Acknowledging Alcohol Addiction in America

Every April, we recognize Alcohol Awareness Month. We toast our successes. We drown our sorrows. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere! The world is filled with reasons to pour a drink, yet even a single drink can affect your body. And too much can have a long-lasting impact that isn’t always reversible. It can be a touchy subject. In a positive light, alcohol can be fun, flirty, and a reliable resource to have a good time. It’s often a must-have for major social events like bachelorette parties, weddings, and birthdays. Of course, every coin has two sides, and alcohol is no different. For some, alcohol is addictive. It can be damaging, messy, and used as an excuse for abhorrent behavior.

Did You Know? Alcohol remains the number one drug of choice for teens in America today. It’s more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined. Alcohol Awareness Month is sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, this month encourages community organizations to host events to increase the public’s awareness and education that too much alcohol can do to you. 

SHORT-TERM HEALTH RISKS

Your liver is the largest organ in your body. It breaks down and filters out harmful substances in the blood and manufactures the proteins, enzymes, and hormones the body uses to ward off infections. 

When you indulge in excessive alcohol use, certain risks internally and externally are higher. 

  • Injuries: car crashes, falls, drownings, and burns
  • Violence: homicide, suicide, sexual assault, and partner/familial violence
  • Alcohol poisoning 
  • Miscarriage/stillbirth in pregnant women

All of the health risks stated above are devastating, life-altering consequences. At times, these ailments can be preventable. Alcohol fuels emotions, causing a person to perhaps do something more extreme than they would with a clear mind. In addition to short-term health risks, alcohol also comes with long-term health concerns. 

LONG-TERM HEALTH RISKS

  • High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive issues 
  • Cancer: breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, and rectum
  • Weak immune system
  • Dementia
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Social problems, family problems, and job-related problems
  • Alcohol dependence

Any of the conditions laid out above can be severely damaging. Furthermore, alcohol-related disorders can impact every facet of the human life experience.  At Any Lab Test Now®, we offer a comprehensive test called the Hepatic Function Panel. It measures the blood levels with seven tests that you may want to see how well your liver is working. It’s encouraged if you’re suffering from symptoms related to liver disease, on medication that affects the liver, or if you’ve been exposed to hepatitis A, B, or C. 

The Liver Function Panel includes the following tests:

  • Total protein
  • Albumin
  • Total bilirubin
  • Direct bilirubin
  • Alkaline phosphatase
  • AST
  • ALT

Labeled as the leading preventable cause of death in the United States by the CDC, excessive alcohol use is said to shorten the lives of those who die by a staggering 29 years. Alcohol abuse can also impact one’s mental health leading to symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now is the best time to get ahead of your health. Liver function testing provides both you and your doctor the information needed to monitor the impact of alcohol on your body.

An Ounce of Prevention is a Worth a Pound of Cure

As we continue into 2022, it’s important to keep the momentum of self-care going. Any Lab Test Now® offers you extensive and inexpensive lab testing options, so you can keep living your best life. It’s our priority to make these tests as convenient as possible for working people. This is why we provide business-friendly hours, for those with busy schedules. Each of our 200+ locations nationwide provides a clean, safe facility for your lab testing needs. Book an appointment online or walk into your neighborhood Any Lab Test Now®  to test your liver health. 

Effects of Alcohol

We toast our successes. We drown our sorrows. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere! Our world is filled with reasons to pour a drink, yet even a single drink can affect your body. And too much can have a long-lasting impact that isn’t always reversible. Fortunately, it is possible to find out if alcohol is harming your body before it’s too late by taking a simple test from Any Lab Test Now.

What alcohol does

Even one drink starts to affect your body. It changes your brain – making it harder to think clearly and making coordination challenging. Long-term, heavy drinking can cause damage to learning and memory. Abstaining over several months may allow your brain to repair itself at least partially.

Your heart can also be damaged, even in just one evening of binge drinking. Long-term drinking weakens the heart muscle, so it can’t pump enough blood to the organs. The short-term result is shortness of breath, fatigue and swollen legs and feet. The long-term result can be heart failure. Binge drinking can cause the heart to beat too rapidly or irregularly – running a risk of stroke. And women are more likely to have their blood pressure go up as a result of drinking too much than men. The Alcohol Effect Panel from Any Lab Test Now tests for damage to your heart.

In addition, heavy drinking takes a serious toll on the liver, and eventually can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Quitting won’t reverse the damage, but it will stop it in its tracks. You can get a basic screening of your liver function with the Alcohol Effect Panel from Any Lab Test Now.

The same test will point to potential problems in the pancreas, which is also severely impacted by heavy drinking. The pancreas reacts to alcohol by producing toxic substances and that eventually leads to pancreatitis – a dangerous swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas. The effects can be managed by not drinking.

And there’s more — alcohol can increase your risk of a list of cancers: mouth, esophagus, throat, liver and breast cancers. It also weakens your immune system. For as long as 24 hours after getting drunk, you may have trouble fighting off infections as serious as pneumonia.

How do you know how much is too much?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are guidelines. For men, you shouldn’t have more than four drinks a day or 14 drinks a week. For women, you shouldn’t have more than three drinks a day and no more than seven drinks in a week. Those amounts are considered to be low risk. But low risk is not no risk. If you drink too quickly, have health problems or are over 65, alcohol can cause problems. For some people, any amount at all is too much.

If you are worried that you – or someone you love – does drink too much, there is a way to find out. The FAEE Hair Alcohol Abuse Test available at Any Lab Test Now can determine if someone is alcohol dependent. It uses a small sample of hair and measures the amount of a metabolite of alcohol in that hair. You can use the results of the test to talk with your doctor about what steps to take next to get help.

Having the answers about alcohol – and it’s effect on your body – can be an important step in getting and staying healthy. The medical assistants at your local Any Lab Test Now are there to help you find the right test to get you on the track to taking the best care of yourself.

Get Screened on National Alcohol Screening Day

Did you know that over 50% of the U.S. population above the age of 12 consumes alcohol? It is estimated that there are between 10 to 15 million alcoholics in the United States and approximately 100,000 alcohol-related deaths per year. Because of these staggering facts, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) partnered to establish National Alcohol Screening Day. Held annually on the Thursday of the first full week of April, National Alcohol Screening Day is recognized as a day of outreach, education, and anonymous screening focused on raising awareness on harmful and dependent drinking behaviors and connecting those at risk with treatment options. With the support and participation of thousands of Americans, National Alcohol Screening Day is the nation’s largest and most visible community-based intervention initiative to target alcohol misuse. During this day, participating colleges, military installations and other organizations offer attendees:

  • free and anonymous alcohol screening.

  • referrals for treatment options.

  • education on the impact alcohol can have on one’s overall health.

If you think you or one of your family members suffer from harmful or dependent drink behaviors, Any Lab Test Now® encourages you to get screened on National Alcohol Screening Day, April 9th. Drinking above the average amount of alcohol on a regular basis can have long-term health effects on the body and it’s your responsibility to Take Control of Your Health® now. Tests like our Alcohol Effect Panel  and Liver Function Panel can help do that by identifying any long-term effects alcohol may have on your body. Contact us today to learn more about the alcohol testing services we offer and how we can help you begin bettering the health of your future.

You Shouldn’t Drive Drunk or Drugged

National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Month

Impaired driving is extremely common around the holidays, which is why the Center for Disease Control (CDC) chose December to be National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month or 3D Month.

Join ANY LAB TEST NOW® as we encourage our community to become aware of all the harm drunk and drugged driving can cause. It becomes more than just a way to get home from a long night out; people lose lives, become seriously injured, their families change forever and a lifetime of guilt can occur for those who choose to drive under the influence.

Did you know that young people, motorcyclists and drivers with prior impaired driving convictions are the most at risk? Learn more FAQ’s and statistics from the CDC.

We offer a plethora of short-term and long-term drug and alcohol related tests, available for you to see here. Designate a sober driver if you plan on celebrating the holidays. You’ll get home safely and so will the rest of the road.