Drinking can make a good night into an unforgettable one — if you drink in moderation. Yet, not everyone can handle themselves around alcohol and their drinking habits can develop into a problem. New problems can develop as a result, and not the least of those can start in a person’s digestive system.
When people lose control of their drinking habits, they start to notice differences in their bodies. They start to ask, “how does alcohol affect the digestive system,” as they notice changes in themselves. This is a crucial first step towards recovering from alcohol addiction.
It’s the first time they realize that they’ve changed and that something may be wrong. For many people, recognizing digestive issues is the first step towards recognizing the larger problems behind them. Some people find that it may be too late though, and they may have done irreparable damage to themselves.
That’s why it’s vital to recognize when alcohol may be harming you early one. That way, you can catch it before it does something you can’t fix. And to learn how to recognize alcohol-related issues, keep reading below.
Alcohol Creates Many Kinds of Pain
Many people start drinking as a way to cope with some kind of inner pain. Alcohol is naturally a numbing agent, after all — if it can cover up physical pain, why wouldn’t it numb emotional pain too? Yet, alcohol is dangerous because while numbing people to pain, it causes new kinds too.
It can create unneeded strains on people’s relationships with their friends and families. Drinking too much can cost people their professional lives as they start missing deadlines and meetings. Physical pain isn’t the only kind of harm it can do — alcohol can ruin the rest of your life, too.
The best way to treat the pain it causes is by visiting any of the detox centers opening around the world. People are waking up to the dangers and ubiquity of addiction, and there are new ways to get the help you need. It just takes reaching out, and someone will be there to help you recover.
Alcohol Can Cause Small Intestine Tearing
One of the worst things alcohol can do to your digestive system is tear your small intestine. It’s important to realize that no alcohol is ever removed from your body in the way other drinks and food leave your body. All of the alcohol you drink enters your bloodstream.
And one of the ways in enters your veins is through your small intestine. Usually, as food makes its way through your small intestine, it leeches out vital nutrients and vitamins, leaving only the waste. Alcohol is extracted just like these nutrients and is processed in the same way.
Yet, alcohol is technically a poison to your body. When your small intestine extracts it, it damages the organ. Alcohol doesn’t have the same molecular structure as other nutrients and is difficult to pull out of your digestive tract, which leads to internal injuries.
Tearing Can Lead to Tears of Pain
Tearing in your small intestine’s lining can be the start of worse problems. It can cause inflammation throughout your small intestine, which will feel excruciatingly painful. This is called enteritis and may need costly mediation to treat.
Inflammation isn’t the only thing you should worry about from tearing in your small intestine. Tears can grow over time through prolonged drinking, and large tears can get infected if you eat something bad. That infection can then spread through your bloodstream, which will need immediate attention in a hospital.
Small intestine tears can be the start of fatal illnesses. If you suspect you may have accidentally harmed it through prolonged drinking, you should see a doctor to prevent worse illnesses from developing.
Alcohol Can Lead to Immediate Indigestion
Alcohol is technically a poison to the body, and it’s also an irritant. Your body simply isn’t designed to stomach literal poison. Drinking it will cause your body to reject anything else you put into it, and if you drink enough, you may end up over a toilet vomiting up bile.
Alcohol is processed through your liver, which filters your blood to make sure it stays healthy. Basically, as blood passes through your liver, it picks up any poison it finds. It makes sure that only healthy blood reaches your vital organs so that no serious illnesses develop.
Yet, the liver is also partly responsible for producing bile. Normally, your stomach uses bile to break down food into its fundamental parts so that nutrients can be extracted as it passes through the small intestine. But when your liver filters out more harmful materials than usual, it goes into overdrive.
It starts producing more bile as a way to break suspected poison down further. That increased bile just leads to indigestion and nausea, which will make you feel sick. Producing extra bile is a way for your body to protect itself from poison when you drink alcohol, even if all it does is make you end the night feeling sick!
Can You Stomach the Issues Alcohol Can Cause?
The most important organ in your entire digestive tract is obviously your stomach. It’s where everything goes after you consume it, and it’s where the entire process begins. And despite constantly holding up to 100ml of acid, it’s actually a very sensitive organ.
The body constantly regulates how much stomach acid is in your stomach. If it has too little, it won’t be able to do its job. Yet, having too much can cause lasting damage — despite its uses, stomach acid is still acid.
Having too much can cause painful ulcers to develop, or may wear away at its protective linings. So, when your liver produces extra bile, it interferes with the natural homeostasis in your stomach. Normally, everything in your stomach returns back to normal before lasting damage can be done.
Yet, prolonged drinking can knock your stomach off its natural balance. Having too much acid in your stomach for too long will lead to worse things than indigestion. You may need surgery to fix it.
Asking, “How Does Alcohol Affect the Digestive System” Is the First Step
By asking, “how does alcohol affect the digestive system,” people take the first step towards recovery. The question shows that they recognize there may be a problem with their body and that alcohol may the cause. It places the blame on drinking, and that may motivate them to stop.
The next step is usually to admit there is a problem, and that they need help to fix it. And to learn what you need to recover from a drinking problem, just keep reading here! Our articles will help you overcome the emotional problems alcohol addiction cause, and help you repair your physical injuries too!