Not a Healthier Alternative

Smoking alcohol is becoming quite popular. That’s right—people are pouring alcohol over dry ice and inhaling the vapor so they can get drunk without consuming sugar or calories. Smoking alcohol can’t be as bad as drinking it, right? Wrong.

Who’s Doing It?

You may think that women make up the majority of alcohol smokers. But the videos popping up on YouTube mostly show young men doing it. Some of them talk about the extreme high they get when smoking alcohol.

Drunkorexics are also catching on to the trend. These people are calorie-conscious. They limit their intake of food calories so they can feel better about consuming the ones in alcohol.

Consequences

When someone inhales alcohol, the liver doesn’t metabolize it. The vapor goes straight into the lungs. From there, it travels to the brain.

The user’s mouth and nasal passages can dry out, possibly leaving him or her at risk for infection. Even worse, alcohol poisoning is likely to happen faster. When you drink too much alcohol, your body induces vomiting to prevent alcohol poisoning. Your body can’t do this if the alcohol doesn’t make it into your stomach.

Changing the way you ingest alcohol doesn’t make it any healthier. Whether you’re watching your sugar or calorie intake, or just want to feel a different kind of high, smoking alcohol is not worth the potential damage.

What do you think about this new trend? Comment below or on the Lakeview Health Systems Facebook page.

When someone you’re close to is struggling with an alcohol addiction, you know that he or she is not the only one in pain. You worry about the person. You are anxious for your loved one to seek help, and it hurts to think about what could happen if he or she doesn’t.

Think of Yourself

Though your needs may seem like they can wait, they’re fulfillment is important. You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of someone else.

Look into joining a free support group. Al-Anon is directed toward family and friends of alcoholics. There is also a group for adolescents, called Alateen, who have an addicted relative and are looking to find comfort. These groups are open to the public and can be found in most cities. They provide information about addiction and hope for families.

Reassure yourself that it’s OK to doubt if you’re doing the right thing for your loved one. Sometimes you’ll have to make choices that seem unlike the decisions of a caring parent or good friend, but they are in the best interest of the addict.

Stress Less

Emotions can wear you out. Distress and anger can easily overcome you, but they can be managed. When you’re feeling like this, it means that your brain isn’t getting enough oxygen. Use breathing techniques to send more oxygen to your brain, which will help you relax.

Also, be active. Do things for yourself, even if it’s cleaning the house, organizing your closet or running errands—do whatever keeps you busy. It doesn’t have to involve a lot of physical energy, so if you’d like, write or draw. That way, your focus will be shifted back to you. It will be nice to take a break from your emotions, too.

Do you have a family member or friend who is addicted? How do you cope with him or her having an addiction? Share below or on our Facebook page.

The Test You Want To Take

College is a time of furthering education, gaining independence and making new friends. But it is also known for tailgating before football games, binge drinking and barhopping, all of which include massive amounts of alcohol intake by 18- to 24-year-olds.

As a result, classes are missed. Studying is backlogged. Grades drop. Even when students promise to go to class regularly and hit the library more often, school takes a backseat to alcohol.

However, those academic consequences pale in comparison to the ones linked to alcohol abuse: Consistent drinking can lead to:

• Health problems
• Clouded judgment and increased vulnerability─the perfect setup for assault
• Risky behavior
• Accidental injuries
• Drunk driving

Needless to say, some of those consequences are permanent or even  fatal.

Not sure if you drink too much? Don’t know how to stop? You can find out today, which is National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD). Its purpose is to let people know the dangers of alcohol and alcohol abuse, and offer a helping hand to those seeking recovery. Lakeview Health Systems’ alcohol rehab program is the most effective way to stop alcohol abuse and addiction in the long term.

The committee behind NASD has developed CollegeResponse, a specially designed screening program directed toward college students. At the event, college students can get information about the abuse of alcohol. The screenings are anonymous and confidential and can be done at the events or online.

If you’re looking forward to your next alcoholic drink more than passing an upcoming test, you may want to check out CollegeResponse and find a participating location.

Would you go to an alcohol screening at your college? Share your experience below or on our Facebook page.

How many times have you regretted drinking too much? Nursing a wicked hangover the next day is enough to swear off alcohol but soon enough, you go and do it again. A company from Arizona has come up with the instant cure for drunkenness and hangovers, cleverly called “Sober Shot.”

The “Miracle” Potion?

What exactly is Sober Shot? It’s sobriety in a half-ounce bottle, or so their marketing department claims. It’s said to detoxify your body from the alcohol and prevent hangovers, nausea, dehydration and feeling “funky.”

All these things are accomplished with four simple ingredients:

• Purified water
• Ginseng
• White grape extract
• Kelp extract

That’s it! These ingredients found at your local supermarket help you focus and give you mental clarity to “make better decisions,” all for the low price of $9.95.

Put Down the Beer Goggles and Face Reality

For $10 you can buy a cure-all for drinking; sounds too good to be true. Aside from the testimonials found on the Sober Shot website, there’s no real research that proves that this half-ounce bottle can undo the consequences of drinking. The truth is that the only way to get rid of drunkenness, nausea and hangover is time. An even better way is to avoid drinking altogether.

This product gives alcoholics another excuse to drink. The thought of a small bottle undoing a whole session of drinking is unrealistic. That’s not going to stop an alcoholic from trying it. Convincing yourself that you can drink as much as you want without consequences is an indicator of a big problem that only alcohol rehab can address.

What do you think of the Sober Shot? Is it fake or the real deal? Share your thoughts below or on Lakeview Health System’s Facebook page.