Common questions / 30/03/2021

How does alcohol and drugs increase risk of injury?

Substance use can affect your judgment, vision, and coordination. In fact, parts of the brain responsible for these functions are among the first negatively impacted by alcohol and other drug use. Because of this, people who use these substances are more likely to get hurt than people who don’t.

How does alcohol cause injury?

One reason is that the alcohol thins the blood which makes the blood run faster to the injured site. Flooding the area full of blood increases the swelling and the amount of toxins that will stay around the injured site which in turn will significantly delay healing.

What are alcohol related injuries?

Predominantly, alcohol-related injuries are classified as either intentional (i.e. acts of violence) or unintentional (i.e. car wrecks, falls, drownings, burns, et cetera). Unintentional injuries make up the majority of all alcohol-related deaths (32%), while intentional injuries account for 13.7%.

What effects can drugs and alcohol have on your work?

In addition to deaths and accidents, absenteeism and loss of production, other problems that alcohol and drug abuse can cause on the job include: Tardiness/sleeping on the job2 Hangover or withdrawal affecting job performance. Poor decision making.

Can I drink alcohol during injury?

While the vast majority of us are not professional athletes, we should take a note out of their book because the principle is the same. Alcohol and injury recovery just don’t mix. As an example, even a small amount of alcohol is enough to increase bleeding and swelling around injured soft tissue.

What happens if you hit a car while drunk?

Penalties for Accidents While Driving Drunk This means you will likely face thousands of dollars in fines, loss of driving privileges, and jail or prison time. Victims of car accidents caused by drunk drivers can seek restitution and are often due compensation for any injuries.

Why do drunk drivers survive crashes?

Ironically, alcohol appears to act as a buffer that inhibits certain stress-related chemicals released when a person suffers major injury. One reason is alcohol appears to inhibit certain stress-related chemicals. So for the same severity of injury drunk drivers seem to be less harmed.

What are the effects of alcohol and drugs?

The Harmful Effects of Drugs and Alcohol 1 Brain Chemistry. The human brain is the most complex organ in the human body. 2 Health Complications. Drug and alcohol use impacts nearly every part of your body from your heart to your bowels. 3 Infections. 4 Legal Consequences. 5 Financial Problems. 6 Injuries and Death. …

Why are alcohol-related injuries a concern for who?

Alcohol and Injury in Emergency Departments 1. WHY ARE ALCOHOL-RELATED INJURIES A CONCERN FOR WHO? Alcohol, injuries and disease burden. Worldwide there are approximately 5.2 million deaths from injuries every year and non-fatal injuries account for about one-tenth of the global burden of disease.

How does alcohol and drug abuse cause brain damage?

One of the ways that substance abuse can result in brain damage is by interfering in the use of nutrients required to maintain brain chemistry. An example of this occurs with alcohol abuse, which can result in thiamine deficiency.

Is it bad to drink alcohol while taking medicine?

Drinking alcohol at the same time as taking other drugs, including medicine, can be very risky. This is because alcohol can: increase the side effects of other drugs reduce the effect of medicine such as antibiotics or diabetes medicine

How does drinking alcohol increase risk of injury?

Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of injury which can have a devastating effect on your life and those close to you. It can result in hospitalisation, and even death. When people drink too much on one occasion it can cause alcohol-related accidents.

What are the side effects of drug and alcohol abuse?

One of the side effects of drug and alcohol abuse that is not well known is brain damage and injury. Most publicized is the potential for acute damage due to overdose or even damage to other organs in the body, such as liver damage from alcohol abuse or heart damage from use of stimulants.

Why does drinking and drugs become a problem?

Prolonged consumption of drugs and alcohol increases your tolerance, therefore requiring more of the substance to achieve the same desirable effects. Alcohol and substance abuse can start out as a mild problem and gradually turn into more severe problems.