alcohol treatment in Alberta

Looking at an Alberta alcohol rehab for a loved one or for yourself can be a frustating experience. What type of Alberta drug rehab is the best? How long should the alcohol treatment be? Should the alcohol detox or rehab be out-patient or residential rehabilitation treatment?

Drug rehab services can help you find:

• Alcohol rehabs in Alberta
• Alcohol Addiction treatment
• Alcohol treatment
• Alcohol Detox centers
• Alcohol Withdrawal treatments

Alcohol affects people Alberta people differently, depending on their size, sex, body build, and metabolism. General effects of alcohol addiction are a feeling of warmth, flushed skin, impaired judgment, decreased inhibitions, muscular in coordination, slurred speech, and memory and comprehension loss. In states of extreme intoxication, vomiting is likely to occur, possibly accompanied by incontinence, poor respiration, a fall in blood pressure, and in cases of severe alcohol poisoning, coma and death.

Drinking alcohol heavily over a short period of time usually results in a "hangover" - headache, nausea, shakiness, and sometimes vomiting, beginning from 8 to 12 hours later. A hangover is due partly to poisoning by alcohol and other components of the drink, and partly to the body's reaction to withdrawal from alcohol.

Alberta has a lot of alcohol addiction treatment private and government funded. These alcohol addiction rehabs have different duration and have different methods of alcohol rehab treatments.

What is alcohol?
It is a drug that slows down areas of your brain. Consuming alcohol might make you feel more relaxed. It can also make it more difficult to think clearly, make good decisions and do different tasks.
It is made by fermenting (and occasionally distilling) fruits, vegetables or grains. Alcohol itself is a clear liquid. The color in beer, spritzers, wine and other alcoholic beverages originates from other ingredients and from the process of fermentation.

Combining alcohol with other drugs can make the effects of these other drugs much stronger and more dangerous. Many accidental deaths have occurred after people have used alcohol combined with other drugs. Cannabis, tranquillizers, barbiturates and other sleeping pills, or antihistamines (in cold, cough, and allergy remedies) should not be taken with alcohol. Even a small amount of alcohol with any of these drugs can seriously impair a person's ability to drive a car.

Alcohol remains the drug of choice for most of Albertans and Canadians. In 2004, 79.5% of Albertans and 79.3% of Canadians admitted consumption of alcohol during the year prior to the survey. In Alberta, this corresponds to an approximated 1.9 million residents. A small minority of Albertans and Canadians (less than 10%) never drank alcohol in their life; a somewhat larger proportion were former drinkers (14.1% of Albertans and 13.5% of Canadians), having consume alcohol at some point during their lifetime, but not during the year prior to the survey.

Half of the province drinkers (51.1%) were light infrequent drinkers, and over a quarter (29.5%) were light frequent alcohol drinkers (Figure 3). About 10% were heavy infrequent alcohol drinkers and another 10% were heavy frequent drinkers. A similar habit was seen for Canadians overall. Furthermore, Canadians on average were more likely than Albertans to be light-frequent alcohol drinkers and less likely than Albertans to be heavy infrequent drinkers.

About one in ten current drinkers in the province (9.5%) experienced one or more types of harm related to their own consumption of alcohol during the year prior to the survey (not shown). This was lightly higher than, but not statistically different from, the national rate of 8.8%. Current drinkers in Alberta and the country most frequently reported experiencing alcohol-related harmful effects on their physical health, followed by effects on friendships or social life (Figure 4). Significantly more Albertans (38.0%) than Canadians (32.7%) (18 years old and over) admitted experiencing at least one type of harm in the 12 months preceding the survey resulting from somebody else’s use of alcohol.

Alcohol intake is measured in units. One unit is approximately half a pint of usual strength beer/lager/cider, a glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits. The list below demonstrates the effect of drinking various quantities of alcohol and also indicates blood alcohol concentration (as mg alcohol per 100ml blood), as this determines whether an offense is committed by driving a motor vehicle. The present UK alcohol limit for driving is 80mg/100ml.

It's important to remember that the concentration of alcohol in the blood and its effects vary on a number of factors including body weight, type of drink, drinking environment, prior exposure to alcohol, stomach contents and sex of the drinker.
Alcohol has its greatest effect on women. This is because women usually  lower body weight means (for equal amounts drunk) they take in more alcohol per pound weight and also, as the female body contains less blood volume, the same quantity drunk will produce a higher blood alcohol concentration in a woman than in a man.

• After 1 to 2 units (0.5 to 1 pint of beer - or 20-50mg/100ml) there is no real effect, beside a slight intensification of mood.
• After 3 to 4 units (1.5 to 2 pints of beer - or 50-80mg/100ml) there is generally a feeling of relaxation and mild composure. There may be a light impairment of steady movement. This is the legal limit for driving a vehicle and indeed 4 units of alcohol could put some individuals over the 80 mg/100ml legal blood alcohol limit.
• After 5 to 6 units (2.5 to 3 pints of beer - or 80-100mg/100ml) there is generally loss of physical and mental co-ordination. Judgment and memory can be affected, especially the ability to concentrate.
• After 7 to 8 units (3.5 to 4 pints of beer - or 120-200mg/100ml) most individuals slur their speech and are likely to have some hard time standing or walking. This level of intoxication may lead to irresponsible behavior and euphoria.
• After drinking 15 to 20 units (7 to 10 pints of beer - or 200-300mg/100ml) the majority of people will have passed out.