Symptoms and signs of stages of alcoholism in men and women: the first, second, third, fourth

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"We drink the first cup for quenching thirst, the second for fun, the third for enjoyment, and the fourth one for insanity. ..".This is how the ancient Greek writer and philosopher Lucius Apulei expressed himself about the effects of alcohol. Alcohol can really bring to the complete absence of self-control, develops a grave condition in which a person can not do without a daily binge. This is alcoholism.

What is alcoholism and its stages

No one has ever been born with neglected chronic alcoholism. This disease develops and progresses gradually, year after year, taking away from a person the possibility of physical and mental recovery.

Alcoholism begins with normal domestic drunkenness. This is not even a disease, but such a preliminary period when a drinking person is able to give up drinking alone. This stage is called a prodrome. On this previous alcoholism, a person calmly refers to drinking, there is no anticipation of any feast with an indispensable alcohol, there is no craving and waiting for the weekend, when you can relax with the help of booze.

The first

Although the stage is the first, but this is alcoholism. Alcohol already exerts its detrimental effect on the patient:

1. An excited state of apprehension of the next feast appears and, conversely, some delay or cancellation of binge brings the alcoholic into a state of hysteria, aggression, discontent with others.
2. There is a significant increase in the amount drunk while maintaining a clear consciousness and adequate behavior. Patients usually consider this sign as something of an achievement, but in reality the emergence of resistance to alcohol should alert family members.
3. The body's response to a large number of drinks is lost. This is a vomitive reflex. If, at the prodromal stage, all excessively drunk alcohol was implanted by the body, then at the first stage of the illness everything that the patient has drunk remains in his body and continues his poisoning effect on the organs.
4. Psychic dependence on a state of intoxication develops. It manifests itself in the constant desire to drink alcohol, for this reason, any reasons are sought, even the most ridiculous ones. When you remember the state of alcoholic intoxication in a patient with alcoholism, the person becomes pink, the mood rises.

The 1st stage of the formation of alcoholic illness is called neurasthenic. Drunken states at this stage is not formed, since the hangover syndrome is not expressed explicitly and does not require treatment with alcohol.

In the first stages, such symptoms as memory loss states - palimpsest and amnesia begin to appear. These are quite characteristic from the point of view of narcology signs of alcoholism.

The duration of this period is different, it all depends on the frequency of drinking strong drinks. On average, the duration of the neurasthenic stage in men is from one to five years, women are slipping into the second stage of alcoholism a little faster - in just a couple of years.

As in the first stage there are no special problems with health, alcoholics continue to enjoy their drunken state, which necessarily leads them to the second stage of the disease.
First symptoms of alcoholism:

The second

This phase was dubbed by a specialist drug addict. Its duration varies according to various estimates from five to twenty years. Everything depends on the compensatory capabilities of the body and the frequency of abuse.

For the 2nd drug addiction stage, the appearance of a severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome - abstinence is very characteristic. Being in this state, the patient is in poor control of himself, he is tormented by such physiological manifestations as tremor of hands and face, strong palpitations, headaches, insomnia. Along with physical problems, on the grounds of deprivation of alcohol, the patient may well begin a white fever or psychosis. Symptomatic of withdrawal depends on the defeat of any of the body systems.

The next stage in the development of alcoholism is marked by the beginning of drunken manifestations. The condition of abstinence requires opohmeleniya, after which the alcoholic can fall into some kind of oblivion. Awakening, he again begins to look for alcohol. Such binges can last several days.

An irresistible craving for alcohol is available even when the patient is already intoxicated.

Intellect is lowered, features of complete degradation of personality are revealed. Any action that requires concentration and any mental activity causes significant difficulties. This is the destructive effect of ethanol on the brain.

It is possible to determine the second stage and because some patients think about the fact that it's time to start with a frequent use of alcohol, but it's impossible to cope with alcoholism without medical assistance. Continuing to continuously abuse alcohol, patients gradually reach the hardest third stage.

Third

The last stage of alcoholism, after which, as a rule, the death of a person occurs. Physicians classify it as encephalopathic.

The third stage of the disease is characterized by the following symptoms:

• True binges, lasting for several weeks and ending only with complete intolerance to ethanol by the patient's body.
• Low resistance to alcohol. Patients drastically get drunk from a small amount of booze.
• Severe diseases of internal organs and systems - cardiomyopathy, polyneuropathy, encephalopathy, cirrhosis, renal failure. Any of these diseases is difficult to go on by itself, but in combination with a constant alcohol poisoning of the body is fraught with a quick death of the patient.
• The ultimate pathological degeneration of personality. There is a narrowness of thinking, rudeness, hamovatost, tactlessness, inadequate behavior.
• The condition of abstinence is very painful, characterized by seizures of alcoholic delirium, complete lack of appetite, severe physical manifestations and requires compulsory over-cooking.

Survival of patients with alcoholism at Stage 3 rarely exceeds the five-year threshold. Numerous lesions of internal organs, an antisocial way of life, problems with the psyche lead to a natural, sad ending.

Stages of alcoholism

Fourth

Some specialists observe patients with the fourth stage of the disease. This is the final stage, in which the patient can not help even the most respected narcologist. The person is in constant alcoholic intoxication, practically does not use food. Internal organs are so affected that even a partial restoration is out of the question. The thought processes are completely violated, the patient can not articulate his thoughts articulately. The fourth stage is always a quick death of the patient from severe internal lesions.

Behind the Behavior Behind the

Besides the generally accepted current alcoholism gradation, there are several other classifications. For example, the famous Russian psychiatrist Eduard E. Bekhtel, for many years studied the problem of alcoholism.

Bechtel distributed the patients to the following subgroups:

• Abstinents. This group includes people who rarely consume alcohol. To abstinents it is possible to carry the people drinking alcohol in the amount of 100-200 grams not more often than twice a year.
• Accidentally drinking. This subgroup is characterized by "taking on the chest" of strong alcohol in an amount of 50 to 150 grams several times a month.
• Moderately drinking. They include people who consume vodka or other strong alcohol in the amount of 100-150 ml( sometimes 300-400 ml) from once a month to once a week.
• Systematically consuming alcohol. They are quite often drinking people - 1-2 times a week. The amount of strong alcohol consumed is 200-300 ml, but sometimes 500 ml.
• Usually drinkers. Alcoholics who drink 2-3 times a week for 500 ml and more alcohol.

As you can see, for the basis of Bekhtel took such concepts as the frequency and amount of alcohol consumed.

Stages of dependence development according to Fedotov

Another major Soviet psychiatrist, D.D.Fedotov proposed to divide the patients with alcoholism into four large groups, each of which shows the degree of the patient's addiction to strong drinks.

In his design, the stages of alcoholism are as follows:

1. The first stage. It is characterized by the use of alcoholic beverages in order to obtain relaxation or removal of discomfort.
2. The second stage. For patients at this stage is characterized by the development of tolerance to the usual doses of alcohol, in connection with what is necessary for obtaining euphoria, the amount of alcohol taken is steadily growing.
3. Third stage. To her, Fedotov reckons patients who developed an abstinence syndrome, which is characterized by physical and mental disorders. For the purpose of lifting alcoholic withdrawal, patients are forced to get drunk. The patient is diagnosed with chronic alcoholic illness.
4. Fourth stage. The final stage of the development of alcoholism, in which the patient has all the signs of severe damage to internal organs and clearly visible mental disorders. Pathological manifestations are aggravated by further abuse of alcoholic beverages. The fourth stage inevitably leads to a lethal outcome.

Alcoholism can and should be treated at any stage of its development. The main thing is that the patient himself wants this. And it is best not to bring yourself to such a state, which requires the help of an expert in narcology.

On the video stage of alcoholism, their symptoms and symptoms: