What Health Problems Can Alcohol Cause?

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What health problems can alcohol cause?  Regrettably, a number of both short-term and long-term drinking problems can be caused by alcohol abuse or by alcohol addiction.

Short-Term and Long-Term Health Problems Caused By Excessive Alcohol

Some alcohol-related drinking problems, such as interpersonal relationship issues, driving impairment, and negative interactions with medications can manifest themselves after drinking over a relatively short period of time.  Other drinking problems, conversely, can develop more gradually over time and may become noticeable only after heavy drinking for an extended period of time.

These are the problems that represent the long-term effects of alcohol abuse and help answer the following question: what health problems can alcohol cause?

It is important to note that women may develop alcohol-related health problems after consuming less alcohol than men over a shorter time period.

Since alcohol affects many organs in the body, long-term excessive drinking puts a problem drinker at risk for developing serious health problems.

Stated differently, the long term effects of alcohol abuse can lead to a gradual breakdown of different organs and systems in the body that can result in serious, if not fatal, health problems and issues experienced by the person with a drinking problem.

Alcohol-Related Pancreatitis

The pancreas helps regulate the body's blood sugar levels by producing insulin.  In addition, the pancreas is instrumental in digesting the food people eat.  Long-term excessive drinking can lead to pancreatitis (that is, an inflammation of the pancreas).  Pancreatitis is associated with excessive weight loss and severe abdominal pain and can lead to death.

Alcohol-Related Heart Disease

One of the few verifiable positive aspects of drinking alcohol is that drinking in moderation can actually have positive effects on the heart, especially with individuals who are at the greatest risk for heart attacks, such as women after menopause and men over the age of 45.

Long-term excessive drinking, on the other hand, increases the risk for certain kinds of stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Alcohol-Related Cancer

Long-term heavy drinking increases the risk of developing certain types of cancer, especially cancer of the esophagus, mouth, throat, and the voice box.  Research has shown, moreover, that women who drink two or more drinks per day slightly increases their risk for developing breast cancer.   Excessive drinking may also increase the risk for developing cancer of the colon and of the rectum.

Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

More than 2 million U.S. problem drinkers suffer from alcohol-related liver disease.  Some people with a drinking problem develop alcoholic hepatitis (that is, an inflammation of the liver) as a consequence of long-term heavy drinking.

The symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis include the following:  fever, jaundice (an abnormal yellowing of the urine, skin, and the eyeballs), and abdominal pain.  If the problem drinker persists in drinking, moreover, alcoholic hepatitis can be fatal.  If the individual with the drinking problem stops drinking, however, alcoholic hepatitis is frequently reversible.

Approximately 10 to 20 % of the problem drinkers who drink excessively develop cirrhosis of the liver (that is, a scarring of the liver).  Alcoholic cirrhosis can be fatal if the problem drinker continues to drink.  Even though cirrhosis is irreversible, if the affected person stops drinking, his or her chances of survival can improve dramatically.

Although some problem drinkers may eventually need a liver transplant as a last resort, numerous people with cirrhosis who abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages can receive treatment and may never require liver transplantation.

Other Long Term Effects of Alcohol Abuse

In addition to the diseases outlined above, excessive drinking over time is also associated with the following drinking problems:

• Loss of brain cells
• Nerve damage
• Irritated stomach lining and bleeding from stomach ulcers
• Epilepsy

Excessive drinking has also been linked to the following:

• Vitamin deficiency
• Skin problems
• Muscle disease
• Infertility
• Sexual problems
• Obesity

What Health Problems Can Alcohol Cause:  Conclusion

Based on the information presented above, it can be concluded that chronic, excessive drinking can often result in physical damage, increase the risk of getting various diseases, and it can make other diseases worse.  Stated differently, excessive and irresponsible drinking can and does result in serious drinking problems.

Earlier, we asked the following question: what health problems can alcohol cause?  Now that you know the answer to this question, you are in a significantly better position to understand the basic, if not critical message of alcohol addiction:  if you want to avoid the long term effects of alcohol abuse and alcoholism such as unnecessary alcohol-related health problems later in life, drink in moderation or not at all.

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