased blood pressure
• Sensory:alerted vision
• Decreased body temperature
• GIT:vomiting,diarrhea
• Others:fatigue

The signs and symptoms of chronic alcoholism are

• CNS:complete loss of consciousness, memory loss ,stroke,anxiety, depression
• CVS:arrhythmia, hypertension, tachycardia ,cardiomyopathy
• Other:Liver problems, cancers
• Respiratory:bradypnea
• Musculoskeletal:loss of bone strength
• Endocrine:Pancreatitis

A person in the family with alcohol abuse affects the family more personally, socially, physically ,emotionally and spiritually. They gave a great challenge to bring their loved ones back to normal life by supporting in the treatment.