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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffAlcohol depresses your central nervous system. In some people, the initial reaction may be stimulation. But as you continue to drink, you become sedated. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and affects your thoughts, emotions and judgment. Too much alcohol affects your speech and muscle coordination and affects vital centers of your brain. A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma.
Excessive drinking can cause a number of problems. Some of these include:
- Reduced judgment and lowered inhibitions, leading to poor choices and dangerous situations or behaviors
- Motor vehicle accidents and other types of accidents
- Domestic problems
- Poor performance at work or school
- A higher likelihood of committing violent crimes
Health problems caused by excessive drinking can include:
- Liver disorders. Drinking heavily can cause alcoholic hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver. After years of drinking, hepatitis may lead to the irreversible and progressive destruction and scarring of liver tissue (cirrhosis).
- Digestive problems. Alcohol can result in inflammation of the lining of the stomach (gastritis) and can interfere with absorption of B vitamins and other nutrients. Heavy drinking can also damage your pancreas, which produces the hormones that regulate your metabolism and the enzymes that help digest fats, proteins and carbohydrates.
- Heart problems. Excessive drinking can lead to high blood pressure and increases your risk of heart failure or stroke.
- Diabetes complications. Alcohol interferes with the release of glucose from your liver and can increase the risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). This is dangerous if you have diabetes and are already taking insulin to lower your blood sugar level.
- Sexual function and menstruation. Alcohol abuse can cause erectile dysfunction in men. In women, it can interrupt menstruation.
- Eye problems. Over time, excessive alcohol use can cause weakness and paralysis of your eye muscles.
- Birth defects. Alcohol use during pregnancy may cause fetal alcohol syndrome, resulting in giving birth to a child who has physical and developmental problems.
- Bone loss. Alcohol may interfere with the production of new bone. This can lead to thinning bones (osteoporosis) and an increased risk of fractures.
- Neurological complications. Excessive drinking can affect your nervous system, causing numbness of your hands and feet, disordered thinking, dementia, and short-term memory loss.
- Increased risk of cancer. Chronic alcohol abuse has been linked to a higher risk of numerous cancers, including mouth, throat, liver, colon and breast cancer.
Alcohol use leads to serious consequences for many teens. Alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents are a major cause of teen deaths. Alcohol is also often a cause in other teenage deaths, including drowning, suicides and homicides. Teens who drink are more likely to become sexually active, have sex more frequently and engage in risky, unprotected sex than are teens who don't drink.
- Gold MS, et al. Screening for and diagnosis of alcohol problems. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Kelly JF, et al. Alcohol-related disorders. In: Stern TA, et al: Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier. 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192040318-6/0/1657/241.html?tocnode=57542852&fromURL=241.html. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- FAQs about alcohol. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- FAQ for the general public. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/FAQs/General-English/default.htm. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Hall-Flavin DK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 31, 2010.
- Helping patients who drink too much: A clinician's guide. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Practitioner/CliniciansGuide2005/guide.pdf.
- Alcohol dependence. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Common questions about diet and cancer. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_3_2X_Common_Questions_About_Diet_and_Cancer.asp. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Gold MS, et al. Psychosocial treatment of alcohol abuse and dependence. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Warne D. Alcoholism and substance abuse. In: Rakel D. Integrative Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elseveier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192038080-3/0/1494/129.html?tocnode=54115695&fromURL=129.html. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Make a difference: Talk to your child about alcohol. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/MakeADiff_HTML/makediff.htm. Accessed March 29, 2010.
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