HAZARDS OF ALCOHOL INTAKE

Alcohol poses a serious threat to health in numerous ways. An exhaustive discussion on how alcohol may affect the human body adversely may take up to 2 or 3 lifetimes to complete (though I seriously doubt that would be enough). For this reason i have decided to list the possible problems, due to alcohol intake, that can affect each part of the body. 

The Brain

Alcohol impairs judgement, causes sleepiness,  slow reflexes and response. However, that's the least of your worries about what it can do to your brain. Here's the list of brain injuries due to alcohol intake.  It can cause  altered consciousness and brain damage (stroke, memory loss, dementia, encephalopathy and psychosis)

Heart 

Little alcohol is good for the heart but more that could damage the heart muscle causing it to beat irregularly and weaken the ability of the heart. These may lead to a heart attack and/or heart failure.

Sexual Life

Alcohol lowers inhibition and self control so most people may be more likely to engage in sex after taking alcohol. Although some men claim alcohol boosts their sexual performance or stamina, however alcohol is a known sex-drive killer, especially as it reduces testosterone level n males which is responsible for the male sex drive.  On the long-term alcohol can reduce sperm count as well as  testicular atrophy (shrinking of the testis) especially in patients with severe alcoholic liver damage (cirrhosis/ liver failure). Yep!!! Sorry guys, it's true. So if you're already having fertility issues you may want to consider doubling down or put the down permanently.

Stomach and Oesophagus

Alcohol irritates the stomach and may cause gastritis (inflammation of the stomach) or worse stomach ulcer. In more severe cases it may cause bleeding in the stomach and cause people to vomit this blood that has accumulated in the stomach especially after drinking excessively. This is commonly mistaken by the patients, family and friends as poisoning and by others as "spiritual attack". The esophagus is similar and subject to the same damage.

Liver and Pancreas

Alcoholic liver damage ranges from mild deposition of fat in and around the liver to alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. 

Diabetes Mellitus and Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)  are 2 possible consequences of alcohol damage to the pancreas.

Immunity and Infections

 Red wine has been shown to protect against common cold but this is not true for beer and spirits. Alcohol generally is a risk factor for pneumonia (an infection of the lungs).

Cancer

Alcohol can predispose drinkers to numerous types of cancers and this can occur even in people who take low quantities. The cancers may arise from any of the following areas:

Mouth, pharynx (upper throat) and esophagus (food pipe), larynx (voice box)  and lungs

Stomach, liver, pancreas, rectum,colon and anus. Did I mention breast cancer? Well that's in addition to Kidney, bladder, prostate, ovarian, uterine (the womb) and skin cancers (melanoma, non-melanoma). Blood cancers(leukaemias and lymphomas) are not excluded. So you can basically point at any part of your body and you would hardly be wrong to say that alcohol can damage it.

Summary

It would not be possible to explain the full effects of alcohol on a single bog post. However, this post is just a synopsis. Further questions would be discussed as they arise.. It is important though to say that  if one is to engage in drinking it should be a well thought out decision after risk: benefit comparison has been made.