Alcoholism in the context of World Health Organization

A sanatorium (from Latin sānāre 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence.

Sanatoria were often in a healthy climate, usually in the countryside. The idea of healing was an important reason for the historical wave of establishments of sanatoria, especially at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The most common issue treated at sanatoria was tuberculosis (before the discovery of antibiotics). Some sanatoria also treated alcoholism as well as hysteria, masturbation, fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Facility operators were often charitable associations, such as the Order of St. John and the newly founded social welfare insurance companies.

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Hepatitis is acute if it resolves within six months, and chronic if it lasts longer than six months. Acute hepatitis can resolve on its own, progress to chronic hepatitis, or (rarely) result in acute liver failure. Chronic hepatitis may progress to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), liver failure, and liver cancer.

Hepatitis is most commonly caused by the virus hepatovirus A, B, C, D, and E. Other viruses can also cause liver inflammation, including cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus, and yellow fever virus. Other common causes of hepatitis include heavy alcohol use, certain medications, toxins, other infections, autoimmune diseases, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Hepatitis A and E are mainly spread by contaminated food and water. Hepatitis B is mainly sexually transmitted, but may also be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy or childbirth and spread through infected blood. Hepatitis C is commonly spread through infected blood; for example, during needle sharing by intravenous drug users. Hepatitis D can only infect people already infected with hepatitis B.

A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainly in the home or the workplace. In the home, risks are associated with domestic kitchens, including stoves, flames, and hot liquids. In the workplace, risks are associated with fire and chemical and electric burns. Alcoholism and smoking are other risk factors. Burns can also occur as a result of self-harm or violence between people (assault).

Burns that affect only the superficial skin layers are known as superficial or first-degree burns. They appear red without blisters, and pain typically lasts around three days. When the injury extends into some of the underlying skin layer, it is a partial-thickness or second-degree burn. Blisters are frequently present and they are often very painful. Healing can require up to eight weeks and scarring may occur. In a full-thickness or third-degree burn, the injury extends to all layers of the skin. Often there is no pain and the burnt area is stiff. Healing typically does not occur on its own. A fourth-degree burn additionally involves injury to deeper tissues, such as muscle, tendons, or bone. The burn is often black and frequently leads to loss of the burned part.

Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterized by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and also spend time fasting while concentrating on religion, prayer, or meditation. Some individuals have also attempted an ascetic lifestyle to free themselves from addictions to things such as alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, porn, lavish food, and entertainment.

Asceticism has been historically observed in many religious and philosophical traditions, most notably among Ancient Greek philosophical schools (Epicureanism, Gymnosophism, Stoicism, and Pythagoreanism), Indian religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism), Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), and contemporary practices continue amongst some of their followers. Practitioners abandon sensual pleasures and lead an abstinent lifestyle, in the pursuit of redemption, salvation, or spirituality. Many ascetics believe the action of purifying the body helps to purify the body and soul, and that in doing so, they will obtain a greater connection with the Divine or find inner peace. This may take the form of rituals, the renunciation of wealth and sensual pleasures, or self-mortification in order to pursue spiritual goals.

Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is a form of long-term porphyria characterised by fragile skin and sore blisters in areas of skin that receive higher levels of exposure to sunlight, such as the face and backs of the hands. These blisters burst easily resulting in erosions, crusts, and superficial ulcers. There is often associated darkened skin color and extra facial hair growth. Healing is typically slow, leading to scarring and milia, while changes such as hair loss, and alterations in nails may also occur. A slightly purplish tint may be seen around the eyes. Scleroderma-like thick skin may develop over fingers, scalp, behind the ears, at the back of the neck, or in the front of the chest. The urine may appear dark. Unlike other porphyrias, PCT does not cause severe illness.

The disorder results from a deficiency of uroporphyrinogen III decarboxylase, used in the production of heme, a vital component of hemoglobin. It is generally divided into three types; familial, non-familial, and acquired. The condition can be related to liver disease and a history of excessive alcohol consumption. It is a recognised complication of hepatitis C. Other associated conditions include type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, HIV, SLE, and haemochromatosis. Smoking, and the use of estrogen in males with prostate cancer and females on combined contraceptive pill may also trigger PCT. Renal dialysis may cause retention of porphyrins and cause PCT.

Diseases of affluence, previously called diseases of rich people, is a term sometimes given to selected diseases and other health conditions which are commonly thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society. Also referred to as the "Western disease" paradigm, these diseases are in contrast to "diseases of poverty", which largely result from and contribute to human impoverishment. These diseases of affluence have vastly increased in prevalence since the end of World War II.

Examples of diseases of affluence include mostly chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and other physical health conditions for which personal lifestyles and societal conditions associated with economic development are believed to be an important risk factor—such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, obesity, hypertension, cancer, alcoholism, gout, and some types of allergy. They may also be considered to include depression and other mental health conditions associated with increased social isolation and lower levels of psychological well-being observed in many developed countries. Many of these conditions are interrelated, for example obesity is thought to be a partial cause of many other illnesses.

The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and Prohibition was formally introduced nationwide under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933.

A wide coalition of mostly Protestants, prohibitionists first attempted to end the trade in alcoholic drinks during the 19th century. They aimed to heal what they saw as an ill society beset by alcohol-related problems such as alcoholism, domestic violence, and saloon-based political corruption. Many communities introduced alcohol bans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and enforcement of these new prohibition laws became a topic of debate. Prohibition supporters, called "drys", presented it as a battle for public morals and health. The movement was taken up by progressives in the Prohibition, Democratic, and Republican parties, and gained a national grassroots base through the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. After 1900, it was coordinated by the Anti-Saloon League. Opposition from the beer industry mobilized "wet" supporters from the wealthy Catholic and German Lutheran communities, but the influence of these groups receded from 1917 following the entry of the U.S. into the First World War against Germany.

Working-class culture or proletarian culture is a range of cultures created by or popular among working-class people. The cultures can be contrasted with high culture and folk culture, and are often equated with popular culture and low culture (the counterpart of high culture). Working-class culture developed during the Industrial Revolution. Because most of the newly created working class were former peasants, the cultures took on much of the localised folk culture. This was soon altered by the changed conditions of social relationships and the increased mobility of the workforce and later by the marketing of mass-produced cultural artefacts such as prints and ornaments and commercial entertainment such as music hall and cinema.

In academia, working-class socio-economic circumstances are conventionally associated with smoking, alcoholism, domestic abuse, obesity and delinquency.

The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean environment, child labor, lack of unionization, poor schools, and the dangers of war. It was most prominent in the early 20th-century United States and Canada.

Theologically, proponents of the movement emphasized living out the line from the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:10): 'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,' interpreting it as a call to address societal injustices. They typically were postmillennialist and believed the Second Coming could not happen until humankind rid itself of social evils by human effort. The Social Gospel was more popular among clergy than churches. Its leaders were predominantly associated with the liberal wing of the progressive movement and most were theologically liberal, although a few were also conservative when it came to their views on social issues. Washington Gladden and Walter Rauschenbusch were the two major founders of the movement.

The Drunkard's Progress: From the First Glass to the Grave is an 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier. It is a nine-step lebenstreppe on a stone arch depicting a man's journey through alcoholism. Through a series of vignettes it shows how a single drink starts an arc that ends in suicide. Below the structure, the protagonist's wife and child stand in tears.

The lithograph is based on John Warner Barber's 1826 work The Drunkard's Progress, or The Direct Road to Poverty, Wretchedness, & Ruin. Critical reception has been poor since the image was released, but it influenced other temperance-themed works. The Drunkard's Progress is used in high school American history classes to teach about the temperance movement.

In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which one is unable to distinguish, in one's experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incoherent thoughts or speech. Psychosis is a description of a person's state or symptoms, rather than a particular mental illness, and it is not related to psychopathy (a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits).

Common causes of chronic (i.e. ongoing or repeating) psychosis include schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and brain damage (usually as a result of alcoholism). Acute (temporary) psychosis can also be caused by severe distress, sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, some medications, and drug use (including alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, and stimulants). Acute psychosis is termed primary if it results from a psychiatric condition and secondary if it is caused by another medical condition or drugs. The diagnosis of a mental-health condition requires excluding other potential causes. Tests can be done to check whether psychosis is caused by central nervous system diseases, toxins, or other health problems.

The Temple of All Religions (Russian: Храм всех религий, Tatar: Барлык диннәр гыйбәдәтханәсе, romanized: Barlıq dinnär ğibädätxanäse) or the Universal Temple (Russian: Вселенский храм) is an architectural complex in the Staroye Arakchino Microdistrict of Kazan, Russia. It consists of several types of religious architecture including an Orthodox church, a mosque, and a synagogue, among others. It is currently under construction since 1992, started by local artist and philanthropist Ildar Khanov (1940 - 2013). The structure now serves as a cultural center and a residence for Khanov's brother and sister, who both continue to serve as guides and supervisors of the complex.

Khanov was known for his efforts in the treatment of alcoholism, drug addiction, and various other addictions. His patients helped him to maintain and develop the Temple, either by direct involvement in the construction work or through sponsorship.

Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the gangrene is caused by an infectious agent, it may present with a fever or sepsis.

Risk factors include diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, smoking, major trauma, alcoholism, HIV/AIDS, frostbite, influenza, dengue fever, malaria, chickenpox, plague, hypernatremia, radiation injuries, meningococcal disease, Group B streptococcal infection and Raynaud's syndrome. It can be classified as dry gangrene, wet gangrene, gas gangrene, internal gangrene, and necrotizing fasciitis. The diagnosis of gangrene is based on symptoms and supported by tests such as medical imaging.

In excitotoxicity, nerve cells suffer damage or death when the levels of otherwise necessary and safe neurotransmitters such as glutamate become pathologically high, resulting in excessive stimulation of receptors. For example, when glutamate receptors such as NMDA receptors or AMPA receptors encounter excessive levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, significant neuronal damage might ensue. Different mechanisms might lead to increased extracellular glutamate concentrations, e.g. reduced uptake by glutamate transporters (EAATs), synaptic hyperactivity, or abnormal release from different neural cell types. Excess glutamate allows high levels of calcium ions (Ca) to enter the cell. Ca influx into cells activates a number of enzymes, including phospholipases, endonucleases, and proteases such as calpain. These enzymes go on to damage cell structures such as components of the cytoskeleton, membrane, and DNA. In evolved, complex adaptive systems such as biological life it must be understood that mechanisms are rarely, if ever, simplistically direct. For example, NMDA, in subtoxic amounts, can block glutamate toxicity and induce neuronal survival. In addition to abnormally high neurotransmitter concentrations, also elevation of the extracellular potassium concentration, acidification and other mechanisms may contribute to excitotoxicity.

Excitotoxicity may be involved in cancers, spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, hearing loss (through noise overexposure or ototoxicity), and in neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, alcoholism, alcohol withdrawal or hyperammonemia and especially over-rapid benzodiazepine withdrawal, and also Huntington's disease. Other common conditions that cause excessive glutamate concentrations around neurons are hypoglycemia. Blood sugars are the primary energy source for glutamate removal from inter-synaptic spaces at the NMDA and AMPA receptor site. Persons in excitotoxic shock must never fall into hypoglycemia. Patients should be given 5% glucose (dextrose) IV drip during excitotoxic shock to avoid a dangerous build up of glutamate. When 5% glucose (dextrose) IV drip is not available high levels of fructose are given orally. Treatment is administered during the acute stages of excitotoxic shock along with glutamate receptor antagonists. Dehydration should be avoided as this also contributes to the concentrations of glutamate in the inter-synaptic cleft and "status epilepticus can also be triggered by a build up of glutamate around inter-synaptic neurons."

Paul Jackson Pollock (/ˈpɒlək/; January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, he was widely noticed for his "drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface, enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. It was called all-over painting and action painting, because Pollock covered the entire canvas and used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a frenetic dancing style. This extreme form of abstraction divided critics: some praised the immediacy of the creation, while others derided the random effects.

A reclusive and volatile personality, Pollock struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. In 1945, he married artist Lee Krasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy. Pollock died in August 1956 at age 44 in an alcohol-related single-car collision when he was driving. Four months after his death, Pollock was given a memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. A larger, more comprehensive exhibition of his work was held there in 1967. In 1998 and 1999, Pollock's work was honored with large-scale retrospective exhibitions at MoMA and the Tate Gallery in London.

Scurvy or scorbutus is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding from the skin may occur. As scurvy worsens, there can be poor wound healing, personality changes, and finally death from infection or bleeding.

It takes at least a month of little to no vitamin C in the diet before symptoms occur. In modern times, scurvy occurs most commonly in neglected children, people with mental disorders, unusual eating habits, alcoholism, and older people who live alone. Other risk factors include intestinal malabsorption and dialysis.