Alcohol
English 135
Milton Krivokuca
Melonie McGee
10 April 2011

Alcohol can be harmful to a person’s health when too much is consumed. When consuming a lot everyday a person could become an alcoholic. There are a lot of risks when becoming an alcoholic. For instance, it could affect a person’s performance on the job and even affect a person’s relationship with family. A person who becomes an alcoholic should quit drinking because it could cause cirrhosis, pancreatitis, and alcohol poisoning.
Cirrhosis is caused by long-term drinking. With Cirrhosis, the tissue of the liver suffers extreme damage that prevents the liver from working properly (http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis/#complications). The liver is important because it maintains steady glucose levels. If a person’s glucose levels become unsteady it will cause the body to have a heart attack or stroke. People need their liver in order to survive. When your liver doesn’t work your body accumulates a wide array of chemicals. Not to mention your liver also has a responsibility in recycling your blood. Your body has very specific guidelines to function. When the liver doesn’t work and the old blood and chemicals that you’re liver used to filter they build up in the blood and are kept moving around from organ to organ. The cells of each of those organs begin to not function effectively (because the body just doesn't work as well when its chemicals are out of whack) and each organ that doesn't function has its own impact on the body as a system ( http://www.answermetrue.com/What_happens_to_you_when_your_liver_doesn_t_work-qna26291.html). Without, a working liver it could cause death.
There are a lot of complications with cirrhosis. First, gallstones start to develop because cirrhosis prevents bile from flowing freely to and from the gallbladder; the bile then hardens (http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis/#complications). Then bruising and bleeding occur. This happens when the liver slows or stops producing proteins needed for blood clotting (http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis/#complications). The body then becomes sensitive to medications preventing medicines from working properly. Finally, the body starts to develop liver cancer causing the liver to fail.
Pancreatitis occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed. This also happens when constantly consuming too much alcohol. The symptoms of Pancreatitis are: a swollen and tender abdomen, Nausea and vomiting, fever, and a rapid pulse. This can be very painful to the body. Also, depending on the type of state the body is in it may require surgery.
There are serious complications of pancreatitis. The kidneys start to fail when this happens the body will need a kidney transplant. Then the body starts to develop gallstones that may need surgical removal it not passed. Next, the pancreatic tissue becomes so severely damaged it would have to be removed (http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/pancreatitis/). Finally, Pseudo cysts start to enter the body which is accumulations of fluid and tissue debris (http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/pancreatitis.). When left untreated the enzymes and toxins can enter the bloodstream and affect the heart, lungs, kidneys, or other organs (2008).
Alcohol poisoning comes