Health Final Review sheet

Posted by Yuka as Other

What is meant by “One Drink”?Knowing how to count standard drinks is necessary to calculating your blood alcohol concentrations. People usually underestimate how much they have had to drink because they aren’t using standard measurements. “One Drink” means 1/2 ounce of pure 100% alcohol. This is the definition used to calculate BAC levels, establish metabolism times, and so forth.
BeerOne drink = one 12-ounce beer. This is normal-strength regular beer (4.5% alcohol). Micro-brews, ice beer, and malt liquor have a higher percentage of alcohol (look at the label).

- Examples (assuming a 12 ounce beer)
For beer, here is a fast way to know the number of drinks:
Read the label
Find the percent of alcohol
Divide that by 4.5

Regular
Bud
= 1 drink

Light
Miller Lite
= .8 drink

Ice
Ice House
= 1.2 drink

Specialty / Micro-Brews
Sam Adams
= 1.3 drink

Malt Liquor

= 1.3 to 2 drinks

LiquorOne drink = 1.25 ounces of liquor (40% alcohol or 80 proof). This is how much whiskey, vodka, gin, etc. is in a typical, measured mixed drink or in a “shot.” The amount of alcohol in different types of liquor can be very different.

- Examples (based on 1.25 ounces of liquor)
Tequila
40%, 80 proof
= 1 drink

Rum
75.5%, 151 proof
= 1.9 drinks

Vodka
40%, 80 proof
= 1 drink

Wine Coolers 12 oz.
6-8%, 12-16 proof
= 1 to 1.5 drinks

Everclear
95%, 190 proof
= 2 drinks

WineOne drink = 5 ounces of standard wine — this is most table wines: white, red, rose, champagne.

One drink = 3 ounces of fortified wine — this is wine with more than 13% alcohol content, such as brandy, cognac or sherry.
2. How much drinking is too much? This is probably the toughest question, especially for people coming from countries having long traditions and even competitions in drinking (e.g. mostly Eastern European countries including Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, and some Western European countries famous with beer drinking and bar fist fighting, such as Scotland, Ireland, England, less likely Germany). For some people the limit is until they fall under the table. For that type of “macho drinkers” I would recommend one fast alcohol drinking screening test before they start feeling their liver close to the spina iliaca anterior superior (anterior superior iliac spine). How to Recognize Problem Drinking will also be helpful to identify the problem.
3. Is there such thing as a healthy drinking (they say one glass of red wine increase HDL with 5%, one to two shots of liquor are good for the heart)? There is a new research from this year showing that one drink might be of some benefit, but 2 is not healthy anymore. However, doctors will never prescribe anybody alcohol for healthy reasons. You better hit the gym, not the bar.
4. How much alcohol per day/week is still in the normal range? Good news for the few drinks per weeks lovers. Here is the “safe” amount of alcohol you can ingest weekl without fear of becoming alcoholic in the next few years.
5. Drinking and driving is out of question. Just it case here is a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Calculato.

Background
Although alcohol consumption has fallen since the late 1970’s, Australians are still relatively big drinkers and spend over $400 each per year on alcohol. 60% of us drink at least once a week and @ 10% of us drink daily. Approximately, one third of young people between the ages of 14 and 19 consume 5 drinks or more in one session every two weeks.

Alcoholic liver disease occurs after prolonged heavy drinking, typically for at least 10 years and particularly among those who are physically dependent on alcohol.

However, not everyone who drinks alcohol to excess develops serious forms of alcoholic liver disease. It is likely that genetic factors determine this and a family history of cirrhosis may indicate a higher risk.

Other factors include being overweight and iron overload (see section on Haemochromatosis). Women are more susceptible to alcoholic liver disease than men.
Liver problems caused by alcohol include:

· Fatty liver
· Alcoholic hepatitis
· Alcoholic cirrhosis

Fatty Liver
This may occur in people who drink 30g or more of alcohol each day (see section on Fatty liver for more detailed information.)
Alcohol abuse can lead to the accumulation of fat within the liver cells.
Management includes reducing alcohol intake and weight loss. Alcohol dependence needs to be recognized and dealt with.
Fatty liver can lead to inflammation and eventually scarring of the liver and cirrhosis.

(2) Alcoholic hepatitis

Excessive use of alcohol can cause acute and chronic hepatitis (inflammation of the liver). Usually occurs in someone who is a chronic drinker with a recent episode of prolonged heavy consumption.

Alcoholic hepatitis can range from a mild hepatitis to severe liver problems with symptoms of jaundice (yellow skin), mental confusion caused by liver failure, ascites (fluid retention in the abdomen), bleeding oesophageal varices (varicose veins in the oesophagus), abnormal blood clotting and coma.

Alcoholic hepatitis is reversible if the person stops drinking but it can take several months for reversal to occur. Alcoholic hepatitis can lead to liver scarring and cirrhosis and very frequently occurs in alcoholics who already have cirrhosis of the liver.
(3) Cirrhosis

Anything which results in severe liver injury can cause cirrhosis. Common causes include excessive alcohol intake, chronic hepatitis B and C infection, intake of certain chemicals and poisons, too much iron or copper, severe reaction to drugs and obstruction of the bile duct.
Cirrhosis of the liver is a degenerative disease where liver cells are damaged and replaced by scar formation.

As scar tissue progressively accumulates, blood flow through the liver is diminished, causing even more liver cells to die. Loss of liver function can result in disturbances in important liver functions such as the processing of nutrients, hormones, and the detoxification of drugs and poisons including alcohol.

In more advanced liver disease there can be enlargement of the liver and spleen, jaundice and accumulation of fluid in the abdomen and other tissues of the body. Blood clotting can be impaired and this can lead to internal bleeding.

Some types of cirrhosis can be treated but often there is no cure. At this point, treatment is mostly supportive and may include adherence to a special diet, diuretics (fluid tablets) and abstinence from alcohol. If the cirrhosis has been caused by a virus such as hepatitis C, some people can undergo HCV treatment which may reduce the chance of progression to more advanced liver disease.

Although cirrhosis is not reversible, people who stop drinking may avoid progression to liver failure and/or liver cancer.