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This causes the body to crave alcohol in order to feel good and avoid feeling bad. Carol’s past experience in the medical field has led to a deep knowledge of the struggles those with a substance use disorder face. She is passionate about helping people who are struggling with alcohol abuse and addiction and hopes her writing for Alcohol Rehab Guide can help. FASDs can cause a child to be born with physical and developmental problems that last a lifetime. Heavy drinking can cause increased fat in the liver and inflammation of the liver . Over time, heavy drinking can cause irreversible destruction and scarring of liver tissue .

MedlinePlus links to health information from the National Institutes of Health and other federal government agencies. MedlinePlus also links to health information from non-government Web sites. See our disclaimer about external links and our quality guidelines. Talk with your provider https://ecosoberhouse.com/ if you or someone you know may have an alcohol problem. It causes a very bad reaction when you drink, which helps prevent you from drinking. While or after drinking, you get into situations that can cause you to get hurt, such as driving, using machinery, or having unsafe sex.
The chance of developing any health problem is related to the genetic code we are born with. Just like some people have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease or cancer, others have a greater risk of developing an alcohol use disorder. If the drinking world is conceptualized as a spectrum, normal social drinking is one on end and alcohol use disorder is on the other end.
Risk is greater with binge drinking, which may also result in violence or accidents. About 3.3 million deaths (5.9% of all deaths) are believed to be due to alcohol each year. alcoholism reduces a person’s life expectancy by around ten years and alcohol use is the third leading cause of early death in the United States. Other physical effects include an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, malabsorption, alcoholic liver disease, and several cancers. Damage to the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system can occur from sustained alcohol consumption.
Depending on how much and how long you have been drinking, you may be at risk for alcohol withdrawal. Withdrawal can be very uncomfortable and even life threatening. If you have been drinking a lot, you should cut back or stop drinking only under the care of a provider.
But there’s a large gray area in the middle, in which drinking can cause problems for someone’s health, job, or loved ones, but not to a clinical extent. An example would be a father who falls asleep on the couch after having several drinks three or four days a week, missing out on time with his kids and wife.