Click the name buttons and read about the effect of alcohol on the several organs
Heavy drinking speeds up the normal aging process and can cause premature aging of the brain. Sustained heavy drinking over long periods can cause brain damage and memory loss.
A dementia-like illness called Wernicke-Korsakoff's Syndrome is caused by thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency, in turn caused by malnutrition brought on by too much alcohol over too long a period. The syndrome is a combined manifestation of 2 disorders: Wernicke’s encephalopathy & Korsakoff’s psychosis. Wernicke's encephalopathy results from severe acute deficiency of thiamine (Vitamin B1), whilst Korsakoff's psychosis is a chronic condition that may follow Wernicke's encephalopathy. Wernicke’s encephalopathy is characterised by symptoms of confusion and problems with coordination and is treatable with vitamin supplements. Korsakoff's psychosis however is characterised by a permanent inability to learn new information, severe memory problems and structural changes in the brain, and complete recovery is unlikely.
There is a link between drinking too much alcohol and mental health difficulties such as anxiety and depression.
Many people are familiar with the shaky hands that result from excessive drinking. This is one of the ways alcohol affects the nervous system. Damage is first apparent in the extremes of the longest nerves. Hands shake, and there can be less feeling in the feet, for example a ‘dead’ feeling in the skin (peripheral neuropathy). If the damage advances problems with balance may occur (ataxia), where walking turns into more of a stagger. The chances for recovery are increased if drinking stops in time.
Alcohol can damage the mucous membranes and numb the taste buds. If drinking also results in bad eating habits, it can create a vitamin deficiency.
Heavy drinking can cause varicose veins in the oesophagus which, if they rupture, may be life-threatening.
Cancer of the oesophagus, mouth, throat and voice box are especially common in heavy drinkers. After smoking, drinking alcohol is the second biggest risk factor for these types of cancer.
It is often said that alcohol is actually good for your heart and circulatory system. However, this is only true for women over 40 and men over 50, and then only for men who never have more than 2-3 drinks a day and women who never have more than 1-2 drinks a day.
In fact, alcohol use can cause several cardiovascular complications including hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiomyopathy (heart muscle becomes inflamed and unable to function properly) and circulatory problems.
Heavy drinking increases a person’s calorie intake which can lead to obesity heightening an individual’s risk of heart problems.
Drinking more than the recommended guidelines of alcohol also dramatically increases the risk of having a stroke. Strokes are caused either by blood clots clogging arteries in the brain (ischaemic stroke) or by blood vessels bursting and leaking into the brain (haemorrhagic stroke). A heavy drinking session (more than 8 units for men, 6 for women) causes dehydration and makes the blood thicker and more likely to form dangerous clots in the brain and elsewhere.
The liver’s job is to remove toxins such as alcohol, medicines and drugs from the blood. If it has to deal with large amounts of these substances, it will have to work harder and it becomes enlarged. In the long run, the liver cannot maintain this level of functioning and conditions such as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver may develop.
Fatty liver is the name given to a condition where you have too much fat in your liver. There should be little or no fat in a healthy liver. In the long term fat in the liver may progress to serious conditions such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, which may be life-threatening. Fatty liver can however be reversed by abstaining from alcohol use.
Alcoholic hepatitis is inflammation of the liver as a result of heavy drinking. Symptoms include fever, yellowing of the skin, eyeballs and urine (jaundice) and pain in the abdomen. Although this condition can cause death if alcohol consumption continues, the process can be reversed.
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver which prevents it from filtering out the waste from the body and can cause death. Unlike alcoholic hepatitis it is not possible to reverse the damage done to the liver by cirrhosis, although the symptoms can be relieved and liver functioning can improve by abstaining from alcohol. Treatment for the complications caused by cirrhosis is available, and the last resort is liver transplantation. Liver cirrhosis is a “silent” disease - symptoms may not be noticeable until the disease is advanced or complications arise.
Alcohol induced liver damage can disrupt the body’s metabolism, eventually impairing the function of the other organs.
Heavy drinkers are more prone to have excessive heartburn, ulcers, gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), and bleeding in the digestive system.
The pancreas helps to regulate the amount of blood sugar by making insulin. When there is heavy drinking, the pancreas can be affected by becoming inflamed and extremely painful. This is called pancreatitis and it can cause diabetes or even death. Symptoms of pancreatitis are severe abdominal pain and excessive weight loss.
Drinking alcohol also interferes with sugar processing and the hormones that regulate sugar levels. Chronic heavy drinkers often have low levels of healthy blood sugars. Because many heavy drinkers go without proper food when they are drinking, their store of healthy sugar can be exhausted in a few hours. Also the body’s monitoring of the sugar can be affected while alcohol is being digested. The combination of these effects can cause severely low levels of blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) from 6-36 hours after a binge drinking episode. Failure to treat this condition could have life threatening results.
The kidneys filter water and waste products from the blood. Alcohol has a diuretic effect, so if you drink a lot, you have to urinate more frequently. Thus, even though you’re drinking a lot, you can experience fluid loss.
The relaxing effects of alcohol can have a positive effect on sexual experiences. However, excessive consumption can also hinder sexual functions.
Heavy drinking has a major effect on the reproductive system, affecting sex drive, fertility, and pregnancy. Since the liver is not working as well as normal, hormonal balances can be disrupted. Male heavy drinkers have increased oestrogen and decreased testosterone. This leads to impotence, testicular atrophy and gynaecomastia (abnormal enlargement of one or both breasts). Too much alcohol also shrinks genitals and lowers fertility. In women chronic heavy drinking can contribute to numerous reproductive disorders, including cessation of or irregular menstruation, menstrual cycles without ovulation, early menopause, and increased risk of spontaneous abortions. Drinking during pregnancy can have numerous harmful effects on the foetus, such as disease (foetal alcohol syndrome), miscarriages, birth defects, and mental retardation. Alcohol should be avoided during pregnancy or while trying to conceive. Women who drink more than 3 drinks a day increase their risk of breast cancer.
People who drink heavily appear to be at increased risk for sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is a condition where the upper air passage narrows or closes during sleep, resulting in lack of oxygen to the brain. Not only can drinking alcohol lead to narrowing of this air passage causing episodes of apnoea, alcohol’s depressant effects can increase the duration of periods of apnoea as well. The combination of alcohol, sleep apnoea, and snoring increase a person’s risk for heart attack, arrhythmia, stroke and sudden death.
Alcohol suppresses the immune system which predisposes heavy drinkers to serious infections including fatal cases of pneumonia and tuberculosis. This suppression may be responsible for the higher incidence of several types of cancers seen in alcoholics.