1. alterations to your skin
A lot of the time, drinking too much alcohol is harmful for the appearance and youth of your skin. Alcohol can disrupt your sleep pattern and cause skin irritation and dehydration. Consequently, the following are some potential impacts of alcohol on your skin: –
Dry lips and skin
duller complexion and skin
decreased elasticity
eye swelling or puffiness
Increased crow’s feet, dark circles, and creases.
Additionally, drinking can make skin disorders like rosacea and psoriasis worse.
2. Bruising easily
Not only are you more likely to fall and bump into table corners when you’re intoxicated, but heavy drinking can also cause easy bleeding and bruises.
Regularly experiencing unexplained bleeding or bruises could be a symptom of drinking too much alcohol for two reasons. Alcohol abuse can damage your bone marrow and lower your platelet count, which could make bruising more likely. Second, alcohol is a vasodilator, which makes blood vessels swell and rupture more quickly in response to minor bumps.
3. Weight gain
There are conflicting findings from studies on the link between alcohol use and weight gain. In other words, gaining weight is not a given, but excessive alcohol use still has the potential to do so.
Alcohol use can result in weight gain for a number of reasons:
Your body struggles to burn fat and carbohydrates effectively as a result.
Some alcoholic beverages have a lot of calories (like that dangerously-tempting chocolate margarita).
Alcohol may reduce your feeling of fullness and increase your appetite.
It could be time to reassess your drinking habits if you’ve seen a pattern of weight gain.
4. Loss of appetite and weight loss
This would appear to be at odds with the earlier statement. But frequent and heavy alcohol use can cause liver inflammation (liver hepatitis). Loss of appetite and weight loss are signs of this illness.
Additionally, alcohol typically provides the majority of the calories for heavy drinkers. Alcohol is a major source of empty calories, or calories with no nutritious value, which is an issue. As a result, using alcohol as your main fuel source will result in poor nutrition and weight loss.
5. Tingling or a sensation of numbness
Alcoholic neuropathy, or excessive alcohol use, can cause tingling or numbness in your hands, feet, or legs. One of the most frequent negative effects of chronic alcohol use is this.
Two major pathways can be used to explain alcohol neuropathy:
Alcohol can worsen inflammation and oxidative stress, which harms the nerves.
Chronic alcohol use can cause malnutrition, which can leave you lacking in vitamins and nutrients needed to keep your neural system operating properly.
6. Heartburn
Acid reflux, often known as heartburn, is a condition when your stomach acid flows back up and towards your esophagus, causing a burning sensation in your chest.
One possible cause of heartburn is alcohol since it may enhance the production of stomach acid. The probability of stomach acid leakage may also increase if it relaxes the muscles leading to your stomach.
7. Stomach issues
Alcohol can thin and irritate the lining of your stomach, which can lead to alcoholic gastritis and inflammation. Inflammation of the inside lining of your stomach can cause symptoms like:-
an uncomfortable and scorching stomachache
regular hiccuping or burping
feeling extremely bloated, which could get worse after eating
reduced appetite
persistent ache just behind your ribcage in the top region of your stomach
In other words, drinking alcohol may make you more likely to develop gastritis and stomach discomfort.
8. Nausea and vomiting
If you’ve ever had to deal with a hangover, you know that nausea and vomiting are frequently a part of the experience. Even while it can make you feel awful, throwing up is one of your body’s defense systems to get rid of extra toxins from the alcohol you drank.
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome, which frequently takes the form of symptoms like nausea and vomiting, can also result from abruptly ceasing alcohol use after a prolonged period of intense drinking.
Having a severe headache is often a huge red flag that you took too many shots.
Alcohol is a strong diuretic, so it can quickly dehydrate you and induce the classic hangover symptoms, like a throbbing headache. Alcohol has also been identified in research evaluations as a migraine trigger.
10. Fatigue and lack of energy
Do you experience a severe “down” after a night of drinking?
Alcohol might deplete you of the strength and concentration you need the next day. Additionally, you can experience fatigue, grogginess, and irritability, which are primarily brought on by poor sleep or low blood sugar.
- Lack of sleep
Alcohol may help you fall asleep more quickly, but once its sedative effects wear off, there’s a significant possibility that drinking too much will cause you to wake up during the night.
Rapid eye movement, often known as REM sleep, which your body needs for proper restorative sleep, is suppressed by alcohol. Additionally, because alcohol is a diuretic, you could go to the restroom more frequently at night, which can seriously impair sleep.
Therefore, consuming alcohol before bed can affect your sleep pattern later on and eventually result in insomnia symptoms.
- Getting sick more frequently
Your immune system’s ability to function can be hampered by alcohol. Furthermore, studies have indicated that alcohol may change the makeup of beneficial microbes in your stomach. These microbes are essential for the health of your stomach and immune system.
Alcohol use thus hinders your immune system’s ability to prepare and launch a defense response against invasive germs and viruses. As a result, you might discover that you get infections and colds more frequently.
- Sweats at night
Ever find yourself floating in a lake of your own sweat? Well, drinking alcohol may cause night sweats by accelerating your heart rate and enlarging your blood vessels, which causes perspiration to start flowing.
As a result of alcohol withdrawal syndrome or alcohol intolerance, some persons may also develop night sweats.
- Your skin and eyes becoming yellow
Alcoholic hepatitis, or liver inflammation, can be brought on by heavy drinking over an extended period of time. The skin and whites of your eyes seem yellowish due to jaundice, which is a frequent symptom of alcoholic hepatitis.
Alcohol-related jaundice is typically discovered during the advanced, terminal stages of liver disease. Therefore, it is imperative that you seek competent medical guidance if you have such symptoms.
- Loss of hair
Alcohol and hair loss are not directly related, although binge drinking can cause other problems that thin out your hair.
For instance, drinking too much alcohol may prevent your body from properly absorbing certain nutrients, some of which are necessary for maintaining thick, healthy hair. Additionally, drinking can raise your risk of developing hormonal imbalances, such as abnormal thyroid hormone levels, and ongoing thyroid problems can accelerate hair loss all over the scalp.
