People drink alcohol to socialize and relax. But excessive consumption of alcohol affects your physical health. There are numerous ways your body gets affected by alcohol. The more you drink, the more you develop physical health problems caused by alcohol. The physical health difficulties produced by liquor may be short-term or even long-term. When we take short-term effects, it will not prolong for a few days or hours. At the same time, the long-term effects will be for a more extended period or constant.
Alcohol’s physical effects may range from standard and harmless to harmful and maybe to death. It depends by the way of your drinking habit. Let us learn in this blog about how alcohol affects physical health.
Short-Term Effects of Alcohol
When you drink the alcohol, it passes in the bloodstream over the stomach and intestine. Alcohol holds the tendency to get absorbed into the system quickly. It is why you get immediate effects once after consuming alcohol. The results of alcohol will not be the same for everyone. It differs from one individual to another. The influence of drinking surplus alcohol will depend on the factors such as sex, weight, the food you eat, drinking level, and how quickly you consume. The BAC can also judge it, that is blood concentration level of the system.
Consumption of excess alcohol will have immediate effects that enhance the risk of several dangerous health conditions. Mentioned below are frequently happened short-term impacts of the consumption of alcohol.
Lowered inhibitions
When you lack inhibition, you are less unsure of yourself and more anxious. Once you drink, liquor creates it rigid for the prefrontal cortex to perform as it must, distracting opinions and logical thought. In this manner, alcohol stimulates you to act without being rational about your activities. Alcohol decreases the functions of the behavior-inhibitory focus in the brain.
Interpersonal conflict
A person who consumes excess alcohol will experience interpersonal conflict. It happens because of impaired judgment that occurs during drinking alcohol. These may cause misunderstandings and hurt feelings between individuals or loved ones. These may end up breaking up relationships and causing family issues.
Falls and accidents
During drinking or excessive alcohol consumption, you may lose control. Alcohol plays with the brain’s chemical reaction and makes it function less. It makes you feel dizzy and reduces the power of vision, making you unable to face up lights. It may lead to accidents and injuries.
Hangover
Excessive alcohol makes people get into a hangover. It causes unpleasant symptoms, making you uncomfortable until the toxication level decreases. Hangover reactions lead to nausea, dehydration, headache, stomach irritation, etc.
Alcohol poisoning
Frequent drinking for a prolonged time creates serious effects like alcohol poisoning. It is a life-threatening impact and requires speedy medical attention. The results of alcohol poisoning lead to abnormal breathing, pale skin, coma, and even death.
Long-term effects of alcohol
Extreme drinking practices will finally lead to alcoholism or craving for alcohol, also known as alcohol abuse or addiction. The habits consist of binge drinking and heavy drinking. It is called binge drinking, when someone takes an extreme quantity of alcohol in a short period, while heavy drinking is people consume more than 15 drinks than that in a week. The consequences of these two drinking habits are severe and harmful to the body. Now let us discuss the long-term effects of alcohol.
Liver Disease
Consumption of excessive alcohol for prolonged periods will lead to three types of liver disease. They are alcohol-related hepatitis, cirrhosis, and steatosis. These disease causes disturbance in the functioning of the liver and causes severe damage to the body gradually.
Cardiovascular Problems
Once you start sipping alcohol, it triggers the heart rate and blood pressure leading to a rise in their level. However, you will return to normal once the toxins are flushed out. Too much alcohol consumption is hazardous since it reasons an uneven heartbeat and deteriorates heart muscles slowly. Persons who drink liquor overly for a prolonged period are at enormous risk for stroke, enlarged heart, heart attack, and even heart failure.
Gastrointestinal Infections
Alcohol disrupts the digestive system irritating the gastrointestinal tract. It triggers the stomach to create extra acid, causing inflammation in the stomach lining. Ulcers, heartburn, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting are the symptoms that you have fallen under gastrointestinal infections.
Alcohol Cancer
Consumption of excess alcohol raises the risk of developing cancer. Shared below are specific cancer disease that is associated with drinking excess alcohol.
Oral cancer: Oral cancer will arise with the development of abnormal carcinoma cells. Gradually mouth sores will start to develop. The tumorous lesions can form anywhere from the mouth, lips, gums, throat, and cheeks.
Laryngeal Cancer
This cancer impacts the voice box, which comprises vocal cords and helps to breathe. Older people get affected more than that young people. The common symptoms caused by this cancer are neck swelling, swallowing difficulties, and voice change.
Esophageal Cancer
Esophageal cancer causes and impacts the food pipe, which connects to your stomach. Prolonged consumption of excessive alcohol leads to esophageal cancer. The symptom of this cancer is heartburn, recurrent coughing, hoarseness, and chest pain.
Colon cancer
The lower part of the digestive tract gets affected by colon cancer: abdominal pain, blood in the stool, and changes in bowel movement are the indications of cancer. Men are more prey for this type of cancer than women. Excessive drinking throughout life makes this still worsen.
Liver cancer
Frequent consumption of alcohol makes your liver damaged. These liver injuries slowly convert into cancer. The risk of liver cancer leads to hepatitis B and C illness. It is a known fact that alcohol primarily targets the function of the liver.
Breast Cancer
When taking women, even a tiny amount of alcohol consumption for a prolonged basis causes breast cancer. The reason behind it is alcohol increases the level of estrogen, leading to the cause of breast cancer over time.
Immune System
Too much drinking can deteriorate the immune system. Diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis will quickly catch up with people who drink alcohol. Consuming a lot on one occasion reduces your body’s ability to fight infections – particularly for as long as 24 hours later.
Conclusion
Finally, we can conclude that excessive consumption of alcohol can create severe physical health issues. Too much drinking can take you to a hangover or liver damage. The worse part of this material impact can also lead to coma or death. So know your limits while drinking and consider health more important than alcohol.
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.
