According to the World Health Organization (2018), alcohol can be defined as a mind-altering substance that has the ability to make a person dependent on it. Although there are many different kinds of alcoholic drinks, all contain ethanol as the main active ingredient. The different types include wine, beer, and spirits. The difference in these three is the substrate used in making them.
Consumption of three or more alcoholic drinks in women and four or more alcoholic drinks in men every single day is considered as heavy use of alcohol (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2019). From this definition, it is clear that the patient was indulging in excessive use which has more drawbacks than benefits. It leads to numerous negative health effects such as predisposing the consumer to increased risk of getting diseases such as high blood pressure, stroke, cardiac failure, liver disease, pharyngeal cancers, hepatocellular cancer, stomach cancers, and alcoholic gastritis. It also lowers a person’s inhibition which leads to reckless behavior that can put a person’s life at risk.
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To help her, I would advise her to take only one glass daily. Current guidelines recommend that women should take not more than one alcoholic drink per day while men should only consume a maximum of two alcoholic drinks daily (NIAAA, 2019). Following these guidelines helps one consume alcohol within safe limits. The patient requested whether she can be given medications. A few drugs can help contain the current situation. The first drug to consider using is acamprosate, which helps reduce the cravings. The second drug is disulfiram which causes very bad effects when a person takes alcohol (Monico,2020). The effects are so unpleasant that the person will hesitate taking alcohol any other time. For this method to work, the patient has to be fully cooperative and take the medications as prescribed. Lastly, as posited by Monico (2020), naltrexone can also be used and is shown to help reduce the desire to consume alcohol.
References
Monico, N. (2020). Alcohol withdrawal medication . Alcohol.org. https://www.alcohol.org/medication/
Narconon. (2020). Alcohol facts . Narconon International. https://www.narconon.org/drug-information/alcohol-facts.html#
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2019, November 26). Drinking levels defined . National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking
World Health Organization (WHO). (2018). Alcohol . WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol
