Alcohol abuse in Elders and Solution
- Oct 29, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 25, 2020
Mrs. Anna was amazed when her son dropped her at their family doctor's clinic. Doctor Hey was also surprised. He asked the reason for the early follow-up appointment. She told him that she is having problems with blood pressure medication.
Doctor asked her about forgetting things. She rejected any such issue and talked about losing her balance. Doctor Hey told her that the nurse checked her blood pressure when she came in today and it's under control. She replied that sometimes she feels woozy. This means she has trouble keeping her balance and falling issues.
Doctor Hey asked her feelings right now? She denied any such feelings and told that she would not come to the clinic in case of any problem. She added that it seems to happen at night.
While thinking deeply the doctor asked "Mrs. Anna! are you drinking again?” She silently said, "I have just been having my sherry". The doctor became annoyed and referred to their earlier conversation when she agreed to give up alcohol to use new medication.
She admitted her commitment but having sips of sherry does not break her commitment according to her. The doctor told her that alcohol means alcohol and sipping sherry is still drinking. She again whispered that she just took a sip while watching TV. The doctor told Mrs. Anna that at her age having high blood pressure and drinking at the same time is not recommended at all. That's the reason behind her high blood pressure and other issues.
Misuse of alcohol in elders
The administration on Aging and the substance abuse mental health services issued a brief on "alcohol misuse and abuse prevention". It is about alcohol abuse and misuse in elders.
There is a growing prevalence of problems with drinking especially in older adults and some estimates peg it as high as 16 %. It is pointed out that 14 % of men and 3 % of women over the age of 65 engage in binge drinking. So, some of the recommendations in the brief in terms of how much you should drink are, "if you're a man or woman over 60, its 07 drinks per week or 01 per day."
Binge drinking is categorized as three drinks during one occasion for men and two drinks for women. The brief also indicates that most of these people do not need formal substance abuse treatment that prevention messages, screenings and brief interventions will do.
In short, it is evident that drinking and drug abuse among boomers and seniors is growing and that's a concern. The threatening aspect is, it can even lead to death.
Solution:-
The solution is very simple. Try to quit alcoholism slowly. It means making a schedule to reduce daily intake like two drinks until you are no longer drinking. Suppose, if your average is 8 drinks per day, spend days reducing your intake to six then four, then two and then on the last day, you can begin sobriety.
Following readings will also provide help in achieving this goal:-
In the end, let’s see this amazing video to save us from Alcohol use disorder.
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