Alcohol may seem like a harmless substance that can take the edge off a bad day. Yet, over time, alcohol use creates numerous complications to physical and mental well-being. Alcohol impacts various organs and systems within the body, often leading to debilitating and life-threatening conditions.

Know the Facts About Regular Alcohol Use

Any person can develop alcohol use disorder (AUD). It does not matter your age, ethnicity, family background, or overall health. Consider that each year, five million people go to the emergency room as a result of acute or chronic effects from alcohol, and about 178,000 people die each year as a result of alcohol-related complications, as noted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. It sounds bad, and it is. Yet it’s important to remember that treatment helps: alcohol addiction rehabilitation can help you recover from or slow the progression of most alcohol-related health conditions.

What Alcohol Does to the Body

How can so many people die from alcohol-related causes? To understand this, you have to consider how alcohol consumption impacts the body and brain. Not every person that has a drink will suffer serious health complications. However, consistent use, high doses, or other factors can contribute to the onset of conditions like the following.

Gastrointestinal system

Heavy alcohol use can contribute to a number of gastrointestinal complications. Some examples of this include:

• Liver disease: The liver absorbs nearly all of the alcohol consumed, which leads to toxicity of the organ.
• ALDs: Over time, alcohol use can lead to alcohol-associated liver disease, including steatosis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Alcohol-associated hepatitis and steatohepatitis (fatty liver) are also related.
• Pancreatitis: A leading cause of chronic pancreatitis and the second leading cause of the condition after gallstones is alcohol.
• GI inflammation: Both inflammation and bleeding can occur, including damage to the lining of your intestines.

Endocrine system

Continued use of alcohol may result in damage to the endocrine system, including conditions related to the thyroid, adrenal glands, and gonads. It can also cause hormonal disruption of the endocrine system, causing complications to the pancreas and adipose tissue.

Also notable is the onset of diabetes. Those with alcohol use disorder may be at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Immune system

Your immune system suffers a direct impact from continued or acute alcohol exposure. This may lead to difficulty healing after an illness or limited wound healing. Additionally, it can lead to immune system inflammation, which means your liver, brain, or body may be impacted by increased inflammation.

Cardiovascular system

Your heart and the rest of your cardiovascular system may suffer a range of impacts from the chronic or acute use of alcohol, including:

• High blood pressure
• Arrhythmia, meaning your heart does not beat as it should
• Cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle cannot squeeze properly due to damage
• Myocardial infarction, or a heart attack
• Stroke 

Pulmonary system

Your lungs and overall pulmonary system may also suffer an impact from continued alcohol use, including:

• Frequent onset or severity of pneumonia
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome
• Pulmonary consequences from infections and diseases

Neurological system

The brain suffers damage from the onset of chronic or acute use of alcohol, and this may worsen over time, including:

• Central nervous system damage, leading to cognitive function deficits
• Damage to the peripheral nervous system, which nutritional deficiencies can worsen, often leading to neuropathy

These are just some examples of the impact alcohol can have on your body. Every component of your body could suffer some level of impact, leading to complicated health matters and early death.

What to Do If Your Health Is Suffering from Alcohol Use

Continued alcohol use leading to dependency and addiction is a serious medical condition with the potential to disrupt various components of your life. If you are seeing any type of impact on either your mental health or physical health, now is the time to get help.

In many people who act soon enough, permanent damage to the body may be limited. Alcohol is a toxin that damages your body, and while your body may heal from some of that impact if you stop using it, the longer you use alcohol, the less likely your body will be to heal fully.

Let Our Team Help You With Alcohol Addiction Now

At Victory Addiction Recovery Center, our skilled and highly experienced team is ready to fight for you. Contact us now to discuss your situation and learn more about the treatment programs that may be best suited for you, including alcohol detox and residential treatment in our home-like setting. Take a moment now to contact us for alcohol addiction treatment.

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