Alcoholism can rightly be considered a problem of humanity. However, not everyone can say exactly when and how this disease can manifest itself. Meanwhile, alcoholism, like any other disease, has several stages.
In total, there are 4 stages of alcoholism. Not only the duration and effectiveness of treatment, but also the final result will depend on the degree of neglect and the situation in the patient's environment.
After all, many who have recovered even after a few years go back to old habits.
It is not about treatment, but about the wrong approach to the main cause of this problem, lack of knowledge of the characteristics of the patient's character, as well as insufficient psycho-emotional support for relatives and friends.
The initial stage of alcoholism: causes and treatment
Read more: what is alcoholism.
The first stage of alcoholism is not always perceived as the beginning of personality breakdown and the progression of the disease as such. The treatment and its duration may depend on parameters such as:
- The patient's age;
- Stage of disease;
- Emotional state and atmosphere in the family;
- Predisposition (heredity);
- Environment;
- Stability/instability of the human psyche;
- Perception of the problem, as such, not only by the patient, but also by all his friends and relatives;
- Patient sex (male or female).
- Alcohol doses are gradually increased;
- The reception of strong drinks is possible even for a minor reason;
- A person loses control, it is difficult to control his movements, thoughts after drinking;
- Aggressiveness towards acquaintances and friends manifests itself more often;
- Cannot stop even after emptying stomach of accumulated alcohol (vomiting);
- There is a severe hangover with pain in the head;
- So far, he reacts negatively to a hangover (rejection of alcohol);
- Contradictions in actions and words, both in alcoholic intoxication and in a sober state;
- Negative attitude towards alcoholics, does not consider his problem important.
Treatment of the initial phase
Also, do not miss the effect of alcohol on all human organs. Therefore, understanding the problem will help research into:
- Diseases of the liver and pancreas (heaviness, nausea, vomiting, pain and colic, bloating, indigestion);
- Vegetovascular disease (bloating of the veins, heaviness in the legs, swelling and pain after a day);
- Hypertensive diseases (sudden pressure jumps, loss of strength, severe headaches, nausea);
- Nervous disorders (headaches, convulsions, swelling, irritability, sleep disorders, rales of the hands, aggressiveness, irascibility).
How to determine the stage of alcoholism? You cannot figure this out on your own, without the help of a qualified specialist. The first signs should alert you. Early diagnosis and treatment are the basis for successful, productive treatment.
The second stage of alcoholism: what are the symptoms and treatment methods
The patient reacts sharply to criticism and remarks from the outside, is aggressive and direct in his expressions.
Degrees of alcoholism and their treatment vary from case to case. One will need more psychological help, the second will need difficult conditions and limits beyond which he will not be able to cross. However, one thing becomes clear: we cannot do without outside help. The second stage of alcohol dependence is treated with an integrated approach:
- Medicated cleansing of the body. An important step that allows you to get rid of accumulated toxins. The intoxication of the body in this case is high, and the drugs allow you not only to cope with the side effects of drinking a large amount of alcohol, but also to accelerate the process of decomposition of ethanol in theblood plasma;
- Aversive treatment - drugs are administered intravenously in order to develop the rejection of alcohol. Often these drugs do not cause discomfort in a non-drinker. But the simultaneous consumption of alcohol and such a drug causes vomiting, nausea, severe headaches and rejection at the subconscious level;
- Help from a psychologist. After all the manipulations have been carried out with the patient's body, the brain has been freed from the effects of ethanol, it is time to move on to the main stage of treatment - psychological assistance and adaptation to normal life.
The duration of such treatment is an individual characteristic of the patient. At this stage, it is important to identify the main causes of alcohol cravings.
After all, the effect of drugs will not reduce the psycho-emotional dependence on relaxation, which can be achieved by drinking alcohol.
This stage and its effectiveness completely depend on the professionalism of the doctor and the willingness to accept the result of all relatives. Only in this case it is possible to avoid the recurrence of the disease.
The third stage of alcoholism: the problem of society and not only
The third stage of alcoholism is no longer a problem only for the patient's family and close circle. This is a problem of the whole society: a person degrades, violates all existing norms and rules of communication, does not respond to comments and requests from relatives, is a "burdening" factor for the family. Indeed, often the 3rd stage of alcoholism forces a person to refuse to work, to neglect the desires of relatives and friends. This means that such a patient is unable to afford the purchase of expensive alcoholic beverages. As a result, funds, expensive equipment and food are stolen from home. Also, the third stage of alcoholism comes with additional features such as:
- Appearance deformity: thin arms and legs, large torso and abdomen, burgundy or gray skin with obvious blockages of veins, swelling in any condition on all limbs and under the eyes, loss of teeth, blackening;
- The psyche is disturbed: inadequate reaction to simple things, refusal to make contact, aggression without reason, refusal to change anything;
- Alcohol is the basis of the diet, replacing all healthy human diets. How much a person can drink depends in part on their configuration;
- Speech distortion;
- Paralysis of certain parts of the body, more often the face, arms, legs;
- Health problems: hepatitis, chronic pancreatitis, cancer, food indigestion, urinary and fecal incontinence;
- Alcohol resistance (fewer doses, but more often).
Drinking alcohol before and during pregnancy
Treatment of alcoholism at this stage is a difficult and not always effective task. This is due, first of all, to the complete deformation of the human psyche, the reassessment of its values and priorities in life.
Often, such an addict does not set any goals, except for the extraction of the next portion of alcohol.
However, the first three stages of alcoholism can only be treated if this problem is addressed correctly.
What stages are difficult to deal with
An important sign of the third stage of alcoholism is the danger to human life: 80% die even after treatment due to many years of intoxication of the body and irreversible processes of changes in internal organs. Depletion of heart tissue, vascular deformation, chronic diseases of the liver, kidneys and pancreas (in women, also the reproductive system) create dangerous conditions for a quality future life of cured people. Supporting the most affected organs after treatment is the main task.
The Last Stage of Alcoholism: No Options
Alcoholism is an insidious disease. She sneaks in just when it seems like the whole world is turning against you. Often the first stages of an alcoholic disease are ignored, they are not perceived as a real problem. And then the progression and speed of development of complications is inevitable. Years may pass from the moment of passing from the first stage to the fourth.
When the first signs are not identified and skipped, the complexity of the cure increases every day. Fourth-degree stage alcoholism is more of a phrase. Life has months and weeks.
The body is completely exhausted and the organs can no longer cope with the basic functions of metabolism. But not a punishment exclusively for the sick.
This is a diagnosis for those who could not help in time, lend a hand, not perceiving the disease as a problem.
Unfortunately, at the fourth stage, it is no longer possible to help. The patient does not lend itself to persuasion or hospitalization. Worse still, the stage 4 person in front of you has nothing to do with the person you once knew.
His brain is so distorted by alcohol that it is impossible to recognize it in someone you have known. Complete degradation of the subconscious, the basic instincts are replaced by new ones (drinking). Even a professional psychologist and hypnosis will not help solve the problem.
Alcoholism is a disease. This is important to remember. Remember and know what can be done to avoid the unenviable fate of an alcoholic, from whom all relatives and friends turned away, having wiped him out of the world of the living in advance.
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a disease that occurs with the systematic abuse of alcohol, characterized by mental dependence on intoxication, somatic and neurological disorders, personality breakdown. The disease can also progress with abstinence from alcohol.
In the CIS, 14% of the adult population abuse alcohol and 80% consume alcohol moderately, which is due to certain drinking traditions that have developed in society.
Factors such as conflicts with loved ones, an unsatisfactory standard of living and the inability to fulfill oneself in life often lead to abuse. At a young age, alcohol is used as a means of feeling inner comfort, courage, and overcoming shyness. In middle age, it is used as a means of relieving fatigue, stress and getting away from social problems.
Constant use of this method of relaxation leads to persistent addiction and the inability to experience inner comfort without alcohol intoxication. Depending on the degree of dependence and the symptoms, several stages of alcoholism are distinguished.
The stages of alcoholism
The first stage of alcoholism
The first stage of the disease is characterized by an increase in the doses and frequency of alcohol consumption. There is an impaired responsiveness syndrome, in which alcohol tolerance changes. Protective reactions of the body against overdose disappear, in particular, there is no vomiting when drinking large doses of alcohol.
In severe poisoning, palimpsests are observed - memory lapses. Psychological dependence is manifested by a feeling of dissatisfaction in a sober state, constant thoughts about alcohol, a rise in mood before drinking alcohol.
The first stage lasts from 1 to 5 years, while the attraction is controllable, since there is no physical dependence syndrome. A person does not degrade and lose the ability to work.
Complications of alcoholism of the first stage are manifested mainly by the liver, alcoholic fatty degeneration occurs.
Clinically, it almost does not manifest itself, in some cases there may be a feeling of fullness in the stomach, flatulence, diarrhea. A complication can be diagnosed by an increase and a dense consistency of the liver.
On palpation, the edge of the liver is rounded, it is a little tender. With abstinence, these symptoms disappear.
Complications of the pancreas are acute and chronic pancreatitis. At the same time, abdominal pain localized to the left and radiating to the back is noted, as well as a decrease in appetite, nausea, flatulence and unstable stools.
Often, alcohol abuse leads to alcoholic gastritis, in which there is also no appetite and nausea, pain in the epigastric region.
Second step
Second-stage alcoholism has a progression period of 5 to 15 years and is characterized by an increase in impaired responsiveness syndrome.
Alcohol tolerance reaches its maximum, the so-called pseudo-binge drinking, their frequency is not associated with the patient's attempts to get rid of alcohol addiction, but with circumstancesexternal factors, such as lack of money and inability to obtain alcohol.
The sedative effect of alcohol is replaced by an activating effect, memory lapses when consuming large amounts of alcohol are replaced by complete amnesia from the end of intoxication. At the same time, everyday drunkenness is explained by the presence of a mental dependence syndrome; in a sober state, the patient loses the ability for mental work and mental activity is disorganized. There is a physical alcohol dependence syndrome, which suppresses all sensations except the craving for alcohol, which becomes uncontrollable. The patient is depressed, irritable, unable to work, after taking alcohol these functions return to their places, but control over the amount of alcohol is lost, which leads to excessive intoxication.
Treatment of alcoholism in the second stage should be carried out in a specialized hospital, narcologist or psychiatrist.
Sudden refusal of alcohol causes somatoneurological symptoms of alcoholism such as exophthalmos, mydriasis, hyperemia of the upper body, tremors of the fingers, nausea, vomiting, intestinal indulgences, pain in theheart, liver and headaches.
There are mental symptoms of personality degradation, weakening of the intellect, delusions. Often there is anxiety, night anxiety, seizures, which are harbingers of acute psychosis - delirium tremens, commonly called delirium tremens.
Complications of second-degree alcoholism from the side of the liver are represented by alcoholic hepatitis, often of a chronic form. The disease is more common in a persistent than progressive form.
Like first-degree complications, hepatitis rarely manifests with clinical symptoms. It is possible to diagnose a complication by gastrointestinal pathology, heaviness appears in the epigastric region of the stomach, the right hypochondrium, slight nausea, flatulence are observed.
On palpation, the liver is compacted, enlarged and slightly painful.
Alcoholic gastritis in the second stage of alcoholism may have symptoms disguised as manifestations of withdrawal symptoms, the difference is painful repeated vomiting in the morning, often with an admixture of blood. On palpation, there is pain in the epigastric region.
After prolonged binges, acute alcoholic myopathy develops, weakness, swelling of the muscles of the hips and shoulders appear. Alcoholism most commonly causes non-ischemic heart disease.
Third step
Alcoholism of the third stage is significantly different from the previous two, the duration of this stage is 5-10 years. This is the final stage of the disease and, as practice shows, it most often ends in death. Alcohol tolerance decreases, intoxication occurs after small doses of alcohol. Bulimia attacks end in physical and psychological exhaustion.
In a state of intoxication, emotional instability is manifested, which has the symptoms of alcoholism, cheerfulness, irritability, anger that replace each other unpredictably.
Degradation of personality, decrease in intellectual abilities, inability to work, lead to the fact that an alcoholic, having no money for alcohol, uses substitutes, sells things, steals. The use of substitutes such as denatured alcohol, cologne, varnish, etc. causes serious complications.
Complications of third-stage alcoholism are most often represented by alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. There are two forms of alcoholic cirrhosis - compensated and decompensated form.
The first form of the disease is characterized by persistent anorexia nervosa, flatulence, fatigue, low apathetic mood. There is a thinning of the skin, white spots and spider veins appear on it.
The liver is enlarged, dense, has a sharp edge.
The patient's appearance changes significantly, there is a sharp loss of weight, hair loss. The decompensated form of cirrhosis of the liver is distinguished by three types of clinical symptoms.
These include portal hypertension, which leads to hemorrhoidal and esophageal bleeding, ascites - accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Often there is jaundice, in which the liver is significantly enlarged, in severe cases, liver failure occurs, with the development of coma.
The patient has an increased melanin content, which gives the skin an icteric or earthy hue.
Diagnosis of alcoholism
The diagnosis of alcoholism can be suspected by a person's appearance and behavior. Patients look older than their years, over the years the face becomes hyperemic, skin turgor is lost. The face acquires a particular type of voluntary promiscuity, due to the relaxation of the circular muscle of the mouth. In many cases, there is dirtiness, negligence in clothing.
The diagnosis of alcoholism in most cases turns out to be quite accurate, even when analyzing not the patient himself, but his environment. Family members of an alcoholic patient have a number of psychosomatic disorders, neurotization or psychotization of a non-drinking spouse, and pathologies in children.
The most common pathology in children whose parents systematically abuse alcohol is congenital cerebral insufficiency. Often these children have excessive mobility, they are not focused, they crave destruction and have aggressive behavior.
In addition to congenital pathology, the development of the child is also affected by the traumatic situation of the family. The children suffer from logoneurosis, enuresis, night terrors and behavioral disorders.
The children are depressed, prone to suicide attempts, they often have learning and communication difficulties with their peers.
In many cases, pregnant women who abuse alcohol experience the birth of an alcoholic fetus. Fetal alcohol syndrome is characterized by gross morphological disorders. Most often, the pathology of the fetus consists of an irregular shape of the head, body proportions, sunken spherical eyes, underdevelopment of the jaw bones and shortening of the tubular bones.
Alcoholism treatment
We have already briefly described the treatment of alcoholism according to its stages. In most cases, a relapse can occur after treatment.
This is due to the fact that treatment is often aimed only at eliminating the most acute manifestations of alcoholism. Without well-conducted psychotherapy, lack of support from loved ones, alcoholism recurs.
But as practice shows, it is psychotherapy that is an important component of treatment.
The first step in the treatment of alcoholism is the elimination of acute and subacute conditions caused by intoxication of the body. First, the binge is interrupted and the withdrawal disorders are eliminated. At later stages, therapy is carried out only under the supervision of medical personnel, since the delirium syndrome that occurs when alcohol consumption is interrupted requires psychotherapy and a number of sedatives. The relief of acute alcoholic psychosis consists in quickly putting the patient to sleep with dehydration and support of the cardiovascular system. In severe alcohol poisoning, treatment for alcoholism is carried out only in specialized hospitals or in psychiatric departments. In the early stages, anti-alcohol treatment may be sufficient, but more often when alcohol is stopped, there is a deficit in neuroendocrine regulation, the disease progresses and leads to complications and organic pathology.
The second stage of treatment is aimed at establishing remission. A comprehensive diagnosis of the patient and therapy of mental and somatic disorders is carried out. Therapy at the second stage of treatment can be quite peculiar, its main task is to eliminate somatic disorders, which are essential for the formation of a pathological craving for alcohol.
Non-standard therapy methods include the Rozhnov technique, which is emotional stress therapy. A good prognosis in treatment is given by the hypnotic effect and the psychotherapeutic interviews that precede it.
During hypnosis, the patient is instilled with an aversion to alcohol, a reaction of nausea and vomiting to the taste and smell of alcohol. The method of aversive talk therapy is often used.
It consists in regulating the psyche by the method of verbal suggestion, responding with a vomiting reaction to the consumption of alcohol, even in an imaginary situation.
The third stage of treatment involves prolonging remission and returning to a normal lifestyle. This step can be considered the most important in the successful treatment of alcoholism. After the previous two stages, a person returns to his old society, problems, friends, who in most cases are also addicted to alcohol, family conflicts.
This has a greater effect on disease recurrence. In order for a person to independently eliminate the external causes and symptoms of alcoholism, long-term psychotherapy is necessary. A positive effect is given by autogenic training, they are widely used for group therapies.
Training consists of normalizing autonomic disorders and eliminating emotional stress after treatment.
Behavioral therapy is used, the so-called lifestyle correction. A person learns to live in a sober state, to solve his problems, gaining self-control. A very important step in restoring a normal life is achieving mutual understanding in the family and understanding their problem.
For successful treatment, it is important to obtain from the patient the desire to get rid of alcohol addiction. Compulsory treatment does not produce the same results as voluntary treatment.
But still, refusal of treatment forces the local narcologist to forcibly refer the patient for treatment at LTP.
Therapy in the general medical network does not give positive results, since the patient has free access to alcohol, he is visited by drunken friends, etc.
In the event that alcohol abuse began in adulthood, an individual approach is necessary in the choice of therapy. This is due to the fact that the somato-neurological symptoms of alcoholism appear much earlier than the onset of drug addiction and mental disorders.
Mortality in alcoholism is most often associated with complications. There is a decompensation of vital organs caused by prolonged alcohol consumption, states of withdrawal, intercurrent illnesses.
20% of elderly alcoholic patients show signs of epilepsy, acute Gaye-Wernicke syndrome is somewhat less common. Attacks of both diseases during poisoning can be fatal.
The presence of alcoholic cardiomyopathy significantly worsens the prognosis. The systematic and continuous consumption of alcohol leads to mortality.
Less than 25% of patients with this complication live more than three years after diagnosis. A high percentage of alcohol poisoning deaths are due to suicide.
This is facilitated by the development of chronic hallucinosis, alcoholic paraphrenia, delusions of jealousy.
The patient is not able to control his delusional thoughts and commits unusual acts in a sober state.