The Diary of a Victim of an Alcoholic

I wonder if there is such a thing as fit alcoholics? Sounds absurd and it is all relative. But one thing for sure is that Jane is running in a charity race tomorrow and it is a 5 kilometer race. Jane has been training for it and I (the world's master trainer :-) have been supervising nutrition and training! Jane can certainly run much further than me. She can do the 5 k distance in about 35 minutes. Now that is pretty damn good for an alcoholic!! I actually think that the purpose and target that training for a race such as this imposes on the person is good for an alcoholic. It injects a distraction and a focus. These are very important as in my experience alcoholics (and non-alcoholics of course) can tend to drift a bit and think negatively. A more positive outlook and a goal helps to clear the mind and drive out the demons. It also helps to delay or at least put a temporary break on alcoholic binges. This is particularly the case if the race is a charity event with people sponsor...

Phymatous rosacea Alcoholic nose is a red nose and a bulbous nose that we think is associated with consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. The most famous person with such a nose was W.C. Fields. However, it seems that there are three possible processes at work and an alcoholic nose is, in fact, not simply a nose disfigured and reddened by alcohol. Reddening Alcohol causes the blood vessels to dilate (get bigger). This applies to the small capillary blood vessels near the surface of the skin. When dilated the person looks flushed and red. It may be localised. This is an underlying state. Petechiae There may be petechiae on the face. These are red spots on the body including the face that are caused by a minor bleed of a capillary vessel. This may, it seems, be caused by reduced liver function due to a liver damaged by alcoholism. The liver produces clotting factors which help control bleeding. If this function is reduced, minor, harmless, bleeding of capillary vessels may t...

by jef safi Is it that alcoholism affects mental health or mental health creates alcoholism or both? It is both possibly but I don't think that you have to have mental health issues to be an alcoholic but sometimes alcoholics do have mental health problems. One thing that is pretty well scientifically proven is that consistent heavy drinking affects health generally and also mental health. And at the moment I have real concerns for Jane because she seems to be suffering from memory loss and more... I won't and can't go into detail obviously but it seems that alcoholics binge on and on without seeing health problems for years. OK, their lives are messed up but health can seem, sometimes, to remain intact until one day after it has crept up on them, ill health suddenly becomes apparent. And it is a bit of a shock. I have always thought that ethanol alcohol gradually breaks down the body. Think of George Best the footballer. At the end his body simply gave up. The signs of mem...