Diseases caused by Addiction

Diseases and addictions go hand-in-hand to a much larger extent than one can imagine. Every kind of addiction has been linked to a disease of one kind or another. In this article, we’ll attempt to create a brief overview of different types of addictions and their consequent diseases.

Alcohol

Alcohol is one addiction that is commonly present throughout the world on a large scale. Easy availability of liquor and affordability is to blame. An alcohol addiction generally begins from a young age, when kids, usually underage try it out of curiosity and end up consuming it regularly if not checked. The major reason for this is the association of alcohol with partying and good times on mass media.

Alcohol addiction may lead to a variety of diseases, this is mainly as alcohol weakens the immune system

• Cancer Alcohol causes cancer of the throat, mouth, breast, oesophagus, liver, rectum, colon and other organs.
• Liver disease Alcohol creates a major impact on the liver and affects its functionality. It hinders the liver’s ability to break down fat, this causes fat to accumulate in the liver, leading to a disease called fatty liver.
• Alcoholic Hepatitis Alcoholic hepatitis is defined as a long-term inflammation in the liver which leads to the damage of scar tissue.
• Cirrhosis Accumulation of the above-mentioned scarring will lead to the liver becoming hard and nodular. This may happen over a couple of years. This condition is referred to as Cirrhosis.
• Pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a painful inflammation of the pancreas. This condition generally requires immediate medical attention and treatment. A large percentage of the cases of pancreatitis recorded are because of alcohol abuse.
• Ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems Heavy alcohol consumption leads to digestive problems. These include but aren’t limited to stomach ulcers, heartburn, acid reflux. It may even lead to chronic gastritis, which is the inflammation of the stomach lining.
• Immune system dysfunction Alcohol consumption creates a major impact on the immune system and weakens it. It reduces the white blood cells, which paves the way to many diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV and pneumonia.
• Dementia Consumption of alcohol speeds up the brain’s ageing process and can lead to early-onset of dementia.
• Osteoporosis Consumption of alcohol in the early stages of life can lead to massive deterioration of bone strength and increases the risk of fractures. This condition is known as osteoporosis.

Smoking

Cigarette addiction is the widest and also one of the most harmful addictions in the world. Most people know that smoking causes cancer. But cancer is just the tip of the iceberg as an addiction to smoking causes a lot of other health conditions too. Given below are some of the diseases that smoking leads to.

• Cancer This is the most commonly known side effect of smoking and rightly so. The reason cigarettes are as harmful as they are is because they are laden with up to 5000 chemicals, and nearly 100 of them are cancer-causing. They act as slow poison and eventually render our lungs useless, but even before that, our DNA is damaged and our body is left exposed. The problem starts with the very first cigarette as even one cigarette is enough to damage our DNA. Damaged DNA acts as a gateway to cancer as our body is unable to battle and control cancerous tumours and this eventually leads to actual cancer.
• COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) COPD is a disease that majorly affects our ability to breathe. It may start slowly as an inability to partake in physical activities, it grows until everyday things such as walking and climbing stairs become exhaustive and eventually renders the body useless. This is a long-term disability and leads to a very early death.
• Heart Disease Smoking affects a lot of our body’s organs and the heart is no exception, it obstructs blood and oxygen flow to our heart by narrowing or even blocking our arteries. This can lead to bigger health concerns such as chronic heart conditions because of poor supply of blood as our arteries are affected by smoking.
• Ectopic Pregnancy Cigarettes reduce fertility in women. They may also lead to ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the egg implants itself somewhere besides the uterus. This egg cannot survive and occasionally may lead to the death of the mother.
• Diabetes Cigarette smoking is often associated with an increased risk of type-2 diabetes. It dramatically increases the risk by 40-50%. Furthermore, it accelerates any complications already present in the body due to diabetes.
• Blindness and other Eye Diseases Smoking damages your eyes and may lead to blindness and cataract over a period of time.

Heroin

• Heroin users experience a variety of medical conditions. The drug deteriorates the lungs, so this may lead to respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia. It leads to sexual disorders in men and infertility in women.
• Besides these, there are many other mental conditions such as antisocial personality disorder and depression that are caused by Heroin addiction.
• Heroin when administered intravenously, leads to many major conditions such as collapsed veins and bacterial infections.
• A common use of syrenges also leads to HIV and other transmissible diseases.

Cocaine

• Cocaine is a highly addictive drug yet highly used drug. It deteriorates the health of the user in innumerable ways. In the case of an overdose, it may even lead to instant death.
• Cocaine use leads to heart palpitations and a rise in body temperature, which in turn can prove fatal to the user due to cardiac arrest. Many emergency room visits result in death of the user after Cocaine use.
• Cocaine also has a major impact on the central nervous system and leads to loss of coordination in the body.
• Cocaine will also cause the brain to stop producing dopamine. This is because the brain is used to release high levels of dopamine due to cocaine administration and hence will stop making any of its own.

Methamphetamine

• Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that increases heart rate, energy, and improves focus while requiring less sleep.
• It leads to heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular conditions as it hinders the heart functioning and speeds it up.
• It causes insomnia in a majority of its users and creates hyperactivity. It also makes the users anorexic, meaning it reduces their red blood cell count.
• Chronic use of speed is also associated with violence and schizophrenia. It may eventually even lead to Parkinson’s disease.

The above mentioned are but a few examples of the wrath that addiction causes on the human body. Recovery from addictions needs strong determination which becomes tough halfway through the process. Therefore, it is always better to be pro-active than reactive in case of addictions. For help with substance abuse for you or your loved ones, reach us at +91 77999 19293.