Alcohol and the Body
Heavy alcohol use can damage this organ, which helps remove toxins from the blood.
What is the liver?
Opioid overdose can dangerously slow or stop this vital function.
What is breathing/respiration?
Cocaine and methamphetamine can dangerously increase these two cardiovascular measures.
What are heart rate and blood pressure?
Repeated substance use can disrupt this brain chemical involved in reward, motivation, and reinforcement.
What is dopamine?
Substance use can negatively affect employment, finances, health, and these important connections with other people
What are relationships?
Long-term heavy alcohol use can cause inflammation and scarring of the liver known as this condition
What is cirrhosis?
This medication can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and restore breathing.
What is naloxone (Narcan)?
Long-term stimulant use can contribute to anxiety, paranoia, sleep problems, and this serious cardiovascular event caused by interrupted blood flow to the brain.
What is a stroke?
Needing increasing amounts of a substance to experience the same effect is called this
What is tolerance?
Driving while impaired increases the risk of crashes, injuries, legal consequences, and this potentially permanent outcome.
What is death?
Abruptly stopping alcohol after prolonged heavy use can cause seizures and this potentially life-threatening withdrawal condition involving confusion and severe autonomic symptoms.
What is delirium tremens (DTs)?
Combining opioids with alcohol or benzodiazepines is especially dangerous because all can suppress this system.
What is the central nervous system?
Chronic methamphetamine use can contribute to severe dental problems commonly referred to by this term.
What is “meth mouth”?
Continued substance use despite knowing that it is causing significant physical, psychological, or social problems is one feature associated with this disorder.
What is substance use disorder?
Money spent maintaining substance use can contribute to debt, housing instability, inability to meet basic needs, and this broader type of problem.
What is financial instability?
Long-term heavy alcohol use can damage nerves, contributing to burning, numbness, weakness, or pain in the hands and feet
What is peripheral neuropathy?
After a period of abstinence, this may decrease significantly, making a previously used opioid amount potentially fatal.
What is tolerance?
Cocaine and methamphetamine place significant strain on the cardiovascular system and can contribute to abnormal heart rhythms known as these.
What are arrhythmias?
Substance use can weaken activity in this part of the brain involved in judgment, decision-making, and impulse control.
What is the prefrontal cortex?
Repeated substance use may gradually replace hobbies, responsibilities, and relationships as obtaining and using the substance becomes increasingly this.
What is a priority/focus?
Years of heavy alcohol use combined with poor nutrition can contribute to a serious brain disorder associated with thiamine deficiency and severe memory problems.
What is Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome?
Fentanyl is particularly associated with fatal overdose because of its high potency and ability to rapidly cause this.
What is respiratory depression/arrest?
Chronic stimulant use can contribute to hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia, symptoms collectively described by this term.
What is psychosis?
Environmental cues, people, places, emotions, or situations associated with previous substance use can provoke strong urges known as these.
What are cravings?
Returning to a previously tolerated amount after abstinence can substantially increase overdose risk because of this physiological change.
What is decreased/lost tolerance?