Alcohol Assessment (Liver) Test

There are many signs which signify whether a person is alcoholic or not. Person starts losing interest in things that were once enjoyed, addiction to drink over health issues, extreme mood swings, need to drink first in the morning, failure to control the amount of alcohol consumptions are some indications of an alcoholic person. There is an enormous difference between casual drinking and alcoholism. Casual drinking is done occasionally within a limit and not frequently, while alcoholism is allied with drinking in excess, too often and even in unhealthy situations.

Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) test measures amount of GGT in the body which detects liver damage and alcohol. GGT is a liver enzyme, which help other molecules to move around the body. Higher level of GGT indicates possibility of liver damage. Also a person with higher level of GGT has more than 1.5 fold risk of cardiovascular disease in comparison to people with normal levels of GGT.

Alcohol stays in urine for 12-36 hours, depending on how much it is consumed. It takes around 1 hour to break down 1 unit of alcohol in the blood. Alcohol can be identified up to 24 hours after the last drink, in a breath test.

Liver can handle small amount of alcohol at given time. Liver requires water to function but excessive drinking or regular drinking will make it hard for liver to find water from other sources. Too much fat can be formed, which may cause fatty liver disease. There are also many associated risks, if liver stop functioning properly. Kidney filters harmful element from blood and keep right amount of water in the body. When alcohol is present in blood it kidneys cannot filter the blood properly resulting improper elimination of waste. Thus drinking in excess damages kidney and can cause abnormal blood pressure and kidney related disease.