Photo courtesy of Peer Health
Binge drinking is defined as consuming lots of alcohol within a short amount of time. For men this usually means 5 or more, for women, 4 or more.
Although people who attend high school binge drink at times, the most common binge drinkers are college students. Sadly, that's not much of a shock considering the amount of stress that's put upon the shoulders of people who attend a college or University. BUT, there's lots of risks to "letting off steam" through binge drinking to be the "life of the party."
Binge drinking often leads to...
- Alcohol Poisoning: This one is EXTREMELY dangerous to your health, and often times fatal. Alcohol poisoning is when there is simply too much alcohol in your bloodstream at once. Your breathing is GREATLY effected, your gag reflex gets impaired, and at this point, if you don't die from it, you COULD end up in a coma.
You need to call 911 if the following is happening to someone:
- Confusion
- Vomiting uncontrollably
- Seizures
- Passing out
- very slow breathing
- low body temperature
"Alcohol depresses the nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing, heartbeat and your gag reflex, which keeps you from choking. Excessive alcohol intake can slow and, in some cases, shut down these functions. Your body temperature can also drop (hypothermia), leading to cardiac arrest. And your blood sugar level can fall low enough to cause seizures."
- Liver disease
Photo courtesy of Alcohol Tax Increase.
In the image above, the bottom liver is being effected by the worst kind of alcohol induced liver disease.
"It refers to the replacement of normal liver tissue with scar tissue. Between 10 and 20 percent of heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis, usually after 10 or more years of drinking. The damage from cirrhosis is irreversible, and it is a life-threatening disease."
Binge drinking also causes...
- Stroke
- Brain damage
Result of binge drinking. Photo courtesy of Bild.
You could...
- Go for a walk
- talk to someone who makes you laugh
- lay down
- take a hot bubble bath
- do yoga
- exercise
- treat yourself to ice cream or something you enjoy
- writing in a journal
- don't drink a lot of caffeine
- cook something simple
For more ways to de-stress, visit 100 Ways to Reduce Stress. :)
* Thanks to MayoClinic for the Alcohol Poisoning information.
* Thanks to Alcohol Tax Increase for the information on Liver Disease.
SWF is a blog raising awareness about the effects Alcohol and Drug use can have on a person's life. Whether it is the person who is addicted or whether it's the person who is the child of a Parent who is addicted, this blog covers it all.
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