Alcohol is one of the leading causes of the death of many people around the globe. It accounts for 5.3% of the yearly death toll worldwide wherein 1 out of 20 individuals die from it. To resolve this dilemma, moderate drinking or abstinence must be done.
However, for those who are already suffering from alcoholism, your best solution is to undergo rehab since you’ll be guided there. These rehab centers have the facilities and personnel to help you recover from this disorder so that you can live back to your normal life.
Let’s find out how alcohol drinking can kill a person.
How Do People Die from Alcohol?
This substance is a known depressant that can strongly disrupt your brain and body. When you excessively drink five glasses in less than two hours, there’s a tendency that you’ll experience blackout and bump your head on the floor. This is just one scenario of how alcohol can kill you, and there are several more ways:
Lethal Violence
Around 40 percent of homicides and physical injuries are done by people who are under the influence of alcohol. This happens because once you are intoxicated, your clear judgments are clouded and you tend to be more aggressive and irritable. That’s why a simple squabble can lead to a fierce fistfight on the street.
Additionally, 30 percent of suicide records were done by individuals who have a high alcohol blood content.
Liver Diseases
Your liver is responsible for metabolizing the alcohol inside your body. It turns to another substance called acetaldehyde, which is harmful to the body. If you drink too much, that means there’ll be high contents of acetaldehyde inside your liver, which scars it. This ultimately leads to liver cirrhosis or hepatitis.
Liver disease is one of the leading killers among Americans. If you don’t seek treatment immediately, the damage can be irreversible and can lead to death.
Alcohol Poisoning
Your body has limitations, especially in digesting alcohol contents. When you excessively drink for a shorter period, you’re at risk of dying from alcohol poisoning. Most binge drinkers are aged 35 to 64 years, and they are the frequent victims of this condition.
Motor Accidents
It’s a social responsibility that you must never drive when you’re intoxicated since you’re at risk of crashing your vehicle to another, or on the roadside. Vehicular accidents due to drunk driving is a serious matter in the U.S., especially during weekends and holidays. Around 10,497 people die from a car crash due to driving under the influence.
Heart Disease
Besides cirrhosis, drinking too much is also dangerous for your heart since your blood pressure rises and that can lead to a heart attack. When you drink 12.5 glasses of alcoholic beverages, your risk of heart-related disease increases:
- Heart failure: 9%
- Aortic aneurysm: 15%
- Stroke: 14%
- Hypertension: 24%
How Long Will You Live If You Drink Alcohol Daily?
Drinking a glass of wine after a meal can indeed help in your digestion. However, what can happen if you drink more than ten glasses per week? A study conducted among 600,000 drinkers, showed that one or two years of your life is taken out when you drink 10 to 15 glasses every week. If you go beyond 18 glasses per week, around 4 to 5 years of your life will be wasted.
How Many People Die from Alcoholism?
Death from alcoholism is a preventable situation. It takes discipline and courage for one to overcome this unhealthy lifestyle, considering all its detrimental health effects. Unfortunately, in the U.S., around 95,000 Americans die annually from alcoholism, which is equivalent to 261 deaths every day.
From these numbers, 50% of it is caused by alcohol-related diseases like heart attack, cirrhosis, stroke, fatty liver, and cancer. The majority of the deaths are caused by alcohol poisoning and motor accidents due to intoxication.
How Many Drinks Can Cause Liver Damage?
Cirrhosis, hepatitis, and fatty liver are some of the serious side effects of alcoholism. It’s the liver that’s responsible for digesting alcohol, so if you have too many drinks, that can harm your liver. On average, 2 to 3 drinks per day is enough to damage your liver. If you go above five drinks every day, then you’re at risk of acquiring liver disease.
Additionally, here are the symptoms when you have a liver disease:
- Legs and ankles are swollen
- Yellowish skin color and eyes
- Sudden weight loss due to lack of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Stomach pain
- Itchiness of the skin
How Serious Are Alcohol-Related Deaths in the US?
The fact that drinking is socially accepted in the U.S. and other countries, makes it alarming since many individuals are at risk of acquiring alcohol-related diseases or dying from a motor accident due to drunk driving.
Every day, around six Americans die due to alcohol poisoning and 76 percent of them are male. This is roughly equivalent to 3 out of 4 people dying from excessive drinking. If we translate that to the annual death count, that is roughly 2,200 Americans. Also, most of these victims are aged 35 to 64 years.
To further illustrate the severity of this scenario, here are some statistical data:
- The highest death rate (34%) for alcoholism is at age 45 to 64, and then followed at the age group 35-44 and 55-64 years, both at 21% mortality rate
- The majority of these victims are non-Hispanic whites (68%) and then followed by Hispanic whites (15%)
What are the Advantages When You Quit Alcohol for a Month?
If you’re planning on quitting your drinking sessions, then don’t do it abruptly since you’ll surely suffer from painful withdrawal symptoms. Typically, you’ll feel these symptoms 24 hours after your last consumption.
The discomfort you feel from these withdrawal symptoms can be felt for 48 to 72 hours. Fortunately, the pain slowly wears off three to seven days after your last drinking session.
To further motivate you from abstaining on alcohol, here are the health benefits you’ll get for a month of abstinence:
- Better sleep
- You are more hydrated and your energy levels are high
- You will shed a few pounds since calories are reduced the moment you stopped drinking
- More savings
If you want to continue your path towards recovery, then it’s best if you enroll in rehab treatment. You can find a few rehab centers near you online, or you can ask for a referral from your doctor.
