Take the Screening Guidelines to Your Health Care Professional
by Lisa Frederiksen
Recent surveys show that physicians are not screening for alcohol abuse or alcoholism in the course of their regular patient examinations. Yet, alcohol abuse and addiction are the underlying causes for so many health conditions (ulcers, various cancers, high blood pressure, mental health illnesses), as well as unintentional injuries (motor vehicle crashes, alcohol poisoning, burns, drowning, firearms injuries) and unintentional behaviors (fights, unprotected sex, unwanted sex).
Additionally, the screening for alcohol abuse or addiction in a patient’s family (whether it be in the patient’s child, sibling or parent) is almost non-existent. Yet a patient’s family member’s alcohol abuse or addiction can cause an equally damaging impact on that patient’s quality of life, as they struggle to hold it all together in a crazy-making situation. That exposure can ultimately influence a patient’s decision to drink and once they start drinking, how much/how often, and it can also lead to depression or the development of a myriad of other unhealthy coping skills (striving to be the best, becoming a primary care giver to younger siblings, becoming a parent’s confidant or protector — even turning to alcohol or drugs to mask their own pain and confusion).
More than 53% of American men and women report one or more of their close relatives has a drinking problem (NIAAA), and one in four children will live with family alcohol abuse or alcoholism before age 18 (NACOA). One in every 12 American adults abuses alcohol or is alcohol dependent (NIAAA 2007), with alcohol problems being highest among young adults ages 18-29 and lowest among adults ages 65 and older.
Clearly something must be done to encourage screening of alcohol use (as well as use by another member in one’s family) as a matter of course in patient examinations. I urge you to download a copy of the NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) publication, “Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much: A Clinician’s Guide,” and take it to your physician or child’s pediatrician (or mental health care professional should you or your loved one be in therapy). You may also find it helpful to read, yourself, if you’re wondering about a loved one’s drinking.
