There are those modern-day imbibers who don’t have problems with alcohol use. They could take it or leave it, saving that special bottle of wine for a celebration, or just drinking one glass of whiskey on the rocks before dinner.
But there are some problem drinkers and alcoholics who cannot just have one drink or leave a bottle of alcohol unfinished. These are the people who, unless they stop drinking completely, may show signs of alcohol-fueled diseases.
As harmless as the "five o' clock somewhere" mentality might seem, it can add up to some serious health issues including the following:
Liver Disease
Liver disease occurs after many years of hard drinking, a habit that causes inflammation of the liver. There are 15,000 to 20,000 deaths in the U.S. each year from this completely preventable illness. The chances of contracting liver disease go higher the longer and harder the drinking has occurred. Over time, cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, can occur; this is the final phase of alcoholic liver disease (ALD).
Risk factors include a family history of ALD, drinking heavily, binge drinking and poor nutrition. Binge drinking can cause acute alcohol hepatitis. Five drinks in a row for men and four drinks in a row for women can set someone up for acute hepatitis.
Physical problems may manifest themselves as digestive, skin or brain and nervous system problems. Digestive problems include decreased appetite and weight loss, dry mouth and increased thirst, pain and swelling in abdomen, nausea and vomiting and fatigue.
Skin problems may show as a yellow color to your skin, mucus membranes and whites of eyes. There may also be small, red spider-like veins on skin, redness on hands and feet, and very dark or pale skin.
Brain and nervous system problems can involve thinking, mood and memory problems, numbness in legs and feet, lightheadedness and fainting, and dark bowel movements.
Complications of ALD includes loss of function of the liver because of extensive scarring, or cirrhosis, high blood pressure in liver vessels, loss of brain function because of the buildup of toxins in the bloodstream.
Treatment involves cessation of drinking. Completely, especially if the disease has advanced to cirrhosis. Join a 12-step group for support to stop. Take multi-B vitamins and if you need it, get placed on a transplant. If you have completely stopped drinking, vitamin A is also needed.
Keep in mind that drinking and taking A supplements can cause death. Before you start any kind of drinking cessation program, consult with your physician and find out what how well you have fared physically and mentally.
Digestive Problems
Alcohol can disrupt all kinds of muscular activity, especially within the body. Alcohol can interfere with the muscle functioning between the stomach and esophagus, which leads to recurring heartburn. There is also a higher risk for esophageal cancer.
Alcohol also interferes with muscle activity and gastric acid secretion in the stomach. It can also impair the small and large intestines, resulting in sometimes chronic diarrhea, or the inhibition of nutrient absorption across the small intestine.
There is an increase in the number and size of toxins passing through the intestines which may contribute to the development of alcohol-related liver and other organ damage.
With this disruption of small intestine functioning, there are changes to food processing time, which delays emptying of the stomach. This usually makes you feel fuller longer. Also, the small intestine decreases its muscle movements that helps retain the food for further digestion. There’s a decrease in water and sodium absorption, malabsorption of fat and protein, and reduced absorption of carbs.
An estimated 50 percent of all alcoholics are in the initial stage of liver damage, fatty liver; 30 to 80 percent of patients with advanced liver injury have symptoms of abdominal complaints.
Alcohol, like it's equally unhealthy cousin smoking, is associated with mouth, larynx, tongue, and pharynx cancers. Stronger spirits are also associated with esophageal cancer. Heavy boozing is linked to tumors in the colon or rectum. There is also a higher risk of rectal cancer than colon cancer. This risk is associated with heavy beer drinking rather than hard spirits.
Heart Disease
Researchers calculate that alcohol accounts for about 3.5 percent of all U.S. cancer deaths or about 20,000 a year. Men between the ages of 35 and 50 have the highest alcohol-caused cardiomyopathy, or heart problems, than any other group. And binge drinking, which people tend to associate with young, inexperienced drinkers and college students, can lead to heart arrhythmias.
Also happening with the cardiomyopathy heart is that it is weakened and the heart muscle tissue is thinned. The damaged heart muscle can’t pump enough blood to supply the rest of the body. Because of an increase in pressure and volume, the left ventricle enlarges when the heart can’t pump out all the blood from that chamber. Blood pressure overall increases to make up for reduced heart-pumping production. Eventually, the heart muscle, valves or blood vessels may fail.
Symptoms include swelling of the legs; enlarged liver; pink, frothy mucus when coughing; dizziness; rapid irregular heartbeat; weakness, and shortness of breath. This can lead to congestive heart failure and death.
Diabetes
This complication causes blood sugar to rise. Alcohol is metabolized slowly by the liver, it takes two hours to process one standard drink. If you drink faster, the excess alcohol will circulate through the bloodstream to the brain, and other body organs and parts. This is the “buzz” of drinking.
Heavy drinking can reduce one’s body’s response to insulin, which can then trigger type 2 diabetes. Another common side effect of diabetes is chronic pancreatitis which is overwhelmingly caused by heavy drinking.
Excess alcohol use at times causes blood sugar to drop to dangerous levels, though beer and sweet wine will elevate blood sugar. Alcohol may also raise blood pressure and triglyceride levels. Be careful about drinking, make sure your blood sugar levels are stable before drinking alcohol because it could interfere with diabetes’ drug efficacy.
Alcoholism isn’t the only disease caused by heavy alcohol use. There’s always a risk of heart problems, diabetes complications, liver disease or digestive problems as well.
If you believe your habits could be leading you toward these serious health issues, think before you drink.