While these effects are short-lived, long-term alcohol use can trigger systemic (bodywide) inflammation, which damages the body’s tissues and vital organs over time. This article discusses the long-term effects of alcohol, including the risks to your physical health and mental well-being. If you drink more than 12 units of alcohol, you’re at considerable risk of developing alcohol poisoning, particularly if you’re drinking many units over a short period of time. Whether you want to cut back or quit entirely because of a growing alcohol dependency, talk to your doctor about developing a personalized plan. They can assess your drinking habits, discuss potential health risks and provide support and guidance.

• Keep reading for more information on how alcohol can affect your body.
• So, if you drink before the age of 14, there’s about a 50% chance you’re going to develop an alcohol use disorder in your adulthood,” explains Dr. Anand.
• Or it might damage the nerves and tiny hairs in your inner ear that help you hear.
• If you’re concerned with your alcohol consumption and attitude toward drinking, talk to a healthcare provider as a first step.

What Are the Effects of Alcohol on the Body?

The unabsorbed alcohol continues to move through the gastrointestinal tract. The majority of it what is alcoholism will enter the small intestine and get absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine, or it can stay in the stomach and cause irritation. If you have trouble using the interactive feature below or Javascript is disabled, view this page for a list of alcohol’s effects on the body. Alcohol has long been considered a “social lubricant” because drinking may encourage social interaction. Having a drink while getting together with family or friends is often part of many special occasions.

After Four to Six Drinks (0.21 to 0.30 BAC)

In people assigned female at birth, alcohol use can interfere with regular ovulation and menstrual cycles and make it difficult to get pregnant. Alcohol use can cause sexual dysfunction, such as difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection and decreased sexual sensations. The impact alcohol has on the reproductive system extends beyond these temporary effects. Chronic alcohol use causes hormone imbalances in both men and women and leads to problems with fertility. To avoid driving after consuming alcohol, it’s helpful to designate a nondrinking driver, or to use public transportation. No one should ever ride in a car with a driver who has been drinking.

• This can deregulate menstrual cycles, cause or worsen infertility, and most disconcertingly, be a risk factor for some estrogen-mediated breast cancers.
• There’s also more of an effect on your brain and its development if you’re younger — one that can have a lasting impact.
• In fact, 52% of people admitted to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury have a measurable amount of alcohol in their system when they arrive at the emergency room.

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With abstinence from alcohol, this condition may be reversible in some people. The most severe of the alcohol-related liver diseases is alcoholic cirrhosis. This disease is not reversible; however, further damage may be limited if the individual stops drinking.

Controversially, there’s some evidence that moderate drinking can be good for the heart, improving HDL cholesterol, and acting as a blood thinner. It can cause the stomach acid that’s meant to break down your food to attack the lining of the stomach and the muscles that surround it. Alcohol is high in calories and carbs, so when these are washed down your gut they put it under a lot of strain.

Drinking too much alcohol over time may cause inflammation of the pancreas, resulting in pancreatitis. Pancreatitis can activate the release of pancreatic digestive enzymes and cause abdominal pain. Alcohol use can begin to take a toll on anyone’s physical and mental well-being over time. These effects may be more serious and more noticeable if you drink regularly and tend to have more than 1 or 2 drinks when you do. It could be that it messes with the part of your brain that processes sound.

Medical Professionals

Dependent drinkers with a higher tolerance to alcohol can often drink much more without experiencing any noticeable effects. Alcohol is a powerful chemical that can have a wide range of adverse effects on almost every part of your body, including your brain, bones and heart. By Geralyn Dexter, PhD, LMHCDexter https://ms2.inkland.com/best-sobriety-tattoo-ideas/ has a doctorate in psychology and is a licensed mental health counselor with a focus on suicidal ideation, self-harm, and mood disorders.

What is Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)?

• “Some people think of the effects of alcohol as only something to be worried about if you’re living with alcohol use disorder, which was formerly called alcoholism,” Dr. Sengupta says.
• Every person has their own reasons for drinking or wanting to reduce their alcohol consumption.
• Working with an addiction specialist can help you determine the proper course of action toward recovery.
• While these products enjoy full social acceptance, ethyl alcohol itself is poisonous to the human body.
• In reality, there’s no evidence that drinking beer (or your alcoholic beverages of choice) actually contributes to belly fat.

Here’s what to consider as you reflect on your own relationship with alcohol. Alcohol’s effects on the brain are especially harmful to young people because their brains are still effects of alcohol on the body developing. In this blog article, we discuss what happens to your body when you misuse alcohol and the signs of withdrawal you should watch out for. See the guidelines for more advice on levels of drinking, or read this fact sheet from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation .