Effects of the Use of Alcohol
By T. D. Crothers, M. D.
The increased action of the heart, with the feeling of warmth and exhilaration which follows the use of alcohol, has always been considered evidence of its medicinal value. The diminution and cessation of pain, with the relief and buoyancy which followed, have been interpreted by both laymen and physicians as stimulation. Yet certain phenomena appeared that were unexplainable. Thus the depressions of vital force, acute inflammatory states, sudden deaths from heart failure, profound anemias, and other symptoms have been attributed to the quality and dosage of the alcohol. These give rise to minute studies and directions concerning its use, and cautions as to when and where it should be given. Elaborate experiments were made in the laboratory on the physiological effect of alcohol on the organism of animals. The most common of all symptoms is the increased heart action, which is found to be four thousand beats in twenty-four hours for every ounce of alcohol used. This is found to be not the outcome of a new force, but the calling into activity of the reserve powers and force of the heart. The heart action normally is the result of arterial pressure and nervous action. The latter is diminished by the narcotic action of alcohol, and the former deranged. The flushed face following the increased activity of the heart is due to loss of the nerve control, calling into action the reserve heart force. This is clear from the diminished force, measurable by instruments. The more rapidly the heart beats, the weaker it becomes, so that alcohol is first an irritant, then a depressant and paralyzer. This is also proved by the symptoms of exhaustion which follow, and muscular measurement. Destree, of Brussels, concluded as the result of most elaborate studies that alcohol on the heart and muscular power has at first a slightly favorable effect, but a very transient one. The heart's force begins to decline at once, depending upon the amount of spirits used. The muscular power reaches its maximum in thirty or forty minutes, and after that it is with difficulty kept up. The paralyzing effect increases, and its measurement becomes more and more exact and certain. Literally, alcohol does not supply any new energy to the body, but liberates the existing stock of energy with greater loss and exhaustion. The action of alcohol on the stomach is physiological, and not well understood; if in large doses, muscular contractibility is arrested, flaccidity and dilation result. Digestion is interfered with; the food is passed on partially digested, and undergoes putrefactive decomposition. Sensation is blunted, and satiety is lost. The action of alcohol on the senses and mental phenomenon has been examined with much exactness. Here instruments of precision yield similar results, and but little difference of opinion prevails. Paralysis of all the special senses follows; the functional activity of the brain is lessened down to complete narcotism. The conclusion that all authorities agree on is that alcohol is always a depressant and anaesthetic. So far, these anaesthetic effects are found to appear very soon after spirits are used, and to follow a certain uniformity of progress depending on the conditions and dose. These facts are being rapidly increased and confirmed by both clinical and laboratory observations. Chloroform, sulphuric ether, chloral, and other well-known anaesthetics all exhibit, in an extreme degree, the physiological action of alcohol. From a pathological point of view, alcohol is shown to be one of the most insidious and destructive of tissue poisons, and its use is followed by certain cell and tissue degenerations that are uniform in their progress and growth. The theory of a tonic and stimulant value or a force producer or conserver can not be sustained by any facts that are unquestioned.—T. D. Crothers, M. D.