Effects Alcohol Has on Body

Ingestion

As BAC increases, responses from a person become slower, speech becomes slurred, and they may become unsteady and has trouble walking. (Hense the walk a straight line during a "drunk test")

Blood Alcohol Concentration

Blood Alcohol Concentration is not really "effected" by alcohol per-say, it is more a measurement of how much alcohol is in your bloodstream, and the alcohol in your system is what will give the results of your blood alcohol level. BAC refers to the percent of alcohol in a person's blood stream. A BAC of .10 percent means that an individual's blood supply contains one part alcohol for every 1,000 parts blood (http://www.clemson.edu)

Kidneys

Enlarges the kidneys, alters hormone functions, and increases the risk of kidney failure , higher risk for kidney stones

Liver

Heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver, and can lead to a variety of problems and liver inflammations including, but not limited too: • Alcoholic hepatitis • Fibrosis • Cirrhosis One organ that is particularly affected by alcohol is the liver because it is the main organ that processes alcohol. One of the liver's main jobs is to get rid of poisons, like alcohol, that enter the body. Without the liver, you could not live.

Absorption

Multiple factors affect the absorption of alcohol into the blood stream. This absorption directly affects your blood alcohol concentration and your level of intoxication. Your sex (male/female), weight, food you have eaten or are eating, drinking rate, caffeine and carbonation, medications and other drugs.

Digestive System

Organs include the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. Alcohol is not digested like other foods. Once alcohol is swallowed, it travels down the esophagus into the stomach and the small intestine. It avoids the normal digestive process and goes right into the bloodstream. About 20 percent of the alcohol consumed is absorbed in the stomach, and about 80 percent is absorbed in the small intestine. Alcohol increases acid in the stomach, which in alcohol abusers can lead to severe stomach pain or sores in the intestines.

Breakdown

The breakdown, or oxidation, of ethanol occurs in the liver. As a rule of thumb, an average person can eliminate 15 ml of alcohol per hour. It would take approximately one hour to eliminate the alcohol from a 12oz can of beer. The BAC increases when the body absorbs alcohol faster than it can eliminate it. The body can only eliminate about one dose of alcohol per hour, drinking several drinks in an hour will increase your BAC much more than having one drink over a period of an hour or more.

Central Nervous System

The central nervous system includes the brain and the spinal cord. Alcohol is a depressant of the central nervous system, meaning it slows activity down. To which degree does alcohol effect the brain activity depends on how much, and how fast, a person drinks. Some effects people experience include: •Altered speech •Hazy thinking •Slowed reaction time •Dulled hearing •Impaired vision •Weakened muscles •Foggy memory However long-term effects can causes neuropathy and dementia; impairs balance and memory, if the consume a lot for a long period of time.

Circulatory System

The circulatory system includes the heart, arteries, veins, capillaries, and blood. Studies in adults have shown that a glass of alcohol each day can help heart function, but the science is clear that drinking more than two drinks each day may cause harm. Large amounts of alcohol can affect how the heart works. If the heart isn't pumping blood throughout the body effectively, other organs may suffer from lack of oxygen or nutrients. If the person drinking has clogged blood vessels, the heart has to work even harder. Cell damage can happen and be seen (red eyes, red blotchy skin), caused when small blood vessels plug up, starving the tissues of oxygen. Blood vessels also can break in the stomach and esophagus, leading to bleeding and even death.

Removal

Your liver is responsible for removing "poisons". The remainder of the alcohol is 'removed' by excretion of alcohol in breath, your urine, sweat, feces, breast milk (which is why you should never breast feed a baby if you have been drinking) and your saliva.