Alcoholism Tests

Alcoholism is a condition where in an individual becomes dependent or addicted to alcohol. Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are some terms by which alcoholism is known. Currently, it is referred to as alcohol use disorder. People with alcohol use disorder become so dependent on alcohol that they are not able to stop consuming even with negative consequences like job loss, or issues with friends and family.

If you feel that you are dealing with alcohol use disorder, then getting an Alcohol Use Disorder Test or Alcoholism Test is advisable to assess the damage it might have caused to your body. An Alcohol Use Disorder Test includes tests that help in determining the damage to your organs that alcohol is causing; these include tests like Liver Function Test, Kidney Function Test, Lipid Test, Amylase Test etc. In the Alcohol Use Disorder Test a sample is taken by the phlebotomist and sent to the lab to perform specific tests.

Some behaviors that are seen in people with alcohol use disorder are:

• Drinking alone
• High tolerance for alcohol
• Eating poorly or not eating
• Becoming angry or violent when asked about alcohol consumption
• Missing work
• Ignoring personal hygiene
• Continuing drinking even in the face of social, economic, or legal problems
• Looking for excuses to drink

Why Alcohol Use Disorder Testing is important?

Excessive consumption of alcohol can have a severe impact on the physical, mental, and social health of a person. While social consumption of alcohol is becoming more and more common, care has to be taken to monitor intake. The cause of alcohol use disorder is still not known. It usually develops when alcohol consumption is so excessive that it causes chemical changes in the brain. These changes make a person crave alcohol. Gradually, the pleasure associated with consuming alcohol reduces and the person continues drinking in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms, which can be quite severe and even dangerous.

While getting an Alcohol Use Disorder Test can help in assessing the damage alcohol is doing to your body, it is also important to self-assess if you are misusing alcohol.

The following questions are a way to see if you are misusing alcohol:

• Do you need to consume more alcohol to feel the impact?
• Do you feel guilty about your alcohol consumption habits?
• Do you become bad-tempered or aggressive when you’re drinking?
• Do you face issues at work because of drinking?
• Do you feel that you should reduce drinking?

If you answer yes to some or all of the questions, then you possibly have an issue with alcohol misuse and should go for an Alcohol Use Disorder Test and especially get a test for liver damage due to alcohol, as the liver is one of the most susceptible to damage by excessive alcohol.

How Alcohol Use Disorder Test is performed?

While there is no one specific Alcohol Use Disorder Test that looks for the signs of alcohol damage in the blood, there are many tests that a doctor may recommend, determining where and how extensive the damage is. Generally, an Alcohol Use Disorder Test would include a blood test for alcohol abuse, a liver function test, kidney function, lipid test and others as recommended by the doctor. All these tests are blood tests where the phlebotomist will collect samples of blood from you which are sent to the lab to test for the specific parameter.