ETOH Abuse

Several neuron-behavioural effects of alcohol abuse (etoh abuse) have been related to the development of alcohol dependence. The pleasurable and stimulant effects of alcohol are mediated by a dopamine pathway projecting from the ventral segmental area to the nucleus encumbers. [2] Repeated, excessive alcohol ingestion sensitizes this pathway and leads to the development of dependence. Long-term exposure to alcohol causes adaptive changes in several neurotransmitter systems, including down-regulation of inhibitory neuronal gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors, up-regulation of excitation glutamate receptors, and increased central nor-epinephrine (noradrenaline) activity.

Discontinuation of alcohol ingestion leaves this excitatory state unopposed, resulting in the nervous system hyperactivity and dysfunction that characterize alcohol withdrawal. It has also been suggested that withdrawal symptoms intensify as withdrawal episodes grow in number, a phenomenon called 'kindling'.

Continuing to clarify the specific neurotransmitters associated with both the behavioral effects of alcohol and the development of alcohol dependence may yield potential targets for drug therapy to treat dependence.

I just wanted to share with you my experience with a patient I had the last two days I have worked, and get a little insight from all you nurses out there. First of all, I did not chose to specialize in drug and alcohol abuse as a feild because I do not like to care for individuals that suffer with drug and etoh addictions. I also do not feel I have the level of sympathy for these patients that I should. We have a handful of chronic abusers that come in, dry out, swear to change, and three months later they are back again. They mix rehab in here and there. I am pestimest usually when they tell me they are "never gonna touch it again"...I don't say so to the patient, and I try to be encouraging, but I "know" in the back of my mind I will see them again. I've also experience this with a few family members, and know the effects it has on the family first hand, which might cause some of my disdain for caring for people who abuse drugs/acohol.

But, I have had a patient over the last couple of days that makes me wonder. He has abused alcohol since he was a teenager, and he is in his fifty's (although, as goes it with their lifestyle, he's appearance and health makes him appear to be 70 at least). He has been with us for about 2 weeks now, being monitoring/treated because of a very poor cardiac status. I was bathing him the first day, and noted he had large bruised to his back, and lower abd. I asked him about the bruises, and he told me they occured when he was "drunk". This lead to a conversation about the abuse, and he admitted his had a great desire to quit. We talked about it a great deal. Yesterday, we cont talking about for about an hour, and we prayed together about it. He says he knows it will be hard, but he is determined to stop because he doesn't want to die and cont to hurt his family. He truely does seem desperate to give it up. Even says he wished he could remain hospitalized "till he dies" so he won't be tempted. He has even told his friends that he drinks with not to visit him now, or when he goes home. This patient, as far as I know, has never told another nurse he plans to quit (I have asked other nurses), and on some visits he has called a taxi at discharge to take him to the liquor store.

After all the years of abuse, and the state of his health being so poor, should I have realistic hope that he can quit? I have never personally seen anyone be able to do it, but I would really love for this man to be able to do so.

What is etoh abuse?

Etoh abuse is a term use for alcohol addicted people. ETOH stands for ethanol. It is a common term used in medical histories to designate alcoholic beverages. When combined in the term 'ETOH abuse', it usually refers to a patient's history of over consumption of alcoholic beverages such as beer or hard liquor.

Alcohol addiction or etoh abuse causes numerous overall health troubles. The most extreme and most significant dilemma is Cirrhosis of the liver. When this dilemma occurs, it is incurable. Other organs affected consist of the pancreas, stomach, throat, esophagus, and the brain. Excessive alcohol intake has been linked to cancers of these organs.

Signs and Symptoms of Etoh Abuse

Treatment of Etoh Abused Person

Ingested ethanol (EtOH) rapidly enters the bloodstream and freely enters various tissue compartments. Chronic ethanol ingestion and metabolism can lead to an altered cellular redox state due to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by Kupffer cells (KC) and translocation of bacteria and endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS). LPS signalling through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) leads to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumour-necrosis factor- (TNF-) and interleukin-1 (IL-1)) and chemokines (IL-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1). These events are thought to be crucial in the development of chronic liver disease. Local production of TNF- can also induce the local production of the suppressor of cytokine signalling 3 (SOCS3), which can inhibit STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) signalling and so lead to the resistance of alcoholic liver disease patients to type-I interferons. Ethanol also results in the loss of splenic and circulating T and B cells, partly through apoptosis. In the lung compartment, ethanol suppresses the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by the alveolar macrophages (AM) and of IL-17 by T cells in lung tissue or bronchiole-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT), which results in a diminished cytokine/chemokine cascade and hence defective polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) recruitment and host defence. NF-B, nuclear factor-B.