Alcoholism

Alcoholism: The Facts
by National Institute of Health
For many people, the facts about alcoholism are not clear. What is alcoholism, exactly? How does it differ from alcohol abuse? When should a person seek help for a problem related to his or her drinking?

Alcohol: What You Don't Know Can Harm You
by National Institute of Health
If you are like many Americans, you may drink alcohol occasionally. Or, like others, you may drink moderate amounts of alcohol on a more regular basis. If you are a woman or someone over the age of 65, this means you have no more than one drink per day

Women and Drinking
by National Institute of Health
Alcohol presents yet another health challenge for women. Even in small amounts, alcohol affects women differently than men. In some ways, heavy drinking is much more risky for women than it is for men. With any health issue, accurate information is key.

Responsible Holiday Drinking
by Health Canada
Toasting friends with a glass of cheer over the holidays is a tradition for many Canadians. But drinking or serving too much can lead to health and other problems. Alcohol is a drug, a depressant that slows down your body's central nervous system.

Seniors and Alcohol Use
by National Institute on Aging
Anyone at any age can have a drinking problem. Great Uncle George may have always liked his liquor, so his family may not see that his drinking behavior is getting worse as he gets older.

Substance Abuse and Child Maltreatment
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Substance abuse has a major impact on the child welfare system. It is estimated that 9 percent of children in this country (6 million) live with at least one parent who abuses alcohol or other drugs.

If You're a Parent Who Drinks
by SAMHSA
The effects of alcohol use on those around us are different from those of smoking because there are many more people who drink from time to time, as they see fit, than there are smokers who can stop or start at will.

The Remembrance of Our Misdoings
The Black Veil
by Rick Moody
While still in his twenties, Rick Moody found that a decade of alcohol, drugs, and other indulgences had left him stranded in a depression so severe that he feared for his life.

Medications Can Aid Recovery from Alcoholism
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Though some alcoholics can recover without drug treatment, others are being helped by medications. One such treatment is a drug previously used to treat narcotic dependency. Alcoholism is a complex disease with physical, social and psychological

Substance Abuse In Cancer
by National Cancer Institute
Substance abuse is very uncommon among patients with cancer. The number of known patients with cancer who are substance abusers may be small because these patients do not seek medical help in hospitals, or they may not acknowledge to health care providers

Alcohol: Frequently Asked Questions
by CDC
Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is an intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine, and liquor. Alcohol is produced by the fermentation of yeast, sugars, and starches. How does alcohol affect a person?

Alcohol
by CDC
Alcohol use is very common in our society. Drinking alcohol has immediate effects that can increase the risk of many harmful health conditions. Excessive alcohol use, either in the form of heavy drinking (drinking more than two drinks per day on average

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Referral Considerations
by CDC
Providers of medical, educational, and social services often must decide whether to refer a child, person, or family to a specialist for a full FAS diagnostic evaluation. This decision can be difficult.

Fetal alcohol syndrome: Differential Diagnosis
by CDC
Individual dysmorphic features are not unique to any particular syndrome. Even rare defects or certain clusters of dysmorphic features can appear in multiple syndromes.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
by CDC
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) results from maternal alcohol use during pregnancy and carries lifelong consequences. Early recognition of FAS can result in better outcomes for persons who receive a diagnosis.

Alcoholic Liver Disease
by National Institute of Health
The liver is one of the largest and most complex organs in the body. It stores vital energy and nutrients, manufactures proteins and enzymes necessary for good health, protects the body from disease, and breaks down (or metabolizes) and helps remove

What Is Substance Abuse?
by National Institute of Health
Alcoholism and drug dependence and addiction, known as substance use disorders, are complex problems. People with these disorders once were thought to have a character defect or moral weakness; some people mistakenly still believe that.

A love story. Yes: this is a love story
Drinking: A Love Story
by Caroline Knapp
It's about passion, sensual pleasure, deep pulls, lust, fears, yearning hungers. It's about needs so strong they're crippling. It's about saying good-bye to something you can't fathom living without. I loved the way drink made me feel

Still Under the Influence
Beyond the Influence : Understanding and Defeating Alcoholism
by Katherine Ketcham
Alcoholism is not a mysterious illness, nor is it 'willful misconduct.' Alcoholism is a true medical disease rooted in abnormalities in brain chemistry - biochemical aberrations that are inherited by the great majority of alcoholics and, in some cases

Questioning Our Assumptions
No More Letting Go
by Debra Jay
When addiction begins causing serious problems, a family's greatest fears turn into reality. They watch with disbelief as the alcoholic continues drinking while their lives are falling apart.