Tarzana Treatment Centers offers specialized treatment programs to address the various aspects of alcohol dependence and recovery. If you already know that you or a loved one needs alcohol or drug treatment, please call us at 888-777-8565 or contact us by email here. If you need more information, read below.

Alcohol Effects on the Body

Alcohol abuse has a negative effect on every organ of the body. Even the skin, hair, and fingernails are damaged from dehydration when a person drinks heavily. Other damages occur due to behaviors that accompany heavy drinking. When a heavy drinker is told that he smells of alcohol, he may take up the habit of vigorous scrubbing while bathing. Anxiety can lead to nail biting, and hair damage can occur from any number of accidents and unwise choices.

Major Organs

Now imagine what alcohol does to the brain, heart, and liver. The major organs that bring life alter their functions to accommodate the effects of alcohol on the rest of the body. The liver, for example, makes a top priority of removing alcohol from the body, recognizing it as a poison. The heart then needs to beat harder in response, because the liver is delivering more. And, keeping it simple, the brain needs to calm them down by changing the very basic life-sustaining functions it performs. These changes occur gradually as drinking patterns increase. This is the human body on automatic, saving a life the best it can.

Reproductive Organs

A big surprise to almost all alcoholic men is the not-so-temporary effect that alcohol has on genitalia. Temporary erectile dysfunction can very easily become permanent, depending on the length of time alcohol is abused. Impotence is not quite as likely, but is always a possibility. Even hormonal changes can occur giving an otherwise masculine man an effeminate patter.

For women, the effects are much more serious if pregnancy is involved. Fetal Alcohol Effects have an effect that begins at conception. Infants have distinct facial features that can be difficult to deal with as they grow. Behavioral and learning disabilities are common in children born with FAE, placing them in an uphill battle through life. Needless to say, if a woman is planning to get pregnant, it is a good choice to avoid alcohol.

Recovery

When a person stops abusing alcohol, the body will begin the process of repairing itself, where it can. Within 6 months, most alcoholics in recovery report feeling physically better than they had in many years. Some damage is beyond repair, which is another great reason to stop alcohol abuse as quickly as possible.

Tarzana Treatment Centers offers specialized treatment programs to address the various aspects of alcohol dependence and recovery, including alcohol detox. We provide alcohol treatment in the San Fernando Valley, Antelope Valley, Long Beach, Reseda and Northridge. Please call us for alcohol or drug treatment at 888-777-8565 or contact us by email here.

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