Children's alcoholism: causes, development, consequences, treatment, prevention

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Chronic alcoholism affects thousands of people, but this disease is especially dangerous in childhood. The child has not yet formed all the systems, so alcohol can cause irreparable damage to his body. In addition, taking hot drinks in childhood causes serious mental disorders and quickly leads to personal degradation.

Children's alcoholism

Children's alcoholism is one of the most dangerous diseases of our time. In Russia and other CIS countries, it began to develop after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Alcohol is now available, and its use does not cause public censure and accompanies all parties. This leads to the fact that children begin to drink alcoholic beverages - out of interest, the desire to feel grown-up or under the influence of older children. However, their psyche is not yet formed, so the addiction develops quickly and dependence begins.

The average age at which modern children try alcohol is 10 years. Usually alcohol is poured to the child by adults at a family feast, without hesitation, to what consequences this can lead. Earlier acquaintance of children with alcohol usually occurs by accident or again with the filing of parents who perform treatment with alcohol tinctures.

Alcoholism in children proceeds differently than in adults, and has a number of characteristic features:

• rapid addiction to alcohol;
• malignant course of the disease;
• the use of large volumes of alcohol in one gulp;
• rapid onset of drinking-bouts;
• low efficiency of treatment.

In adults, chronic alcoholism is formed in 5-10 years, and in children - up to 4 times faster, which is determined by the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the body. The child in the brain tissue has less protein and more water in which ethanol dissolves, which improves digestibility.

7% of alcohol is excreted from the child's body by the kidneys and lungs, and the rest of it acts as a toxin and poisons all organs. As a result, the body quickly adapts to the poison, it's getting addictive.

The malignant course of alcoholism in a child is explained by the fact that his body is not yet formed. The central nervous system can not withstand the destructive effects of alcohol for a long time, so irreversible consequences quickly develop.

As a child is afraid of adult criticism, he uses alcohol secretly from them. In such cases, the whole dose is drunk, usually without snacks.

Children quickly get used to drinking alcohol for anything. With a slight intoxication, they begin to feel insecure, and a sober state becomes strange to them. In an effort to maintain complete intoxication, the child goes into drinking.

Child drunkenness is difficult to treat, because the mentality at a young age is not yet fully formed, and heavy dependence is developing rapidly. A child likes a state of intoxication, in which he feels comfortable. It is very difficult to persuade him for treatment, but without awareness of the problem and desire to deal with it, the fight against alcoholism becomes useless.

Reasons for

Most young alcoholics become so because of the parents. During family celebrations and feasts, the children are at a common table and see that their parents are drinking alcohol, after which it becomes fun.

In addition, many adults pour a child a little bit of alcohol, so he drank along with everyone. In childhood this may be enough to develop dependence. The child starts to think that there is nothing terrible in alcohol, he only gives a good mood and relaxation.

The full list of the causes of child alcoholism is somewhat broader, but all of them are related to the insufficient attention of adults to their children:

• imitation of older comrades;
• alcoholism of parents;
• desire to get rid of problems( at school or at home);
• the child has free money.

Children usually drink only with their peers, and at family celebrations they often refuse a shot. The number of schoolchildren who regularly drink low-alcohol cocktails is steadily increasing. It seems to children that they look older and cause respect from classmates.

Since the child's self-control is absent, he often overdoses with a dose of alcohol and brings himself to a serious stage of intoxication. In this state, children commit hooliganism, steal, as a result they are put on the register in the children's room of the police.

If a child receives ethanol in the womb, he often cries because he needs the usual dose. It is enough for such a baby to moisten his lips with vodka - and he will immediately calm down.

Alcoholism often develops in children who have undergone diseases that lead to personality changes:

• Brain Injuries.
• Organic CNS lesions.
• Neuroinfections.

In these cases, there is a more intense and malignant course of alcoholism. The child quickly loses control over the amount drunk and begins to experience an irresistible craving for alcohol. Soon abstinence develops.

Alcoholism in childhood is often caused by psychological trauma:

• early loss of the mother;
• family conflicts;
• lack of supervision by adults;
• social neglect.

On the video the causes of child alcoholism:

Formation of dependence

Alcohol dependence in a child develops gradually. However, this process in childhood is much faster than in the adult.

There are 5 main stages in the formation of this disease:

• Addiction to alcohol.
• Regular use.
• Mental dependence.
• Abstinence syndrome.
• Dementia.

At first, the child drinks from time to time, resulting in adaptation to alcohol. Since the children's body is not formed, it can not resist the harmful effects of ethanol.

Parents and teachers should be attentive to the child and follow changes in his behavior and new friends. The process of getting used to alcohol lasts an average of 3-6 months.

At the second stage, the behavior of children is changing, so the task of adults is to react in time and explain to the child what the abuse of alcohol can lead to. During this period, you can still overcome the illness by stopping drinking alcohol.

After 1 year after the beginning of alcohol consumption, the child develops a mental dependence. He is ready to drink at any time, and it does not matter which alcohol it is.

Ethanol tolerance is increased by 3-4 times, at the same time the child completely loses control over the amount drunk and his behavior. Children start drinking for many days in a row or constantly. This indicates that the development of chronic alcoholism began.

When there is an abstinence syndrome, the transition of the disease to a chronic stage is diagnosed. The withdrawal syndrome in children is accompanied by vegetative-somatic disorders. By the time it lasts less than in adults, and it occurs after using significant doses of alcohol.

Symptoms and signs of

There are many signs that attentive parents can suspect alcoholism in their children.

Thus, the toxic effect of alcohol on the brain and the CNS causes behavioral abnormalities:

• sharp deterioration in ratings;
• absenteeism;
• changing the circle of communication;
• refusal to introduce parents to new friends;
• loss of interest in past hobbies;
• neglect of personal hygiene;
• passivity;
• aggression;
• nervousness;
• stealth;
• theft;
• hooliganism.

Simultaneously, children show physical signs of alcoholism, which should alert any adult. They can be associated with both the harmful effects of alcohol on an unformed organism, and directly with a hangover.

The following signs give out a young alcoholic:

• smells of alcohol from clothing;
• fouling;
• headaches;
• frequent nausea;
• red cheeks and face;
• slurred speech;
• abrupt weight loss or weight gain;
• impaired coordination;
• delayed reflexes.

Concurrently, cognitive symptoms appear. The child's concentration worsens, short-term memory. He becomes forgetful, can not remember the school material, because of what significantly reduces his academic performance.

Treatment of

Children's alcoholism is difficult to treat. This is due primarily to the strongest psychological dependence, which requires a long work of specialists.

A number of doctors argue that childhood alcoholism is incurable. They argue that it is possible to protect the child from alcohol only with the use of extreme measures. At the same time, it is impossible to cure the personal and physical changes that alcohol provoked.

At an early stage, when the child drinks not regularly, enough preventive conversations. Refusal of alcohol will not be accompanied by unpleasant physical symptoms and will pass relatively painlessly.

If alcoholism is already formed, the child needs inpatient treatment. It is possible only with the permission of parents or guardians.

To get rid of physical symptoms, the child is detoxified and restores vital functions.

Many drugs that are used to treat adults, children can not be given. Therefore, the doctors prescribe:

• immunomodulating phytogens;
• vitamins;
• fortifying agents.

However, the main treatment is to overcome the psychological dependence on alcohol. For this, a psychotherapist must work with the child. It is equally important that parents take part in the treatment.

Specialist will help adults to establish relationships with their child, eliminate disagreements and restore lost harmony in relationships. Most cases of child alcoholism provoke an unhealthy situation in the family. Feeling unnecessary, abandoned, experiencing constant stress, the child finds solace in alcohol.

It is important to understand that children can not come to the clinic on their own and ask for help. For him and his health, adults who are close to each other are fully responsible.

Parents, grandmothers, grandfathers should pay special attention to the younger generation, find out who the child is communicating with, how they spend their time, what is interested. This will not miss the alarming symptoms and start treatment on time.

Consequences of

In childhood, even occasional drinking of small doses of alcohol is a great stress for the body. The World Health Organization has recognized alcohol as a poison for a child, because it has a destructive effect on all organs and systems, preventing their normal development.
Regular intake of alcohol leads to disorders of the endocrine, nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Consequences become:

• abnormal development of the heart and blood vessels;
• a violation of the synthesis of hormones;
• is a disorder of nerve conduction;
• mental disorders.

The main blow is due to the nervous system, because in children it is at the stage of formation. Very quickly, the child develops psychosis, neurosis, hyperactivity.

As a result of the devastating effects on the central nervous system, the child becomes apathetic and lazy or, on the contrary, too quick-tempered, angry and aggressive, he often begins to skip school. Then follows the deterioration of memory, logical and abstract thinking, difficulty concentrating. At some point, all this can lead to complete personal degradation.

The child's organism produces less alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that decomposes alcohol. As the action of ethanol is intensified and becomes longer in time, there is poisoning of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, brain and other organs.

Under the influence of alcohol, the child can develop a life-threatening disease:

• cirrhosis;
• renal or hepatic insufficiency;
• encephalopathy;
• oncological diseases.

On the video effects of child alcoholism:

Prevention

As children's alcoholism leads to irreversible health problems and is very difficult to treat, prevention is especially important. It is conducted simultaneously in several directions: family, school, state regulation.

Measures to prevent child alcoholism at the family level include:

• Cure parents of dependence.
• Antialcoholic education.
• Healthy Eating.
• Rationing the day mode.
• Complete sleep.

The school also has to take a number of actions to prevent alcoholism among students, among them:

• Sanitary-educational work.
• Establishment of the teacher's contact with the students.
• Involve children in physical education.
• Teaching tact.
• Preventive work of the school doctor.

The formation of a person's personality begins in childhood, so prevention of alcoholism should start as early as possible.

A big role in this sphere is assigned to the state, which has taken a number of important measures at the moment:

• Prohibition of alcohol sales to minors.
• Prohibition of beer advertising on TV until 21:00.
• Criminal responsibility for involving children in drunkenness.
• Prohibition of accepting children for work related to alcohol.

So that the child stops thinking about alcohol, it must be something to distract, take his spare time. It is worth picking up some kind of hobby - for example, going to the sports section. In addition, adults themselves must completely abandon alcohol, so that children can take an example from them.

Documentary about children's alcoholism: