Author: Alex Thompson

Physical Signs and Other Symptoms of Alcoholism & Alcohol Abuse

These facilities will provide you with 24-hour care as you withdraw from alcohol and recover from your addiction. Once you’re well enough to leave, you’ll need to continue to receive treatment on an outpatient basis. People who are addicted to alcohol may also show a deteriorating physical appearance from poor nutrition and personal neglect. While symptoms are things that we feel or experience, signs are external clues that can signal to others there’s a potential problem.

If you feel that you sometimes drink too much alcohol, or your drinking is causing problems, or if your family is concerned about your drinking, talk with your health care provider. Other ways to get help include talking with a mental health professional or seeking help from a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder.

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Alcoholics Anonymous is available almost everywhere and provides a place to openly and non-judgmentally discuss alcohol problems with others who have alcohol use disorder. If you drink more alcohol than that, consider cutting back or quitting. Many individuals with alcoholism are in denial or unaware that they have a problem. Others may realize something is wrong but go to great lengths to hide their problem out of fear or shame. Family and friends can also fail to see the warning signs.

Although the exact cause of alcohol use disorder is unknown, there are certain factors that may increase your risk for developing this disease. By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website.

Thrombocytopenia (Low Platelet Levels)

A person who is physically dependent on alcohol may also experience cravings — an intense need or desire to drink. Alcoholism is a term that is sometimes used to describe what is known as an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Genetic, psychological, social and environmental factors can impact how drinking alcohol affects your body and behavior. Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder.

In addition to getting professional treatment and support, there are things that you can do to help feel better and improve your chances of recovery. In the DSM-5, alcohol use disorder is further classified into categories of mild, moderate, and severe. While the exact causes of alcoholism are not known, a number of factors can play a role. The condition is likely the result of a combination of genetic, social, psychological, and environmental factors. John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine. For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

1. Needing a drink first thing in the morning — or even in the middle of the night — to stave off nausea or stop the shakes are signs of dependence and withdrawal.
2. In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy.
3. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal.
4. In order to be diagnosed with AUD, a person must experience any two of these symptoms within the same 12-month period.
5. For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important. Unhealthy alcohol use includes any alcohol use that puts your health or safety at risk or causes other alcohol-related problems. It also includes binge drinking — a pattern of drinking where a male has five or more drinks within two hours or a female has at least four drinks within two hours. Binge drinking causes significant health and safety risks.

Your outlook will depend on your ability to stop drinking. Many people who seek treatment are able to overcome the addiction. A strong support system is helpful for making a complete recovery. Typically, a diagnosis of alcohol use disorder doesn’t require any other type of diagnostic test. There’s a chance your doctor may order blood work to check your liver function if you show signs or symptoms of liver disease. Alcoholics often have defective red blood cells that die prematurely, which can cause a lower-than-normal red blood cell count.

Getting help before your problem drinking progresses to severe alcohol use disorder can save your life. If you’ve had two or three of those symptoms in the past year, that’s a mild alcohol use disorder. Many people with alcohol use disorder hesitate to get treatment because they don’t recognize that they have a problem. An intervention from loved ones can help some people recognize and accept that they need professional help. If you’re concerned about someone who drinks too much, ask a professional experienced in alcohol treatment for advice on how to approach that person. Symptoms of dependence include becoming tolerant to some of alcohol’s effects and experiencing withdrawal symptoms when alcohol is not consumed.

Risk factors

The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Despite its prevalence, alcoholism often goes undiagnosed and untreated.

Physical Symptoms of Alcohol Addiction

You can prevent alcohol use disorder by limiting your alcohol intake. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, women shouldn’t drink more than one drink per day, and men shouldn’t drink more than two drinks per day. Between 3 and 43 percent of alcoholics suffer from thrombocytopenia, a low level of platelets in the blood. Low platelet counts affect the body’s ability to make clots to stop bleeding. Alcoholism can be difficult to detect from the outside, particularly early in the course of the disease. But as it progresses, the disease has an array of effects on the body, and a number of physical signs may become apparent.

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Tolerance symptoms include a need to drink more than you once did to achieve the desired level of intoxication. People experiencing this phenomenon might even switch up their drink of choice — moving from beer or wine to hard liquor, for example, to accommodate their need for more alcohol. When alcoholism is severe, an individual may develop a physical dependence on the drug.

Alcoholism has been known by a variety of terms, including alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. Today, we know that the symptoms of alcoholism can vary from one person to the next. Because the condition is progressive, these symptoms may increase over time in terms of the number of symptoms, their severity, and their impact.

MCV is the average concentration of hemoglobin in a red blood cell. After a month or two of excessive drinking, MCV levels rise. Elevated MCV is found in approximately 50 to 60 percent of chronic heavy drinkers. When people quit drinking, their MCV levels typically return to normal within two to four months. The combination of increased MCV levels and elevated GGT levels has a 90 percent sensitivity for detecting alcohol abuse, according to a study published in Current Psychiatry.