How Alcohol Affects the Body

Alcohol is commonly used in social situations. In the United States, it is legal to drink alcohol when you are 21 years of age or older and many times it is socially acceptable to be "tipsy" or "buzzed." However, alcohol affects people differently depending on several variables such as height and weight, and the effects of alcohol on the body can range from minor short-term problems like slurred speech to major long-term problems like cirrhosis of the liver. Alcohol can be lethal in large doses or when operating a motor vehicle.

Factors that Affect Alcohol Tolerance

• Many factors determine the effects of alcohol on an individual, including a person's weight, height, age, gender, the amount of food consumed, and the amount of alcohol consumed. It is important to note that males and females are affected by alcohol differently. If a male and female of the same weight and height consume the same amount of alcohol, typically, the female will have more side effects from the alcohol than the male. WebMD says this is due to the fact that females have less water and more body fat than their male counterparts.

Short-Term Effects of Alcohol on the Body

• The short-term effects of alcohol on the body include decreased inhibition, talkativeness, slurred speech, impaired judgment, poor coordination, disorientation, confusion, memory loss, disturbed sleep, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. Even in small doses, a person's ability to operate a motor vehicle is greatly impaired. Hangovers also result from alcohol consumption. A hangover generally includes a headache, nausea, extreme thirst, dizziness and fatigue.

  Alcohol is very commonly used in social situations because people lose their inhibitions after a few drinks. Many people feel more confident, more talkative, the need to show off and, overall, more relaxed.

Long-Term Effects of Alcohol on the Body

• Alcohol can be addictive, leading to alcoholism. A report done at Virginia Tech University states that prolonged use of alcohol can cause memory loss, personality changes, increased susceptibility to diseases and cancer, alcohol-dependent hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure, heart disease, reduced muscle mass and anemia. In addition, DrugFree.org says that drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, mental retardation and physical abnormalities.

  WebMD says that when people suffer from alcoholism and try to quit drinking, they may undergo withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, nausea, vomiting, tremors, hallucinations, confusion and irritability. These symptoms can start as early as 4 hours after consuming the last drink and can last a few days.

Warnings

• Consumption of large amounts of alcohol at a time can cause alcohol poisoning. College Drinking by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that signs of alcohol poisoning are not being able to rouse a person, coma, seizures, slow or irregular breathing and hypothermia. The effects on the body if alcohol poisoning goes untreated are seizures, permanent brain damage and death.

Myths

• There are many beliefs that eating food, drinking caffeine, sleeping it off or walking it off can speed up the sobering process. These are, in fact, just myths. Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream through the stomach and the small intestine. Eating food just slows down the absorption process. When a person sleeps or walks, alcohol is still being absorbed into the bloodstream. The only thing that has been proven to sober up a person under the influence of alcohol is time.