Mission Mater's Magazine - Flipbook - Page 12
Well-Being
Addiction?
It’s really all about connection
Eat, drink (a
little) and be
merry!
Prof. Stephen Stewart is a
Consultant Gastrologist at the Mater
Hospital’s Centre for Liver Disease.
In this Christmas issue, he advises
on how we can recognise harmful
alcohol consumption
OMG! Easy on the wine Santa
A
s autumn turns to winter and the nights draw in, our
thoughts turn to Christmas and the festivities
associated with it. Everyone celebrates in different
ways, but, for many, there will be a significant increase in
alcohol consumption around this time. We may be
meeting friends in the pub or ordering beer, wine, port or
champagne to have with Christmas meals. Others will be
out with colleagues at Christmas parties. While moderate
alcohol consumption can improve the enjoyment of many
occasions and provide social lubrication (everything in
moderation including moderation!), there is no doubt that
there is also an increase in alcohol-related harms around
the Christmas season.
The serious problems associated with hazardous alcohol
consumption break down into broadly two groups. The
first is acute intoxication and the accidents, arguments
and fights that can come from that. Unfortunately, these
issues are a frequent cause of attendance in the
Emergency Department, particularly at weekends. The
second group of harms is that associated with more
chronic heavy alcohol use.
Patients can present with directly attributable alcohol
problems such as liver disease or pancreatitis, or alcoholassociated issues like cardiovascular disease,
haemorrhagic stroke, arrhythmias or mental health
problems. Unfortunately all these issues can also be
associated with broader harms from hazardous alcohol
consumption which can be social, financial or
psychological. For those of us that work in hospitals, these
are common presentations and we have come to expect an
increased frequency during the festive season. In many
cases, however, alcohol may not be recognised as a
causative or contributing factor, which can impact on the
quality of further best management.
It is easy for less experienced staff to dismiss alcohol use
disorders as self-inflicted and to stigmatise the patients.
In many cases, sadly, the patients may be stigmatising
themselves and receive care that may be lacking in
empathy. A deeper social history may reveal significant
traumas prior to the development of addiction, and these
are often worsened by the alcohol use disorder. All staff
should work towards a non-stigmatising, collaborative
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