< Back

Adult Alcohol and Other Drug Use Issues

Alcohol and Drug Use Problems ome people who drink alcohol, use illegal drugs, or misuse prescription or nonprescription medicines may develop substance use disorder. This means that a person uses these substances even though it causes harm to themselves or others.

Ideas to Help You Cut Back on or Stop Using Alcohol If you think you might be dependent on alcohol, talk with your doctor before trying to stop drinking. If you are dependent on alcohol, you should stop drinking, not just cut back. If you are dependent, you might develop severe withdrawal.

Alcohol Problems: How to Stop Drinking You can take steps today to stop drinking. Your first step might be to see your doctor, contact a support group, or set a date in the near future to stop. While some people can stop drinking on their own, others need medical help to manage the physical process of withdrawal.

Alcohol and Substance Abuse in PTSD After you’ve been through a traumatic event, you may be tempted to use alcohol or drugs as a way to cope. Some people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) try to deal with their symptoms this way.

Learning About Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in Newborns Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a set of problems that may affect a child if alcohol was used during pregnancy. Alcohol passes from the mother’s blood to the baby’s blood. Even a small amount of alcohol can affect the development of the baby’s brain and spinal cord.

Blood Alcohol Test A blood alcohol test measures the amount of alcohol (ethanol) in your body. Alcohol is quickly absorbed into the blood and can be measured within minutes of having an alcoholic drink. The amount of alcohol in the blood reaches its highest level about an hour after drinking. But food in the stomach may increase the amount of time it takes for the blood alcohol to reach its highest level. About 90% of alcohol is broken down in the liver. The rest of it is passed out of the body in urine and your exhaled breath.

Substance Use: Staying Alcohol- or Drug-Free After Treatment Recovery from substance use disorder means finding a way to stay substance-free while changing your attitudes and behaviors. Learn tips for staying substance-free after treatment.

Acute Alcohol Intoxication: Care Instructions You have had treatment to help your body rid itself of alcohol. Too much alcohol upsets the body’s fluid balance. Your doctor may have given you fluids and vitamins.

Alcohol Detoxification and Withdrawal: Care Instructions If you drink alcohol regularly and then suddenly stop, you may go through some physical and emotional problems while the alcohol clears out of your system. Clearing the alcohol from your body is called detoxification, or detox. Physical and emotional problems that may happen during detox are called withdrawal.