Alcohol Rehab for Older Women - It Is Never too Late

Alcohol Abuse and the Risks of Cancer for Older Women…Alcohol Rehab Has No Age Limit

Alcohol Rehab for Older Women

Post menopausal women who abuse alcohol are at a much greater risk for certain caners. Old age compounds the negative health effects of alcohol, and as we age we all lose our resiliency to the damage of abuse, and lose our abilities to quickly regenerate cells affected by alcoholic excess.

Health Risks

Women who abuse alcohol are 50% more likely to get breast cancer, and new research reveals that post menopausal women who consume just two drinks a day double their risk for endometrial cancer, which is the most common form of cancer of the female reproductive system, and accounts for 6% of all cancer diagnosis' in women. They also suffer from greatly increased risks for liver, gastro intestinal and pancreatic cancers.

Medication Interactions

Additionally, as women age (as anyone ages) they invariably take more prescription medicines, and risk negative drug interactions and increasing intoxication or exacerbated physical damage. As women age, they also present with weakened bones, and are at a great risk for intoxication induced injuries, most notably falls that lead to fractures or mobility compromising injuries such as broken hips.

Why We So Rarely Intervene When older Women Drink too Much…

It may not be fair, but the truth is that women always suffer more from any alcohol consumption than do men, and the rate of increased damage just gets worse as women age. Problematically, although relatively few men start drinking very late in life, a lot of women do develop alcohol dependencies as they age out of middle age, and they are also among the least likely group to ever seek out treatment help for their drinking.

We Don't Do Them A Favor By Letting Them Drink

We too often deny seniors treatment out of misguided feelings of compassion and of empathy, when in reality by trying to spare the elderly the pain of treatment; we shorten their life, ruin their health, and greatly diminish their quality of life.

If mom or grandma is drinking too much, she deserves to be treated with respect and with humanity. The elderly, especially the young-old, should have decades to enjoy their freedom and their grandchildren, and through inaction we rob them of what they deserve.

Alcohol Rehab for Older Women

No reason, whether grief, illness or loneliness ever justifies alcohol abuse or dependency; and alcohol is not a healthy or effective solution to the problems of aging.

Older women report feelings of great embarrassment over developed problems with alcohol, and these feelings of shame too often deter them from initiating needed treatment. Families need to act out of the best interests of their older relatives, and get them into alcohol abuse treatment regardless of the age of onset. The elderly do very well in alcohol rehab and are far more compliant on full and honest participation in therapies and in a full involvement in after care. The elderly have a great rehab success and sobriety rate, but far too many never get a chance at a better life of sobriety.

Treatments Work

Older women with alcohol abuse problems or alcoholism can get effective treatment in any mixed age therapeutic alcohol rehab, and do not require age specific treatment.

Getting an older relative the treatment help they need can save their life, and it's the only acceptable reaction when mom or grandma is drinking to an early grave. A family physician, addictions professional or alcohol rehab facility can all offer advice for families unsure of how to initiate a discussion on alcohol treatment.