Alcoholic drinks harm you when you have too many of them. There's no set number of drinks that determines "too many." Drinking that negatively affects your life or your health is called an alcohol use disorder (AUD). AUD can be mild, moderate, or severe, but in all three categories, alcohol use can hurt your relationships with others. You may lose friends, a spouse, or even your job. You may have AUD if any of the following are true for you:
Health problems
Alcohol abuse causes many health problems. Sometimes this can happen after only drinking a “little." The effects depend on how much you drink at one time and how often you drink. The effects also depend on how long you drink. For example, months, years, or decades. Alcohol affects all parts of your body
Brain
Alcohol affects the central nervous system. It can damage parts of the brain that control your balance and gait, memory, thinking, and emotions. It can cause:
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Memory loss
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Blackouts
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Depression
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Agitation
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Sleep problems
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Seizures
These changes may be long-term (permanent).
Heart and blood vessels
Alcohol can damage heart muscle (cardiomyopathy). This can lead to:
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Trouble breathing
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Irregular heartbeat
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Atrial fibrillation
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Leg swelling
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Heart failure
Alcohol also makes the blood vessels stiff. This causes high blood pressure.
All of these problems raise your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Liver
Alcohol causes fat to build up in the liver. This affects how the liver works. Alcohol also raises the risk for hepatitis. It can cause:
This can make it harder for you to fight off infections.
The liver changes keep it from removing toxins in your blood that can cause brain disease (encephalopathy). This condition causes:
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Confusion
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Changed level of consciousness
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Personality changes
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Memory loss
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Seizures, coma, and death
The liver changes can also cause the veins in your esophagus and stomach to become thin and swollen with blood (varices). This can cause bleeding and vomiting of blood.
Pancreas
Alcohol can cause swelling (inflammation) of the pancreas (pancreatitis). This can cause belly pain, fever, and diabetes.
Immune system
Alcohol weakens your immune system. This makes it harder for you to fight infections and colds. It also makes it more likely for you to get pneumonia and tuberculosis.
Cancer
Alcohol raises the risk for several types of cancer. These include cancer of the mouth, esophagus, pharynx, larynx, liver, colon, rectum, and breast.
Sexual function
Alcohol can lead to sexual problems.