The state of intoxication has long been known to mankind, different assessments of wine and intoxication were given from ancient times to the present day. Modern supporters of a healthy lifestyle continue to debate the benefits and harms of alcohol for the human body. Until now, white spots remain in the question of the mechanism of intoxication.
Intoxication is caused by ethyl alcohol contained in alcoholic beverages. It is absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the stomach and intestines. The further action of ethyl alcohol is that it promotes the adhesion of red blood cells, removing the protective layer of red blood cells (erythrocytes) along with the electrical charge that repels them from each other. As a result, the blood clots, blood clots are formed, clogging up small blood vessels, in particular, the vessels of the brain. Oxygen, which is carried by the blood, ceases to flow to them, hypoxia (oxygen starvation) of certain parts of the brain sets in. This causes a variety of changes in the physical and mental state of a person, which are called intoxication.
This explains intoxication from a medical point of view. The more ethyl alcohol in the blood, the stronger the intoxication and the more damaging the health consequences. The most unpleasant thing is that excessive consumption of alcohol causes an addiction of the body, then turns into a way of life, and the person deliberately gets drunk in order to forget that he is an alcoholic and another way of life is ordered to him. A vicious circle is forming.
The mechanism of the psychotropic effect of alcohol on a person is very complex and not well understood. The behavior and self-perception of a person at different stages of intoxication depends on many factors, both mental and physiological, - in a word, on the characteristics of each specific human body and on the composition of the alcoholic beverage. Nevertheless, in the general case, four stages of intoxication are distinguished.
The first degree (slight intoxication) is characterized by a pleasant feeling of warmth and muscle relaxation, in self-perception there is a feeling of contentment with oneself and the world around him, relaxedness in movements and speech appears. The loss of self-control leads to the fact that the most shy person becomes cheeky and intrusive.
In an average degree of intoxication, abrupt mood changes occur, from extreme benevolence to aggressiveness, movements become unpredictable, a person becomes dangerous, both for himself and for others.
A strong degree of intoxication is characterized by fuzzy slow speech, a shaky gait, an inability to comprehend a difficult situation or situation. Mental agitation is replaced by a depressed state, drowsiness, which indicates inhibition of the functions of the cerebral cortex and subcortex. At this stage, a person can fall asleep anywhere: on the street, at a table or in transport.
The fourth degree of intoxication, the most severe, is observed in those whose body is already deeply affected by alcohol; it manifests itself in severe disorders during sleep caused by intoxication: in cardiac arrhythmias, epileptic seizures, vomiting, and involuntary discharge of urine. As a rule, the entire period of intoxication falls out of memory after returning to a state of sobriety.
The cause of all these conditions is, of course, the use of alcoholic beverages. But if the first, second and third degrees are simply caused by different amounts of drunk, then the reason for the fourth degree of intoxication is the constant abuse of alcohol, which causes profound disorders of mental and physical health that require serious complex treatment.
