Alcoholism is common, serious, and expensive. Physicians encounter alcohol-related cirrhosis, cardiomyopathy, pancreatitis, and gastrointestinal bleeding, as well as intoxication and alcohol addiction, on a daily basis. Alcoholism is also associated with many cancers. Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff psychosis are also important causes of chronic disability as well as dementia.

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a leading cause of mental retardation. In addition, accidents (especially automobile), depression, dementia, suicide, and homicide are important consequences of alcoholism.
Alcohol-related diseases are discussed in separate articles. The focus of this article is screening, diagnosis, treatment, and new research findings on the natural history and heritability of alcoholism.

Treatment
Many people with alcoholism or those who abuse alcohol enter treatment reluctantly because they deny that they have a problem. Health problems or legal difficulties may prompt treatment. Intervention helps some people recognize and accept the need for treatment. If you’re concerned about a friend or family member, discuss intervention with a professional.

Various treatments are available to help people with alcohol problems. Depending on the circumstances, treatment may involve an evaluation, a brief intervention, an outpatient program or counseling, or a residential inpatient stay.

Symptoms of Alcoholism
There are many symptoms related to drinking problems. Alcoholism is considered a progressive disease, meaning that the symptoms and effects of drinking alcohol become increasingly more severe over time.
Those who use alcohol may begin to show early signs of a problem, then progress to showing symptoms of alcohol abuse; if drinking continues, they may later show symptoms of alcoholism or alcohol dependence.

What is alcohol dependence?
Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence is a medical term with a deliberately more precise meaning than the problems that can occur, sometimes as one-offs, through an uncharacteristic binge. In alcohol dependence a number of features come together in the behaviour of the person affected.

What problems are caused by too much alcohol?

The major health risks of alcoholism include liver disease, heart disease, certain forms of cancer, pancreatitis, and nervous system disorders. These conditions often develop gradually and may become evident only after long-term heavy drinking. The liver is particularly vulnerable to diseases related to heavy drinking, most commonly, alcoholic hepatitis (inflammation) or cirrhosis (scarring of the liver).

Women tend to be more sensitive to the effects of alcohol and may develop alcohol-related health problems sooner and after consuming less alcohol than men do. Alcohol use in pregnant women can lead to miscarriages, and to the malformation of organs (such as the brain and heart) in their unborn children. According to the March of Dimes, up to 40,000 babies a year are born with some degree of damage related to alcohol.

How is alcoholism treated?
Treatment for alcoholism can be different for each person. If the person has a serious physical illness due to the alcohol, he or she must get medical care right away.

Treatment often begins with “detox,” or detoxification, which is the body’s withdrawal from alcohol. After the body is clean of alcohol, the alcoholic enters a counseling program. The goal of counseling is to help the alcoholic face emotional issues that lead to drinking and to learn ways to stop drinking. Medications may be given to curb a physical craving for alcohol.

You know that you have got a problem with booze when:

1. before every party or social occasion your partner asks you “not to drink too much tonight”.
2. you feel that everyone in your company drinks too slowly or doesn’t know how to let their hair down and have a good time – like you.
3. you are having extra drinks when you go to the bar, because (see number 2).
4. you hate going to any social occasion if there is no opportunity to drink.
5. you think about drinking constantly, can’t wait to finish work to go and have a drink, can’t wait to be finished ..anything.. to go and have a drink.
6. you hide alcohol around the house, garage, office, wherever.
7. you lie about how much you drink and how often you are drunk, always minimising the amount.
8. you can’t, or find it difficult, to set a limit on the number of drinks and keep to it.
9. you drink too much at inappropriate times, embarrass your family, friends and self.
10. you feel guilty about the night before and have difficulty looking people in the eye.
11. your hands shake in the morning
12. you feel sweaty on waking and for most of the day
13. the previous night’s drinking is a bit of a blur, or worse still a blank.
14. your partner increasingly criticises your drinking
15. your friends increasingly criticise your drinking
16. your co-workers and/or boss increasingly criticise your drinking
17. you don’t count your money in dollars or ponds but in the number of drinks that it will buy
18. you are always the last of your group to leave the bar and the first to suggest another bar or another drink somewhere else.
19. you find it increasingly difficult to talk to people or socialise without having had a drink.
20. you want a drink as soon as you wake up

If you experience a couple of them occasionally it does not necessarily mean that you have a problem with booze. It is when these signs are regular features of your drinking that they are significant. We can all overindulge on occasion but if these occasions are becoming more frequent and you are experiencing an increasing number of these signs then maybe you need to take a hard look at your lifestyle and your drinking. Also you do not need to be experiencing all of these signs to have a problem, a few of them is more than enough. If you do feel that you need help check with your family doctor sooner rather than later. Like most problems, drinking problems are easier to treat when they are detected early.