Long Term Effects of Alcohol

Short term drinking can lead to all sorts of problems, like memory loss, terrible hangovers, unacceptable behaviour etc, but long term, the implications of continued heavy drinking are very serious indeed.

No prizes for guessing that, and pretty much everyone will be aware that long term alcohol abuse will lead to liver problems, but it can also lead to problems with high blood pressure, can cause serious heart disease, is a major factor in the incidence of breast cancer, and can cause strokes. Serious stuff.

The liver, fortunately, is a clever organ that has the power to regenerate and can mend itself, but the other problems can be irreparable if the alcoholic persists in continued heavy drinking.

What Happens to the Body?

On a daily or regular basis, waking up and finding yourself feeling dreadful after drinking too much the night before, and it can really drag you down. More often than not, the only way to feel better is to start drinking again.

So the hangover's gone? Everything OK now? Absolutely not. The damage being inflicted on the body by this habitual and continuous abuse is far reaching.

Weight Gain

Alcohol contains a lot of calories, due to its high sugar content, and this can and does very often lead to weight increase. It's not just the intake of alcohol though that causes the weight gain. Alcoholics are often guilty of having bad eating habits, as drinking removes the desire for food, and then gives it back in spades at inappropriate times. Late night eating is common as heavy drinkers will often find that eating during the day is impossible until they have a good few drinks under their belt, and the more extrovert and social alcohol abusers are often visitors to the late night kebab shop!

Skin

Alcohol dehydrates the body terribly and of course this is going to have an effect on your skin. It will become dull and dry, often giving the drinker a pasty or wrinkled appearance. But alcohol also dilates the body's capillaries, those tiny thread-like veins under the skin and they can then break, leading to redness and broken veins, particularly on the face. That big red nose that is the 'sign of a drinker' is no myth.

Eyes

Just like the capillaries in your skin, the blood vessels in your eyes will suffer the same fate, leading to bloodshot eyes. Sometimes when the liver is affected the whites of the eyes can also take on a yellowish colour too.

Bad smell

On waking, that rather sour morning after smell is due to the liver struggling to process the overload of alcohol passed through it. It does this by excreting it through sweat and urine, and this leads to that all-over bad smell. Including your breath of course.

Cuts and Bruises

Alcoholics and alcohol abusers are very often aggressive and violent and will also be accident prone, falling over a lot and knocking into things. Their bodies will bear testimony to this, often being scarred, cut or bruised a lot.

In the Long Term

Apart from all the issues above, there are far more serious implications for the long term drinker.

• Cirrhosis or cancer of the liver
• Breast cancer
• Damage to the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
• High blood pressure
• Obesity
• Infertility
• Strokes (cerebral haemorrhage)
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Impotence or other sexual problems
• Pancreatitis
• Ulcers
• Alcohol poisoning

But it's not just about physical symptoms either. The mental state is also affected long term

• Depression
• Suicidal tendencies
• Personality breakdown
• Inability to concentrate
• Affected sexual performance
• Dementia
• Hallucinations
• Memory loss and blackouts
• Mood swings

Related Articles in the 'Physical Effects' Category...

• Alcohol: What Happens to Your Body?
• How to Have a Good Night Out Safely