What’s Your Tipple?

Most experts agree that alcohol is one of the most abused drugs in our society, causing short-term impairment in judgment and reflexes, and long-term damage to vital organs, including brain, liver, heart and pancreas.

“One thing we know,” says Janice Wood Wetzel, LCSW, PhD, Professor Emerita of Social Work, Adelphi University, Garden Grove, NY, “alcoholism is a cumulative disease,” which means it develops over time and gets worse the more you drink. Men are three times more likely to abuse alcohol than women—though this is changing and the numbers may be skewed by cultural factors that influence men to drink more and women to drink less or not at all. But Wetzel says alcohol use among women is increasing and alcohol abuse hits women harder for many reasons besides smaller size, including a slower metabolism, hormonal fluctuations and diet.

Drinking a lot over time is linked to several medical and social conditions: poor diet, stomach problems, frequent infections, skin problems, liver and brain damage, damage to reproductive organs, memory loss/confusion, heart and blood disorders, depression, relationship problems, work problems and money or legal troubles.

In the short term, drinking impairs judgment and reaction time. That can mean life or death for EMS workers—especially behind the wheel—and their patients. And that's not just while drinking. According to safety guidelines developed for another profession who are responsible for lives other than their own, the Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 91.17 requires pilots not to drink for as much as eight hours before flying. “A more conservative approach,” according to the FAA, “is to wait 24 hours. This is especially true if intoxication occurred.”

For emergency responders, that means you should not drink at all in the eight hours prior to a shift, never during a shift, and if you’re planning on tying one on, there better be 24 hours between your last drink and reporting for duty. Cold showers, black coffee or breathing 100% oxygen will not speed up the elimination of alcohol from the body.

If you can’t keep these limits, you might be alcohol-dependent, which would mean you are a danger to yourself, your coworkers, other drivers and your patients, and you should consult a physician for safe detoxification.

Beyond detox, Wetzel says groups like AA, non-AA recovery groups, faith-based sobriety groups, as well as group and individual cognitive-behavior therapy can be equally effective in providing the alcoholic with the assistance he or she needs to quit and stay sober. But like anything else, it’s you who has to make it happen.

Bibliography

1.Evert, D.L., and Oscar-Berman, M. Alcohol-related cognitive impairments: An overview of how alcoholism may affect the workings of the brain. Alcohol Health Res World 19(2):89–96, 1995.
2. Pennsylvania Driving Under the Influence Association. www.padui.org/.
3. Salazar, G. J., M.D., Antuñano, M.J., M.D., FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute Aeromedical Education Division, Publication AM-400–94/2. www.cami.jccbi.gov/AAM-400A/Brochures/400alcohol.html.