ALCOHOL AND ITS EFFECT 373 



For the above reasons, persons suffering from kidney 

 troubles may often remove this trouble by increasing the 

 amount of water drunk. Urea itself is not poisonous, but 

 when the nitrogen of the tissues is not properly oxidized 

 other substances are produced which pass in the blood to 

 the kidneys. The kidneys try to excrete these products, 

 but often become overworked in the attempt, and these 

 poisonous substances collect and produce the disease 

 known as Bright's disease. An excess of sugar in the diet 

 often brings about an imperfect oxidation, and patients 

 with this disease often have their sugar supply cut down 

 for that reason. Exercise, which maintains a healthy 

 oxidation of the tissues, indirectly helps to maintain the 

 health of the kidneys. 



Alcohol and its effect upon the skin and kidneys. — One 

 of the first effects of alcohol drinking is to cause congestion 

 of the surface blood vessels. "When the use is occasional, 

 this congestion may pass off and the skin return to its 

 normal condition. If continued, however, the constant 

 use of alcohol causes the blood vessels of the skin to be- 

 come permanently dilated, the skin becomes red and 

 often blotched with pimples, due to poor nutrition of the 

 skin cells and the over-accumulation of wastes. 



Alcohol also causes more or less congestion in the blood 

 vessels of the kidneys, and the result may be that the 

 kidneys are overworked, with results seriously menacing 

 the health of the individual. All these effects, of course, 

 vary in proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed. 



