Daily Archives: 11/07/2022

Long-Term Effects of Alcohol: Dangers, Risks & Effects

does alcohol cause bruising

If alcohol continues to accumulate in your system, it can destroy cells and, eventually, damage your organs. Contributors to this article for the NIAAA Core Resource on Alcohol include the writer for the full article, the content contributors to subsections, reviewers, and editorial staff. These contributors included both experts external to NIAAA as well as NIAAA staff. We can’t then get frustrated with those people because we built out a cultural norm around it,” he says.

does alcohol cause bruising

This means it’s a substance that actually relaxes the muscular walls of the blood vessels and allows more blood to flow to the skin and tissues — aka a blood thinner. A person should speak with a doctor, close friend, therapist, or local support group to find ways to help give up alcohol. Also known as nummular dermatitis, discoid eczema occurs more often in people who misuse alcohol, especially if they have liver problems.

  1. Second, alcohol dehydrates the body, making skin more delicate and prone to bruising.
  2. Severe alcohol consumption can impair the immune system, which can leave a person at greater risk of infections and skin sores (abscesses).
  3. It’s not completely clear why some people are more prone to this complication than others.
  4. Other medications, such as Pentoxil (pentoxifylline), may also be used.
  5. Some people experience a faster onset and progression of alcoholic neuropathy than others.
  6. Even though alcoholic neuropathy may not go away, there are things you can do to cope with this condition.

Furthermore, providing your body with essential nutrients can help to support optimal health. People with a lengthy history of alcohol misuse might experience loss of balance, pain, tingling, weakness, or numbness after drinking alcohol. Alcoholic neuropathy is a condition in which the nerves become damaged as a result of years of heavy alcohol consumption. Symptoms include burning pain in the body, hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain), and allodynia (a condition in which normal stimulus, like a soft touch, produces pain).

Alcohol-related liver disease

After all, heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of serious injuries from falls, burns, and motor vehicle crashes. Finally, one potentially serious cause of alcohol and bruising is alcohol liver disease. As liver functioning declines from chronic alcohol misuse, a person is likely to bleed and bruise easily. Other signs of an alcohol use disorder include spending a significant amount of time drinking, or consuming larger quantities of alcohol than intended. A person may also develop a tolerance for alcohol, meaning that they need larger and larger amounts to obtain the desired effects. Alcoholics tend to bruise easily because of the blood vessels in their body breaking down.

Do You Bleed More When You Drink?

Especially if you have been drinking heavily for many years, coping with alcohol use disorder is not easy. But with the proper resources to help, you are better set up for success with sobriety. Unexplained bruises and scrapes may be observed more frequently, and alcoholics can have reduced platelet counts and other clotting factors, making them more likely to bruise. This is especially true when you consider the increased likelihood of them falling. Alcohol recovery games for groups can also lead to excessive sweating – known as alcohol sweats or night sweats.

Skin changes due to alcoholic liver disease

If you are having difficulty avoiding alcohol, there are resources that can help you quit. Continuing to drink, even when it causes health problems, is a sign of an alcohol use disorder. Someone who lives with an alcohol use disorder may experience lasting brain changes that make it difficult to stop drinking. If you’re aware that drinking is causing health problems, such as liver issues and bruising from alcohol, but you’re unable to stop drinking on your own, it’s time to seek treatment. Liver cirrhosis is linked to bleeding complications and can even lead to the formation of a large type of bruise called a hematoma.

Hence, drinking before bed can cause sleep disruptions later in your sleep cycle and lead to insomnia symptoms over time. According to the CDC, moderate drinking is defined as having two standard drinks or less per day for men and one drink or less per day for women. The excessive alcohol in the bloodstream becomes too much for the liver to process, posing a risk of generalized tonic-clonic seizures. However, the person often can’t recall the events that happened during an alcoholic blackout, which can include bumps, falls, and accidents that may have caused bruises. The reduced platelet count and stickiness of already circulating platelets prolong bleeding time from injuries, leading to visible bruises. Alcohol has blood thinning properties, which can increase the risk of bruising.

Alcoholic liver disease is caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. There are three stages—alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. Reducing weight if you’re overweight, eating a healthy diet, and regular exercise can help someone with early ALD who has stopped drinking decrease their risk of advanced liver disease. Binge drinking, which includes consuming a large quantity of alcohol in a short period, may be harmful to our health.

Nerves don’t have a resilient ability to regenerate if they are severely damaged. So, the nerve damage of alcoholic neuropathy is generally permanent and likely to worsen if the person does not stop drinking. Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain. A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma or death.