Why Am I Bleeding After Drinking Alcohol?

Okay, if you are reading this because you are experiencing some bleeding right now, you might want to fast-track and just go on ahead and bring yourself to the nearest hospital. You probably need to go there now more than finishing this article. But if you aren’t experiencing heavy bleeding or just had a few times of it, then you might want to know more about why you are in such a predicament. 

Is Bleeding After Drinking Normal? 

The answer is, of course, not. It is never normal under any circumstance to bleed wherever it may be. If your nose bleeds, of course, it’s not normal. If your gums bleed after brushing, definitely not your average tooth and gum situation. If you have blood on your stool, it most certainly is not normal as far as normal goes. 

Reasons for a Bloody Stool

Since it has been established that having blood on your stool is not normal, what could be the reasons why this is happening? There could be several reasons for this, and here are just some. 

Hemorrhoids

It is never a pleasant feeling when you go to relieve yourself in the bathroom and you get constipated but worse than that dreaded constipation is if when you do go, it hurts like heck. Just when you thought you were dealing with something as simple as a constipated poo, you look down and see fresh blood on the toilet bowl.

Not a good talk for those eating while reading this write up but if you’re down for the dirty jobs then go ahead. Back to the topic at hand, you see the tinge of red in a sea of poo, and you panic. You think, am I dying? Well, not at the moment.

But you do have a medical condition that needs tending to. You probably have hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids or sometimes called piles are much like varicose veins on the legs only they are located in a more inconspicuous location, the inside walls of your anus or outside around the skin of the anus to be exact.

It doesn’t hurt, but there are some cases where the friction between the hard constipated poop and the hemorrhoid causes a considerable amount of pain and bleeding. Although piles are uncomfortable at times and the cause why they occur is still a mystery, they are yet to be reasons for a great medical alarm.

You are experiencing internal bleeding

Now this is troubling news. If you feel terrible pain in the area of your abdomen and then find blood on your poop, or your poop is too dark in color, that’s probably blood unless you ate something dark in color. You might want to have yourself checked by a doctor because you might just be experiencing internal bleeding.

There are so many causes of internal bleeding that we know of, like an incredible amount of force that hit you in the abdomen and perforated some internal organ or an underlying illness that you didn’t know you were suffering from. Regardless of the cause, internal bleeding is no joking matter as it could likely be life-threatening. 

Alcohol and Your Insides

It is no secret that Ethanol or the form of alcohol that most alcoholic beverages are made out of is not a good mainstay in your stomach. Too much of it can harm a person. Alcohol’s effects on the stomach can vary from person to person but generally speaking, alcohol stays in the stomach until it is absorbed in the stomach lining.

This process can be slower or faster depending on the person’s stomach contents. If a person drinks alcohol on a seemingly full stomach, the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream may take some more time, but if a person drinks alcohol on an empty stomach, the absorption goes faster.

Not only is the absorption of the alcohol into the bloodstream faster but drinking on an empty stomach can also affect the level of stomach acid present. Now if a person has a history of hyperacidity then this could be bad news as the alcohol can agitate even more the already sensitive stomach lining and trigger an acid attack or worse, it can lead to internal bleeding. 

What to do when you bleed after drinking alcohol

First things first, if you know that you don’t feel good, then you should exercise self-restraint. Knowing there is something wrong and still pushing yourself to its limits then it’s probably not wise to drink alcohol if you know you have a gut problem. But in case you forgot to forget that you have a gut problem or are just plain stubborn, here are some tips that might be useful. 

• If you feel slight pain, assess where the pain is originating and how much in pain you are. 
• Don’t drink painkillers right away, chances are it might help for a while, or it might just react to the alcohol you already drank before it. 
• Choose cocktail drinks and mixes instead of hard liquor, you’ll last longer in your drinking sessions, and it won’t agitate so much your gut especially if you have acidity problems. 
• Eat at least a light meal before you plan on drinking. It helps slow down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream and keeps the acid levels at least at a relatively manageable amount as of the moment. 
• Don’t drink more than you can handle. This may be said many, many times but you must pay heed to it. Drink responsibly. No one is responsible for your own body but you. 
• Get yourself checked regularly before you drink, especially if you already feel something.

Drinking alcohol is a way to get away from the stress and troubles that a hard long day has given you. It shouldn’t be another reason for you to worry, especially about your health. No amount of wanting to drown your sorrows or your stress should be worth risking your health. So if you have already experienced a little bleeding when you drink alcohol, stop and think about where this is headed and prevent any major problems that may eventually arise. 

Mark Simons

I am a passionate beer connoisseur with a deep appreciation for the art and science of brewing. With years of experience tasting and evaluating various beers, I love to share my opinions and insights with others and I am always eager to engage in lively discussions about my favorite beverage.