The most obvious, important sign of alcohol abuse has to do
with how alcohol affects you. Alcohol abuse information from numerous sources
says that you are abusing alcohol if your drinking is causing problems with
your day-to-day life. If you are getting in trouble at work or school, getting
in trouble with the legal system, getting into arguments with family members or
friends, or experiencing health problems as a result of your drinking, then you
have a drinking problem.
Another sign of alcohol abuse is if you cannot stop drinking, even when you want to or even when you know drinking is causing significant problems for you. For instance, if you’ve missed a lot of work due to being hung over and your boss tells you that if you miss anymore work, you are going to get fired, yet you can’t resist drinking at night, you’re abusing alcohol. If your doctor has told you that your liver is in very poor shape and that further drinking may land you on the list for a transplant, yet you can’t stop, you’re abusing alcohol.
Of course, there are numerous physical signs of alcohol abuse, such as liver damage, damage to the pancreas, ulcers, nutritional deficiencies, trembling hands or full body tremors, seizures, changes to the structure of the brain resulting in problems learning and thinking, high blood pressure, heart problems, and more. You may not be sure if some symptoms you’re experiencing are a sign of alcohol abuse or if your symptoms are caused by something else. If you’re not sure, you should still see your doctor so he or she can assess your condition and recommend the appropriate treatment.
If you experience any of these signs of alcohol abuse, you should go directly to the nearest emergency room or call 911 right away:
If you experience any of these signs of alcohol abuse, you should call your doctor right away:
Contact your doctor if you have other symptoms that concern you. If you think you might have a problem with alcohol abuse, even if you haven’t noticed any physical symptoms like those listed here, you should still see your doctor for a thorough checkup. Your doctor can also give you advice about how to stop drinking so your health problems don’t get worse.
We’ve tried to provide comprehensive alcohol abuse information on this website. Please feel free, though, to email us if you have any questions or need additional information. We’ll do our best to help.
In addition, if you’ve noticed a sign of alcohol abuse in yourself or in a loved one, you can talk to your doctor or to a professional counselor for more information or to get help.
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More sign of alcohol abuse on our alcoholism disease page