Category: Health & Fitness

What Is a Wax Pen Vaping Device?

What Is a Wax Pen Vaping Device?

Everyone has heard of a vape or a vaporizer. But, more and more often, you’ll get terms like “wax pen” or “wax vape”. Wax pens are similar to vaporizers but are designed for vaporizing different substances, usually at higher temperatures.

Otherwise, wax pens are portable vaporizers designed to vaporize cannabis products. They’re also virtually useless for anything but cannabis dabs (crystals) or other crystalized drugs because they’re too hot for any non-processed product. However, they’re fully portable and convenient products for using concentrated drug products without the hassle of a traditional multi-part rig.

If you or a loved one is using or considering one, here’s what you need to know.

What is a Wax Pen?

A wax pen is a handheld vaporizing device consisting of a cartridge, a battery, and a mouthpiece. The system is extremely similar to a standard vaporizer in that the wax pen uses the battery to heat the cartridge, sending the vapor to the mouthpiece, where it can be inhaled.

Most have a small form size, which can be fit into a hand or a pocket. They’re usually a bit bulkier than traditional vapes though. Why? They’re actually a lot warmer. Most vaporizers cap out at about 450 degrees, or about the same maximum heat as a kitchen oven. Fresh cannabis mostly benefits from lower heat.

Wax pens on the other hand typically cap out at about 850F, or about the maximum heat of a soldering iron used to melt metal. That’s because wax pens are used to melt highly processed and crystalized substances.

Are Wax Pens Dangerous?

Is it dangerous to carry something that heats to 850F in your pocket? It can be. However, it doesn’t have to be. Wax pens can be manufactured to high standards of safety, which means having thermal overload, automatic shutdown, and significant insulation. You wouldn’t want to leave one on in your pocket. However, providing you buy one from a licensed manufacturer, most should have a safety switch to prevent this from happening.

Wax pens are also a lot safer than dab rigs. Here, you typically superheat a dab in a glass container or pipe and then inhale it. Glass can overheat and can even explode. In fact, burns, cuts, and burns around the mouth and the lungs are not uncommon with dab rigs. Therefore, in most cases, the wax pen is considered significantly safer than the dab rig or bong.

Of course, bongs can be perfectly safe to use as well. However, they are accident prone and may be dangerous to use.

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What are Dab Pens Used For?

Wax and dab pens are normally used to consume “Dabs”. Dabs are highly concentrated doses of THC which are extracted from a plant, much like hash is. In fact, dabs are made up of THC and butane hash oil. In most cases, growers use the trim (leaves, buds that are too small to sell) from the plant. They then cover it with butane (yes, the same butane used in cigarette lighters). This process is done in a lab with masks, gloves, and protection from the butane and should not be tried at home. The THC dissolves into the butane, producing a sticky, wax-like substance.

That “Dab” can contain 70-90% THC. That’s about triple the potency of the highest possible TCH contents of smoking straight cannabis.

Dab pens can also be used to vaporize other chemically processed drugs. For example, it’s rare to see drugs like meth used in vape pens. However, it’s increasingly common in dab pens, because the higher temperatures make it more effective. Again, this is safer than using a pipe for the same process.

Are Dabs Dangerous?

Dabs can be dangerous for a few reasons. The first is that the amount of THC is extremely high. This means you increase risks of dependence and addiction. You’ll also see increased impacts to mental health in terms of increased anxiety and even psychosis risks from smoking dabs over marijuana. And, because it’s so strong, it’s extremely difficult to keep your usage light or to control your dose at all. In fact, many people smoke too much, get paranoid and anxious, smoke more to calm that down, and exacerbate the cycle.

It’s also true that butane is highly flammable. Vaporizing it theoretically removes all of the harmful vapors meaning you shouldn’t be causing any extreme health risks to yourself by inhaling it. However, it’s dangerous to light and to have around heat – because it could technically ignite. As a result, wax pens can result in fires.

It also goes without saying that many of the other substances you can use a dab pen for are extremely dangerous. Meth, crack cocaine, and other free base versions of drugs are potent, addictive, and often extremely dangerous to uses. That’s unrelated to using a wax pen, and the wax pen will actually make using them safer than using a traditional glass pipe.

What Should You Know?

If you or a loved one is using a wax pen for dabs or for anything else, there are pros and cons. On the one hand, if you have to use something at the potency of dabs, it’s probably a bad sign for your mental health and your drug use. You might want to consider cutting back and trying to ensure your use falls within healthy parameters. If you can’t, it may be important to look into getting professional help to do so. Substance use disorders are a normal result of exposure to drugs. In fact, cannabis use disorder occurs in about 30% of “heavy” users. You also can’t use dabs without qualifying as a heavy user, which means you’re more at risk.

On the other hand, wax pens are a lot safer than glass bongs and pipes. If you’re using anyway, a wax pen produced by a licensed manufacturer may decrease risks of fires, burns, and glass cuts. So, if you’re going to keep using, a wax pen is a great way to minimize the physical safety risks of doing so. However, it’s important to ensure that you understand the safety precautions for the wax pen, to use the safety off, and to use the pen in a responsible manner. Unfortunately, using drugs decreases your ability to do so, which means your wax pen will likely never be completely safe. However, it’s still better than superheating glass.

If you’re using hard drugs or high concentration drugs and extracts, you might want to look into getting help. Drugs impact your mental health, decrease mental stability, increase risks of anxiety and paranoia, and increase risks of psychosis. That’s true for regular cannabis without looking at high-purity drugs like dabs. This means that dabbing or using a wax pen for dab or shatter greatly increases your risks. If you’re having trouble or even aren’t sure, talk to your doctor to get advice and to figure out how you’re doing. If you need help, it is there.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our alcohol rehab, detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

How Can I Handle College Parties and Stay Sober?

How Can I Handle College Parties and Stay Sober?

Going to college can often feel like everyone is focused on one thing – and that’s having a party. That’s very often not true, but especially in the media, college life is glamorized with parties, drugs, and alcohol front and center. But, if you’re trying to stay sober, want to take care of your health, or are in recovery from a substance use disorder, that’s the last thing you want. You might still want to take part in social life and parties – but you want to do so sober.

Can you? Of course you can. However, it might mean staying away from some parties. It will also mean planning, putting effort into taking care of yourself, and putting effort into learning where your limits are. The following tips will help you join college parties while staying sober.

Go to Sober Parties

A lot of people aren’t aware that there are plenty of sober parties and activities on most campuses. In fact, many people try to get through college sober – which means their events and parties will generally be alcohol free. If you’re not sure, ask around the campus and even ask your counselor. Some colleges actually sponsor alcohol free parties – just because getting students to socialize more with less alcohol is the goal of any college.

If you don’t have an existing sober party set up, feel free to plan one yourself. You can decide if it’s absolutely no alcohol or low alcohol. You can also organize with your sorority/fraternity, with the college itself, or with any other group you like. Having games, a movie marathon, dancing, or any other social activity is a great theme for a party – and it doesn’t need alcohol.

Make Sure You Have a Sober Buddy

If you’re going to parties where alcohol is being served, it’s a good idea to have someone to watch your back. Here, your best bet is to try going to campus support groups like AA, NA, Smart Recovery, or LifeRing. That will allow you to meet other sober people – however, you should be in recovery from alcohol abuse to join them.

If not, you might just want to ask around to find like-minded individuals who don’t want to drink.

Why do you want a sober buddy?

You’ll feel less alone
You’ll feel less peer pressure to drink
You’ll be able to talk to someone if you do experience cravings or want alcohol
You’ll have someone to help you say no and to hold you socially accountable

The best option is to bring someone to the party with you who also wants to stay sober. However, even having someone to text or call is better than nothing.

Know Your Motivations

If you want to stay sober, it’s for a reason. Keep those reasons in mind. In fact, if you’re struggling with saying no to alcohol or are afraid you’ll slip up, try writing down your motivations before you leave for the party. That will ensure they are clear in your mind and you’ll have a good idea of exactly what you’re saying not to alcohol for.

It doesn’t matter if those reasons are “I want to take care of my health”, or “I deserve to experience social life sober”, or “I’ve worked too hard to be sober to give it up now”. Writing out your motivations, including negative repercussions of alcohol can help. Your reasons can be as simple as you like.

They just have to remind you why you’re saying no.

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Know Your Limits

If you don’t trust yourself to say no to alcohol, don’t go to parties with alcohol. If you’re not sure if you can say no, try going only when you have support or someone to help you. Knowing your own limits is an important part of navigating life – and it’s even more important when you have to say no to things like alcohol to meet your goals.

That’s also important if you experience triggers, if you have cravings, or if you’re struggling with alcohol abuse or did in the past. What’s likely to trigger you? How can you avoid that? How can you manage that if you can’t avoid it? When are you most likely to experience cravings? How can you avoid that? How can you manage that when you can’t avoid it? What can you do if things get bad?

Understanding yourself is the first step to managing yourself. And, that means paying attention to when and how you react to things and using that information to make better decisions for yourself.

Take Care of Yourself

Getting enough sleep and eating your vegetables might not sound like the best way to avoid drinking, but it might be. Giving yourself a solid foundation of rest, exercise, and nutrition ensures that you feel your best. That also holds true with ensuring you have regular social interaction, time with friends, and time to relax and have fun. Giving yourself a stable routine with good self-care ensures that you are as mentally healthy as possible.

That puts you in the best possible position to take care of yourself. That includes not needing a release or getting drunk as much as you might if you go back and forth between not getting enough sleep and feeling bad because you’re not giving your body what it needs. It also means having more emotional stability, so you’re less likely to be invested in pleasure-seeking.

Good routines can be difficult to start and harder to maintain. But, taking care of yourself is an important part of staying sober. And, if you’re taking care of yourself in other ways by going to the gym four days a week, eating 80% healthy meals, and going to bed and waking up at about the same time every day – indulging in alcohol is going to feel a lot less like giving yourself a break and a lot more like self-sabotage, which will make it easier to say no.

Talk to People

If you’re at a college party, chances are, you know almost everyone there. That makes it relatively easy to talk to people, to say no, and to explain why you want to stay sober. Most people want to be respectful of the people around them. Most people want to be good friends. So, simply going “No, I don’t want any alcohol and here’s why” can do a lot for ensuring that people don’t offer you alcohol. It might not feel that way. You might feel like skipping out on alcohol makes you the sad looser of the bunch – but chances are, there are more people there who are also abstaining. Talking about things, making them public, and ensuring that the group knows that taking care of you means not offering you alcohol can do a lot for you getting to enjoy college parties without alcohol. And, if that’s not the case, you’re probably at the wrong parties.

If you’re struggling with alcohol abuse, you don’t have to tell that to strangers. But you should practice saying no, get comfortable with it, and learn how to exit a situation if you’re pressured instead of accepted.

College parties can involve a lot of alcohol. But, more and more often, there are also options for sober get-togethers. Hopefully, these tips help you to manage parties and to get through college without sacrificing your social life to stay sober.

How Do I Stay Clean and Sober Through Surgery?

How Do I Stay Clean and Sober Through Surgery?

If you’re in recovery, staying off of drugs and alcohol can seem critical for staying in recovery. But, if you’re heading for a major surgery, it might be impossible to avoid pain pills. For any recovering addict, those pills are a massive risk because they’re mostly opioids. That can trigger a relapse, or a major addiction to pain pills – and that’s the last thing you want.

Unfortunately, you can’t always skip pain medication when you go through surgery. Managing pain allows you to recover by keeping stress, inflammation, and shock to a minimum. In addition, pills aren’t the only risks for relapse during surgery. You’ll have to plan around several factors like your habits, coping mechanisms, and quality of life.

Talk To Your Doctor

If you have a history of substance abuse, it’s important to talk to your doctor. Even the nurse at your clinic can help you to make choices that are best for you. Here, you can share concerns, share your history, and ask for advice and help.

For example, you might be offered an alternative pain management schedule. This introduces more risk management to your pain medication schedule, meaning you get more checkups, more tests, and more questions to ensure you get on and off the drugs as quickly as possible. Having someone around to constantly monitor what you’re taking and why can also help you to avoid abusing opioids. In addition, your nurse or doctor will be able to better understand when you can switch to prescription-strength Tylenol after the surgery. Depending on your reaction, that could be anywhere from 2-14 days after surgery – which means that having consistent monitoring could mean getting off opioids much sooner.

Depending on how high your risk is, your doctor could actually opt to keep you in the hospital until you can switch to Tylenol. That means you’ll never take opioids home, minimizing your total risk.

Maintain Good Habits

Your lifestyle has a large impact on how you’re able to cope with emotions, cravings, and to avoid drugs. Most of us are aware that moderate exercise, healthy eating, and doing social things with friends and family boosts our mood, so we don’t feel the need for drugs and alcohol as much. However, surgery can get in the way. For example, if you’re in debilitating pain, you can’t exercise. And, if you have stitches, you shouldn’t. But it is important to maintain your social life, to stay engaged, and to get outside where you can. You’ll also want to know when you can start exercising again. For example, many people need to go into physical therapy after surgery, if that’s the case, when can you start going and how much you do? The faster you get back into it, the faster things will improve.

You’ll also want to pay attention to food and drink. If you eat well and avoid sugary drinks, you’re less likely to crash than if you do the opposite. So, managing your diet will improve your ability to stay clean and sober.

In addition, the sooner you start physical therapy and light exercise, the less pain you’ll be in. That means you’ll probably need less medication, meaning you can go back to full sobriety more quickly.

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Go to Therapy

Most people don’t think of therapy as a pain management technique, but it can be. In addition, therapy can help you to improve mental health and maintain emotional regulation and mood during surgery recovery. Recovering from surgery can be traumatizing. You might find that you’re basically helpless, you’re in pain, and you’ll experience significant mood swings and depression. This is a normal part of major surgery and pain. Yet, if you’re in recovery from addiction, you’re especially at risk for relapse. This means getting therapy and counseling over the period may be essential to staying in recovery.

You can do that for pain, for your mood, or for both. But, you should ask for and plan for it before your surgery starts.

Therapy can also help you with stress management so that you don’t need as much of an outlet. For example, if you’re stressed because you can’t do as much, you might find that having therapy reduces your drive to lean on alcohol or painkillers to relive that stress. Of course, therapy won’t cure stress, but it can help and it can give you validation and more effective tools to do something with it.

What to Do If You’re Struggling

The ideal is that you discuss risks upfront with your medical care provider, that you have measures put in place ahead of time, and that you get support as an ongoing thing. However, if you’ve been through surgery and are now using pain pills and are struggling, it’s important that you take steps as quickly as possible. The first is to talk to your doctor.

Explain your medical history and your history of substance abuse
Discuss any cravings, abuse, or overuse of the drugs you have that you’ve been experiencing
Ask for extra checkups – in most areas this will be easy to arrange, although your insurance may not oblige
Practice care with your pain pills. For example, waiting until you’re in pain to take pills. You’ll also want to talk to your doctor about switching to prescription strength Tylenol as quickly as possible. Depending on the surgery, they might be able to offer you NSAIDs immediately instead of opioids.
Ask for a hotline to reach out to for help. If you’re living alone, don’t have support, or don’t have home motivation to stay on track with your recovery, having someone you can call and talk to can help.

The most important part of staying clean and sober through surgery is to talk to your doctor upfront. You’ll also want to ensure that you have social support and friends and family over to visit and give you support and help while you’re recovering. And, you’ll want to take steps to minimize the amount of stuff you’ll struggle with. For example if you know you’ll be in a wheelchair for several weeks, you’ll want to ensure your home is wheelchair accessible to reduce frustration. Taking steps to care for yourself after surgery will reduce the amount that you feel down.

However, you’ll also need emotional, mental, and physical support. Going to therapy, going to physical therapy, and talking to your doctor will help. No surgery is without risk for someone who’s in recovery, however, you can reduce risks and help yourself to stay clean and sober.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

Can Cocaine Kill You? Yes, and Here’s How

cocaine or other drugs cut with razor blade on mirror. hand dividing white powder narcotic

Can Cocaine Kill You? Yes, and Here’s How

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, some 478,000 new people try using cocaine each year. Most of those go on to be occasional users, turning to cocaine for social use and parties.

Cocaine is often seen as relatively safe, because of its light addiction profile and the fact that millions of people use it. But, this drug is listed as a Schedule II Drug under the Controlled Substances Act because it can be dangerous. Yet, about 5 million Americans, or 2% of the population, use cocaine.

Those dangers include addiction, health risks, and mental health risks – each of which can vary significantly depending on the individual, their genetics, their metabolism, and their existing health. Cocaine’s euphoric effects on the body can quickly turn to paranoia, anxiety, insomnia, sleeplessness, and heart problems – but few people talk about that when initiating use. Cocaine can kill you, and it will always be dangerous to use.

How Can Cocaine Kill You

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that takes just a few seconds to affect your brain. The drug also affects nearly every part of your body, from dopamine production to the amount of air in the cellular walls of the heart. This can result in significant side-effects to the body.

Heart Attack

Cocaine usage elevates the heart rate and blood pressure, which puts stress on the heart. If you have a weak heart, even a small amount of cocaine can elevate your heart to the point of causing too much stress. Long-term cocaine usage can also cause the heart problems that result in having a heart attack after a small amount of cocaine usage. In addition, cocaine usage patterns result in continuing and ongoing stress to the heart. For example, short-term effects of cocaine mean that people are very likely to keep using throughout the night. This means the heart is under a large amount of stress for a longer amount of time, with continuous spikes of stress – rather than a single spike and then a plateau. This means you’re more likely to experience heart abnormalities with cocaine than with a stimulant that you only take once. In addition, because cocaine has a half life of about 60 minutes, people typically increase the amount of cocaine in their system with each follow-up dose, even if they don’t intend to.

Stroke

Cocaine is a significant contributor to stroke, although the mechanism of how is poorly understood. However, it causes increased blood pressure and stimulates the central nervous system. This can result in a stroke which may result in partial paralysis or even death.

Overdose

Cocaine was involved in 1 in 5 overdose deaths in 2019. While it pales in comparison to heavier drugs like fentanyl, cocaine can be significantly dangerous. In fact, some 16,000 Americans died in 2019 with cocaine in their system. Often, those cocaine-related overdoses included either very large amounts of cocaine or a mixture of cocaine and another drug. Of these, cocaine and alcohol is the most common, as both of these drugs are common. However, mixing cocaine with another drug can increase the potency and the bad side effects of each, meaning it’s much more likely to suffer an overdose.

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Toxicity or Poisoning

Cocaine-induced cardiotoxicity happens when too much cocaine collects in the heart and cardiovascular system. The result is quite-often sudden death. This happens because cocaine permeates the membrane tissues of the cardiovascular system, forcing oxygen out. If you use too much, it can result in reduced oxygen in the heart and sudden death. Most importantly, there is not a way to actually predict that happening before it does.

However, cocaine can also cause more traditional toxicity and poisoning if it is cut with toxic material. For example, some dealers will cut cocaine with baby powder or talc. Consuming small quantities of this won’t really harm you. However, in larger doses these and other substances can cause significant toxicity, which can result in shock and even poisoning.

Other Dangers of Cocaine

Cocaine can be significantly dangerous, even when it doesn’t kill you. This means it’s important to be careful with cocaine even in small doses. In addition, cocaine can cause significant and lasting damage to your mental and physical health, which can decrease your quality of life.

Addiction

An estimated 1.4 million people or almost 30% of all cocaine users have a cocaine use disorder. This means that they are mentally and physically addicted to the substance, show signs of withdrawal, and show seeking behavior – where they prioritize cocaine over responsibilities, family, friends, and other things they care about. That behavioral addiction often requires significant therapy intervention to treat and if left alone, can mean years of spiraling substance abuse.

Paranoia and Anxiety

Cocaine usage affects dopamine reuptake in the brain. This often means that dopamine production raises significantly in the short term and the body responds to this by producing less dopamine. As a result, long-term users may start to experience side-effects of anxiety, paranoia, anxiety attacks, and even panic attacks. These symptoms are often a result of chemistry changes in the brain, meaning they can be persistent and can last for years or permanently, even if you quit using cocaine.

Cardiac Complications

Cocaine usage can result in long-term side-effects and damage to the heart. Here, common cardiac complications include arrhythmia, acute myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy, and coronary artery disease. Each of these diseases is not fatal on its own. However, they do increase chance of early death, decrease quality of life, and increase need for medical care over your lifetime. In addition, they increase the risks of further cocaine usage, because they weaken your heart, meaning you’re more likely to have heart problems.

Getting Help

Cocaine is never safe to use recreationally. The drug causes short-term euphoria and can make you feel good, energetic, and even powerful. Yet, it causes physical harm to your body, increases your risk of death, increases your risk of mental and physical health problems, and decreases your quality of life. If you are using anyway, you are putting yourself at risk, and knowingly. That often means you can benefit from therapy and help getting off the drug, treating the underlying reasons behind substance abuse, so you can recover and get your life back.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

How Does Alcohol Affect Your Immune System?

How Does Alcohol Affect Your Immune System?

Alcohol is one of the most common intoxicants on the planet. In fact, 65% of all Americans over the age of 21 drink regularly. But, alcohol, like other drugs, is actually bad for you, and even in minimal doses, can cause significant damage to your immune system, your gastrointestinal system, and your energy levels. However, the more you drink, the worse those side-effects get.

Alcohol will almost always affect your immune system, because it is, in essence, a very mild poison. Alcohol toxicity happens when you drink too much, and that means that at any dose, alcohol is toxic. Let’s go over the details and the science in the article below.

What is the Immune System?

The immune system is comprised of white blood cells and immune cells spread throughout the body – especially in the lungs and the gut. This system responds to and fights off infection, disease and toxins.

It also comprises two parts, including the innate immune system, or the cells that directly respond to attackers and the adaptive immune system, which remembers previous infection and responds to that. So, the innate immune system always responds, but after you catch a cold, your body responds to that mutation of the virus and may prevent you from getting it or reduce the effects of catching it the next time.

Drinking affects both of these systems. For example, it impacts the innate immune system directly. Your body responds to the toxics that are alcohol by inflaming. That’s why many people experience stomach upset after drinking. It’s also why you may feel fluish the day after binge drinking.

It also affects the adaptive immune system, because your body remembers the last time you drank alcohol and produces an immune system response. This means your body is put to work every time you drink – and your immune system is less prepared to fight off an actual infection. And, there’s nothing you can do to stop this process.

Immune System Suppression

Drinking alcohol suppresses the immune system over the short-term. In fact, drinking 5-6 alcoholic drinks in a single session will suppress the immune system for up to 24 hours after the last drink. This happens because alcohol is a toxin and it directly inflames the intestines and the immune system. This means your immune system is less prepared to react to a virus or another illness. You drink, your immune system responds by inflaming and activating cells, and then your immune system is not prepared to fight off another attacker. In addition, you’re likely under slept, undernourished, and possibly even dehydrated after a night of drinking. All of that adds up to make you significantly more susceptible to getting sick than you would normally be.

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Immune Cell Damage

People who drink frequently start to experience immune cell damage, especially in the gut and in the lungs. This happens because the immune cells constantly inflame and are exposed to toxins. The result is that they can experience irreparable damage, meaning that your immune system is permanently worsened. For this reason, people with alcoholism are more likely to develop inflammatory bowel diseases such as Chron’s, IBS, and etc.

You’re also more likely to develop chronic lung conditions, as damaged immune cells are ill-prepared to fight off attacks in the lungs. This means that heavy drinkers are significantly more likely to develop pneumonia and bronchitis, even from a normal head cold infection. Here, you are likely more vulnerable to a first infection, or what is known as a head cold. However, you’re significantly more vulnerable to a secondary infection, where the cold moves to the lower respiratory system of the lungs and bronchial tubes – which can be a significant and serious condition.

Of course, “more likely” does not mean “guaranteed”, but it does significantly increase risks. And, the more you drink and the more often, the greater those risks become. Most studies indicate that heavy drinking increases risks of lower respiratory infections by 3-7 times.

Long-Term Immune System Damage

The more and more often you drink, the larger the impact to your immune system will be. That will impact your life and your quality of life. A weakened immune system means:

Illnesses, even the common cold, last longer
You get sick more often and illness is more severe
You’re more prone to infection and may need special care after surgery
You’re more tired or fatigued when sick and may not be able to do anything at all while sick
Small cuts and scratches are more vulnerable to infection and may require medical attention
You’re more prone to stomach upset, diarrhea, and stomach inflammation

Those issues can be significant, especially when you do get a major illness.

Getting Help

There is no safe amount of alcohol consumption that does not disrupt the immune system. However, drinking fewer than 10 drinks per week and no more than 4 in a setting, or preferably no more than 1.5 servings of alcohol per day for women and 2 servings of alcohol per day for men will reduce risks as much as possible – except for not drinking at all, which is, by far, the healthiest option. But, if you’re drinking every day and drinking more than four drinks in a sitting, your risks are significantly higher. In addition, heavy alcohol consumption increases your risks of organ damage, including to the liver and kidneys, as well as to the intestines, all of which will go on to affect the immune system further.

If you or a loved one is drinking heavily, there is help. That help can range from strategies to reduce drinking with support. It can also include rehab and behavioral therapy to help you develop new coping mechanisms or healthy alternatives to drinking. And, if you try to cut back or to stop drinking and find that you can’t, that therapy and help is necessary.

Alcohol is everywhere and most of us drink at least occasionally. But, that doesn’t mean it’s safe and it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have side effects. Alcohol can significantly impact every aspect of your health, mental health, and your life, so if you’re struggling, it’s important to get professional medical help.

How to Support Your Recovery with Healthy Nutrition

a woman holding a bowl of vegetables, considering healthy nutrition to support her recovery

If you’re recovering from a substance use disorder, nutrition can play a large part in your recovery. That’s important both for ensuring your diet contributes to recovery and for ensuring your diet doesn’t contribute to relapse.