Alcohol Intervention Strategies Focuses On The Whole Family

Another Approach To Addiction♧ Myths ♧ Think About It ♧ Other Lenses On Drinking ♧ Booze and Your Body ♧ The Science of Addiction ♧ Your Opinion Please ♧ Alcohol Breath Testers ♧ Alcohol Rehab News ♧ Do You Squidoo? ♧ Talk About Addictions ♧ Follow Me On Twitter ♧ re-Tweet ♧ Contact Me ♧ Your Voice Counts ♧ People Talking About Alcohol Intervention ♧ About Towanda ♧ My Other Health Lenses

Webster's Dictionary defines rehabilitation as "restoring to a condition of good health" and that is exactly what alcohol rehab is all about. Restoring both physical and mental health to let the alcoholic see clear skin and eyes when they look in the mirror each morning is the primary goal of the alcohol rehab doctors. One problem the rehab centers have to combat is the myths some people have about drinking alcohol.

When asked why they drink, the standard answers are:

♦ "Everybody Does It", but one third of all adults do not drink at all.
♦ "If things go wrong, drinking helps". If you drink to solve a problem you are at risk of becoming an alcoholic who uses liquor as a crutch to make it through life..
♦ "Drinking is the best way to celebrate". If alcohol becomes the most important part of a party, then serious problems can occur..
♦ "Alcohol is less dangerous than drugs". Car crashes, suicides, and homicides linked to alcohol use make it the number one drug problem for young people..
♦ "Mixed drinks contain more alcohol than beer or wine". A 12oz can of beer, 5oz glass of wine and a standard mixed drink with 1.5oz of 80 proof liquor contain the same amount of alcohol.

People who think excessive drinking is just a social thing don't consider the effects of alcohol on the body, but there are very harmful side effects to drinking on every part of the body. Alcohol affects the brain cells causing staggering, slurred speech and blurred vision. Alcohol increases the workload of the heart causing irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure. Prolonged use causes extensive damage and failure to the liver, irritates the digestive system, and disrupts the ability of your kidneys to maintain proper balance of body fluids and minerals. Alcohol widens blood vessels causing headaches, loss of body heat, and reduces the body's ability to produce blood cells resulting in anemia. When faced with such a wide range of ill affects from drinking heavily, how can anyone think that alcohol is a harmless vice in which to indulge?

Photo credit royalty-free graphics

Alcohol breath testers are used by law enforcement to determine if a driver has indulged in too much alcohol to safely operate an automobile. This factor alone is the reason legislation was passed to make it a Class A Misdemeanor for vendors of alcohol to sell more liquor to customers whom they judge to be intoxicated. This law imposes severe penalties that range from a maximum fine of $2,500.00 to a jail sentence of up to one year.

Most people show measurable mental impairment around 0.05% blood alcohol concentration or BAC. Levels found in the blood above this percentage tend to deteriorate motor functions. Unconsciousness usually happens with results of 0.4% BAC. Anything over 0.5% can depress the breathing and heart rate to the point of death.

Testing a blood sample was the original method to determine alcohol level but the process was costly and took a long period of time to analyze so other technologies were developed. Other technologies used to test a breath sample for alcohol are wet chemistry, photo spectroscopy, gas chromatography, Infra Red spectroscopy, semi-conductor sensors like tin oxide and electro chemical analysis as in a fuel cell.

The Breathalyzer is used primarily by law enforcement but prisons and work release programs, probation departments and half-way houses utilize them to make the residents comply with the parole requirements. The device looks like a over-sized remote control with a tube that is breathed into by the person suspected of excess drinking. The results appear on an LCD screen and can be printed out for evidence purposes in an arrest for DWI or DUI.

Photo credit royalty-free graphics

I am a Rocket Mom, a Giant Squid 100, SquidAngel of Lensographies and SquidAngel of Home and Garden Furniture. If you have any questions please use the contact button up above and ask your questions. See you around the community.

Another Approach To Addiction♧ Myths ♧ Think About It ♧ Other Lenses On Drinking ♧ Booze and Your Body ♧ The Science of Addiction ♧ Your Opinion Please ♧ Alcohol Breath Testers ♧ Alcohol Rehab News ♧ Do You Squidoo? ♧ Talk About Addictions ♧ Follow Me On Twitter ♧ re-Tweet ♧ Contact Me ♧ Your Voice Counts ♧ People Talking About Alcohol Intervention ♧ About Towanda ♧ My Other Health Lenses