| Area of the body |
Short Term Effects |
Long Term Effects |
Sources |
| none |
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| Liver |
A fatty liver is something that can appear after a single drinking session, and is reversible. Binge drinking is also a risk factor for someone experiencing advanced liver disease in the future. |
Heavy and long-term drinking plays a major role in the development of alcohol-related liver damage, which can include a fatty liver, alcohol hepititis and alcohol cirrohsis. Alcohol hepititis is the inflammation and destruction of liver tissue. It can be fatal but can be reversible with abstinence. Alcohol cirrhosis is the most advanced form of liver disease. It stiffens blood vessels and distorts the liver's structure, which can severely damage the function of the liver and other organs. This is usually fatal but can be stabilised with abstinence. |
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh21-1/05.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5656398/
|
| Oesophagus |
Drinking an excessive amount of alcohol in one session can cause acid reflux, and reduce your ability to clear refluxed gastric acid. This can lead to heartburn. |
Chronic heavy drinking can damage the tissue of the oesophagus, which can make it painful and difficult to swallow, and cause chest pain. |
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh21-1/76.pdf
|
| Pancreas |
Heavy alcohol consumption can lead to the production of toxic substances that increase the risk of pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis, where the pancreas becomes inflamed over a short period of time, can cause a person to experience severe abdominal pain, which can lead to nausea and vomiting. |
When a person has chronic pancreatitis, where the inflammation is long-lasting, this can cause severe and recurring abdominal pain. Repeated episodes of acute pancreatitis can lead to chronic pancreatitis. |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3574589/
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| Brain |
Alcohol interferes with a number of neurotransmitters including glutamate and GABA, lowering our brain activity and energy levels. While this can result in the immediate reduction of anxiety after a drink, this dampening of brain activity causes our thought, speech and movements to slow down. And, the more a person drinks, the more that they will experience these effects. In severe cases, this can result in a coma. Alcohol can also impair people’s memory. The more a person drinks, the more their memory is affected. |
Alcohol-related brain damage is an effect of long-term heavy drinking, which can lead to brain shrinkage as well as learning and memory problems. One particular brain disorder that can be caused by alcohol is Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome. This is where the shape and structure of the brain changes, which can lead to mental confusion, paralysis of the nerves associated with the eyes, and difficulties with muscle coordination. |
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/ethanol#section=Biological-Half-Lifehttps://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm
|
| Mental Health |
Heavy alcohol use effects how the brain functions, altering brain chemicals and causing hormone imbalances in ways that are associated with many common mental disorders. |
Heavy long-term drinking can impact our mental health. It can contribute to and worsen symptoms, particularly related to depression, anxiety, and stress. It can also make these types of feelings more difficult to manage. When a person drinks heavily over a long period of time, it can also result in them displaying signs and symptoms that mimic disorders such as depression, anxiety and psychosis. |
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-2/90-98.htm#:~:text=Alcohol%20abuse%20can%20cause%20signs,are%20alcohol%E2%80%93induced%20syndromes).
|
| Heart |
Binge drinking - where a person drinks more than five standard drinks in a single sitting - can increase blood pressure and temporarily cause an irregular heartbeat. This temporary change can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, particularly in older adults. Binge drinking, particularly high frequencies of binge drinking, also heightens the risk of hypertension. As hypertension puts a strain on the heart, this can increase the risk of strokes and heart attacks. This is particularly apparent in older adults, but binge drinking can also increase the risk in younger individuals. |
High daily levels of alcohol consumption are associated with an increased risk of cardiomyopathy (the weakening of the heart's muscle tissue), an increased heart rate, an irregular heartbeat as well as hypertension, all of which can result in alcohol-related strokes and heart attacks. |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7318786/
|
| Stomach |
Drinking causes the stomach to produce more acid than usual. This inflames and damages the stomach lining, often causing stomach pain, nausea, bloating and vomiting. Drinking heavily can therefore increase the risk of experiencing gastritis, ulcers and heartburn. |
Long-term and heavy alcohol consumption can lead to chronic alcohol gastritis, where the stomach damage and pain is long-lasting, serious and life threatening. On top of indigestion, severe stomach pain, bloating and nausea, a person may experience bleeding or stomach ulcers as a result of their stomach lining wearing away. |
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh21-1/76.pdf
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| Gut |
Even in healthy people, a single episode of heavy drinking can result in intestinal erosion and bleeding. Alcohol interferes with the natural digestion process. As it irritates the gastrointestinal tract, inflames and irritates the stomach, interferes with the body's absorption of water, and speeds up digestion through the large intestine, this can lead to diarrhoea. |
Frequent excessive alcohol consumption can cause damage in the small intestine. Alcohol can also damage the membrane in the small intestine in such a way that it results in bacteria and toxins entering the bloodstream. This can subsequently lead to inflammation and organ dysfunction throughout the body, particularly in the liver and brain. |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4693248/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5513683/
|
| Reproduction |
Studies have shown that alcohol can have an impact on fertility in both men and women. Typically, research shows that the more alcohol consumed, the greater impact it has on fertility. As alcohol slows the release of sex hormones, drinking can also make it harder for a person to get and sustain an erection. |
Heavy and long-term alcohol consumption can lead to menstrual and reproductive disorders. These can include irregular or the cessation of menstrual cycles, absence of ovulation and infertility. Alcohol abuse is also associated with early menopause. Chronic heavy drinking can also reduce testosterone production and cause testicular shrinkage, which can lead to impotence and infertility. |
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-4/274-281.htmhttps://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh22-3/195.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5504800/
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| Bones |
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Chronic heavy drinking can seriously impair bone quality and increase the risk of osteoporosis. This can be particularly serious for people who are in their adolescent and younger adult years, as this is a time when the body is building stores of calcium for long-term bone health. Heavy and long-lasting alcohol consumption can also put older adults (aged 67 and above) at risk of greater bone loss. |
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-4/292-298.htm
|
| Skin |
Drinking alcohol - even a moderate amount - can cause blood vessels to dilate, which in turn can increase blood flow. This can lead to facial flushing. Alcohol is a diuretic, preventing the body from extracting water from urine. This can lead to dehydrated and dry skin. |
Overtime, blood vessels can permanently dilate, resulting in spider veins and the permanent reddening of the face. This is commonly associated with liver cirrhosis. Chronic and heavy alcohol consumption can lead to the onset of psoriasis, particularly on the fingers and hands. Seborrheic and nummular dermatitis are also more frequent in heavy drinkers. Impairment of the immune system and nutritional deficiencies caused by heavy drinking can also lead to a person experiencing more skin infections. |
https://dermnetnz.org/topics/cutaneous-adverse-effects-of-alcohol/
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| Kidneys |
Binge drinking can cause a person to experience back pain as a result of the damage that alcohol has caused to the functioning of their kidneys. This form of acute kidney injury is caused by alcohol overwhelming the kidney with a build-up of waste products. This in turn prevents the kidney from being able to filter the blood effectively and keep the right amount of fluid and electrolytes in the body. |
Regular heavy drinking, which causes blood pressure and cholesterol levels to rise, increases the risk of chronic kidney disease. |
|
| Eyes |
As alcohol slows the communication between the body and the brain, this can prevent the eyes from being able to function properly, resulting in distorted or double vision. Excessive drinking can also reduce pupil reaction time, meaning that it impairs a person’s ability to see contrasting colours or different shades of the same colour. It can also cause red or bloodshot eyes as a result of the alcohol causing the blood vessels in the eyes to swell. |
|
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5638320/
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| Bladder |
As alcohol prevents the kidneys from being able to reabsorb water, this causes the bladder to fill up with more fluid and also results in the rest of the body experiencing dehydration. As this urine is typically more concentrated – and because alcohol is high in sugar - this can irritate and inflame the lining of the bladder, increasing the risk of a urinary tract infection. |
Long-term alcohol misuse can also cause nerve damage, which can lead to problems with urination. |
https://www.bladderandbowel.org/news/can-dry-january-improve-bladder-bowel-symptoms/
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| Lungs |
Alcohol vapor within the airway can cause damage to the lungs, nasal passages and sinuses. The nasal passages and sinuses can become inflamed, preventing them from being able to fight off infection effectively. As alcohol also weakens the gag reflex, this can result in a person breathing in foreign objects, such as food, liquid, vomit, mucus, or saliva. This can cause choking and also increase the risk of a lung infection. |
Excessive long-term alcohol consumption impacts the immune cells that are involved in fighting off conditions such as pneumonia, TB, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), leaving people more at risk of developing these infections. |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4590617/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5513688/https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh311/66-75.htm
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| Mouth |
Alcohol decreases the production of saliva, which reduces a person’s defences against bacteria and plaque, which can lead to oral cavities and gum irritation or disease. Acidic alcohol drinks can also increase the risk of dental cavities and tooth decay. |
Long term excessive drinking can lead to poor immunity and nutritional deficiencies, all of which can also increase the risk of developing periodontal diseases. |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5513688/https://www.longdom.org/open-access/effect-of-alcoholism-on-oral-health-a-review-2329-6488-1000266.pdf
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| Nerves |
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Chronic and long lasting alcohol consumption can leave a person at risk of nerve damage. Alcoholic neuropathy – where a person's nerves are damaged by alcohol – can result in tingling, numbness and pain in the limbs, muscle weakness, an increased risk of injury from falling and an inability to determine temperature changes. |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3370340/https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Peripheral-Neuropathy-Fact-Sheet
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