Just about everyone knows the immediate effects alcohol can have on one’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Slurred speech, lowered inhibitions and impaired reaction times are often some of the most immediate effects of alcohol on a person, and then there is the headache and sick-to-your-stomach feeling that sometimes happens the next day. But, what about the long-term effects of alcohol on your body and brain? What could happen to you if you regularly consume too much alcohol over the course of your lifetime?
Influential Factors of Drinking
According to research, heavy drinking for many years may have residual effects on the human brain, even after a person becomes sober. From permanent memory loss to birth defects and brain damage, the effects of alcohol on the brain are very serious. However, there are a number of additional factors to be considered that could work for or against an individual such as:
• age
• gender
• how often a person drinks
• family history of alcoholism
• the age a person began drinking
• how many years a person drinks
Women are More Susceptible than Men
When it comes to the long-term effects of alcohol, women are more vulnerable than men to many of the medical consequences of alcohol abuse. Alcoholic women develop nerve damage, cirrhosis of the liver and other complications after fewer years of drinking than their male counterparts. Additionally, the brain actually shrinks in alcoholic women faster than in alcoholic men. Brain damage can also occur as an indirect result of drinking because of poor nutrition and overall poor health. These changes to the brain are serious in nature and could result in lifelong debilitating conditions.
Short-term Effects on the Brain Could Be Deadly
Because alcohol affects the brain almost immediately, resulting in blurred vision, short reaction times, slower motor skills and impaired judgment, the short-term effects of alcohol on the brain could potentially be more immediately deadly and severe than the long-term effects. An example of this is drunk driving or driving under the influence (DUI). When you drink, the alcohol could cause you to believe you are perfectly capable of operating a vehicle, thus taking your own life and the lives of others into your hands.
Getting a DUI
Driving under the influence of alcohol can change your life in an instant. You could be convicted of a felony – especially if there is injury or death to someone else as a result of your reckless behavior, which may have seemed completely logical after several drinks. Sadly, that is the effect that alcohol has on the human brain, causing us to truly believe we are using good judgment when, in fact, we are putting ourselves and others in harm’s way. If you are convicted of a felony as a result of alcohol, your life will undoubtedly take a turn for the worst.
Contacting an experienced DUI attorney is essential when faced with such charges. A successful DUI legal representative, such as the Kellis Law Firm with its 25 years of jury trial experience in Pennsylvania, is the ideal choice. They will be able to fight the charges by questioning and disproving evidence, when appropriate, and help ensure that the arrest and all testing was done accurately in the case.
Perhaps the best thing you can do for yourself and your family members at the point of being charged is to contact an attorney who will be able to examine your particular case and determine how to best help you through this difficult experience. Don’t wait until you are experiencing long-term effects of alcohol. If you believe you have a problem with alcohol, get help now, before the damage is permanent.
Researcher Lisa Coleman shares how excessive alcohol drinking can physically impact a person’s brain, and also how it can impact their immediate judgment. When faced with a DUI charge, retaining experienced legal counsel is important. The Kellis Law Firm, a Philadelphia DUI attorney group, can represent and defend a client facing DUI charges within the state of Pennsylvania.
