dipsomania
Sign in to saveDipsomania is a historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol or other drugs. In the 19th century, the term dipsomania was used to refer to a variety of alcohol-related problems, most of which are known today as alcohol use disorder. Dipsomania is occasionally still used to describe a particular condition of periodic, compulsive bouts of alcohol intake. The idea of dipsomania is important for its historical role in promoting a disease theory of chronic drunkenness. The word comes from Greek dipso- (from 'thirst') and mania ( 'madness, frenzy, co
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- alcohol abuse
- Said to be same as
- zapoy
Show 3 more facts
- different from
- polydipsia
- described by source
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
- named by
- Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~7 min read
Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- History
- Examples in fiction
- Examples in science
- See also
- References
- External links
Dipsomania is a historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol or other drugs. In the 19th century, the term dipsomania was used to refer to a variety of alcohol-related problems, most of which are known today as alcohol use disorder. Dipsomania is occasionally still used to describe a particular condition of periodic, compulsive bouts of alcohol intake. The idea of dipsomania is important for its historical role in promoting a disease theory of chronic drunkenness. The word comes from Greek dipso- (from 'thirst') and mania ( 'madness, frenzy, compulsion etc.').
It is mentioned in the World Health Organization ICD-10 classification as an alternative description for Alcohol Dependence Syndrome, episodic use F10.26.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “dipsomania” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.