What are some of the health issues for women who drink alcohol everyday?
Introduction:
Not only men, but women, too, drink everyday even though they know it’s injurious for anyone who drinks everyday. As it is known to all that alcohol is harmful and can cause death early, you might be wondering then why do women drink knowing all this? It might be due to excessive stress, or workload, or they just like to live their best and enjoy it.
If we talk about the world known statistics and facts,
You might not know but consumption of alcohol affects women differently than men. Although you might have seen men drinking most of the time, and consuming alcohol in larger quantities, biological differences in a woman leads to them having a longer metabolism process. It means that when a woman consumes alcohol, irrespective of the quantity, her body takes it longer to metabolize the alcohol consumed. Another major reason why women are affected more is that women weigh less than men, meaning the level of body water is also less and when one consumes alcohol, it stays predominantly in our body water. Which means that if a woman and a man weighing the same drinks the same amount of alcohol, the blood concentration of the woman would be higher than that of the man, putting her to greater risk. Also, when a woman drinks, the after effects of it tends to stay much longer in women than in men. Meaning, the dizziness and other immediate effects which occur after consuming alcohol, lasts longer in women.
Such small but effective differences make women prone to long term negative health effects of alcohol as compared to men.
Diseases caused due to consumption of Alcohol:
Thanks to the awareness programs and movies having disclaimers everytime the consumption of alcohol comes up, the people at least know that consumption of alcohol can cause serious health problems to them! But they don’t know what they are and how much level these problems can go to, especially women. Because some girls and women drink to be in the “trend” made by society, or just for their enjoyment purpose, without knowing the necessary information!
Alcohol Use Disorder
Alcohol Use Disorder is a severe condition where the brain relapses and the patient is addicted to alcohol. He/she does not see what the situation or event is, they just want alcohol by their side. Basically, the function in the brain which stops our desire of anything or addiction of anything , relapses.
Liver Damage
Excessive drinking can cause cirrhosis (permanent liver damage). And women who regularly drink, have more chances of developing this condition than men.
Heart Disease
Having heart diseases is one of the common effects of consuming alcohol on a daily basis. Again, due to biological differences, women have a high chance of having these diseases than men, even if they drink less than them in their lifetime.
Brain Damage
According to researchers, women are more susceptible to brain damage than men. Also, the brain damage is more likely to happen when it is in the stage of developing, that is, in adolescent teenage years. And according to the above statistics, teen girls drink more and thus, they are more open to having brain damage than any other. Brain damage can occur in any form such as short term memory loss, less brain activity, reduction in the size of important brain areas which helps in wise decision making and blackouts where they do not remember a memory of a particular period.
Breast cancer
Studies show that women who drink everyday have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. And this risk increases with every drink they have.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy is the high time when the lifestyle of a woman affects both her and her baby. So, when a woman drinks, the exposure of alcohol can cause physical, cognitive and behavioral problems in the child which can even turn to disorders.
Outer Appearance
Alcohol affects our mental health and sleep cycle badly. Less sleep can cause dark circles and wrinkles, resulting in becoming older. As alcohol stays in our body, it results in putting on more weight. Thus, consumption of alcohol in everyday use is not only injurious internally, but externally too.
Conclusion:
For those women who seriously want to look out for their drinking problem, just observe yourself first, whether you are addicted to drinking or not. For that there are some points to be remembered. You can take it as warning signs.
if , after analysing, you find that you are a drinker, and want to stop this habit of yours, do not worry. There are many help centers and medical aid available for this. And believe us, there is no shame in asking for help if that’s what you want. It’s better to even stop now before it is too late. And anyways, according to experts, believing that you are wrong and you have a problem is what the most dreaded and difficult part is. Once you admit that, there’s no one stopping you!
Reference link - https://www.everydayhealth.com/womens-health/effects-of-alcohol-on-women.aspx
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/womens-health.htm
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/women-and-alcohol