Beware of excessive drinking as New Year’s nears
12/25/2012 23:48
Excessive alcohol consumption can cause coordination problems, fuzzy vision, nausea, as well as addiction, liver damage.
Alcohol Photo: Wikicommons
With the secular new year around the corner, Soroka University Medical Center is warning the public to
avoid excessive drinking of alcohol.
The hospital said on Monday that in
recent years, the amount of social drinking – especially among young people –
has increased, leading to physical and mental harm to those who
over-imbibe.
In the short term, excessive drinking can cause coordination
problems, fuzzy vision and nausea and, in the longer term, addiction, digestive
problems, pancreatitis, liver damage and harm to the brain and nervous
system.
Adina Ben-Aharon, head of the nutrition and diet unit at the
Beersheba medical center, said no one under 18 should drink alcohol – which it
is illegal as well as dangerous – and that adults should also be
careful.
The amount of alcohol is 5 percent in beer; 10% to 15% in wine;
and some 40% or more in brandy, whiskey, vodka, rum, tequila and some
liquors.
A single “drink” constitutes 330 ml. of beer, 140 ml. of dry
wine, and 30 ml. of whiskey, vodka, brandy, gin or rum.
Moderate use is
one drink per woman and two drinks per man. Diabetics who drink alcohol could
suffer from a hypoglycemia attack – immediately or thereafter.
Drinking
alcohol when taking prescription medications can cause harm and affect their
efficacy. Non-alcoholic, noncarbonated beverages should be taken before, after
or during drinking to dilute the alcohol in the blood and prevent
dehydration.
Drinking alcoholic beverages with lower amounts of alcohol,
such as beer or wine, is preferable to drinking hard liquor.
Don’t eat
salty snacks while drinking alcohol, as this makes users more thirsty. If you
must drink, do so slowly.
Prof. Mati Lifshitz, chairman of Soroka’s
pediatrics branch and head of the toxicology unit, said that driving under the
influence of alcohol is extremely dangerous because it impairs judgement and
slows reaction time. Significant drinking by adolescents can cause the loss of
consciousness and even death, as well as antisocial violence.