Knowing the early warning signs of alcohol-related heath issues can help you pinpoint if you have medical concerns that need to be addressed. Long-term alcohol use can lead to a number of potential health concerns, including things like liver issues, cardiac disease, and neurological problems. While your alcohol use can be embarrassing to discuss with your doctor, it’s important that they know the complete picture of your substance use so that they can test for relevant issues. Catching medical issues early on can often be the key to making positive changes in your life that will keep you healthy longer. Liver disease often doesn’t show a ton of symptoms, but there are warning signs to watch for. Cardiac-related issues can also be a concern for long-term alcohol abusers. Finally, alcohol can have many impacts on the way your brain works, and can lead to issues with memory, mood, and your mental health. Hopefully, by knowing the negative impacts that alcohol can have on your health, you can start considering ways to cut down on drinking or cut it out altogether.
Warning Signs of Alcohol-Related Health Issues: Early Indications
Risk Factors
Knowing the warning signs of alcohol-related health issues is important, but you should also be aware of the risk factors. Moderate drinking can lead to some health concerns, but the real issues stem from heavy drinking over a long period of time. Additionally, if you binge drink or drink so much that you often black-out, it can lead to medical issues. Be honest with medical professionals about your drinking habits. Unless they know the complete picture of your health, they won’t know if they need to test further for certain issues.
Liver Issues
One of the warning signs of alcohol-related health issues concerns your liver. Your liver processes harmful toxins out of your body, but when you drink heavily, your liver might not be able to keep up. This can lead to damage to your liver from fat forming as well as scar tissue. These issues can eventually lead to things like fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis of the liver. While there are not a ton of early warning signs to watch for, you should watch out for any pain in the area of your liver, fatigue, nausea, or unexplained loss of appetite.
Alcohol Cardiomyopathy
Another of the warning signs of alcohol-related health issues relates to your heart. Long-term drinking weakens the muscles in your heart and can lead to trouble with pumping blood throughout the body. This can lead to different forms of heart disease which fall under the umbrella of alcohol cardiomyopathy. Catching symptoms early can help you prevent going into congestive heart failure, so be on the lookout for things like shortness of breath, swelling in the legs or feet, loss of appetite, fatigue, or issues with heart-rate.
Alcohol-Related Neurologic Disease
Finally, alcohol abuse can also have severe impacts on your brain function. Heavy drinking can lead to deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals in the body, which can have negative effects. For example, it can lead to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome that presents with things like hallucinations, memory loss, and brain fog. It can also lead to neuropathy which can cause trouble with the nerves and lead to impaired speech, shaking, lack of coordination, or pain in muscles. Alcohol-induced cerebellar degeneration is also a concern. Look for issues with things like memory, mood, cognitive abilities, or any trouble with coordination and walking.
Knowing the early warning signs of alcohol-related health issues can help you catch any issues early on and hopefully in time to make changes that can improve your prognosis. Risk factors for alcohol-related issues include long-term drinking and heavy drinking. For men, this roughly means more than four drinks a day, or more than fourteen drinks in a week. For women, heavy drinking means more than three drinks a day, or more than seven in a week. Alcoholism can lead to trouble with the liver like cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatitis. It can also cause heart issues which can eventually lead to congestive heart failure and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Finally, there are neurological concerns to be aware of like trouble with memory, thinking, and mood changes. Be on the lookout for symptoms, and be up-front with your doctor about your drinking habits. They can help you find support for reducing or cutting out alcohol, and can support you through recovery and make withdrawal more manageable. Hopefully, you can catch any potential problems early and be inspired to make changes that will help you improve your long-term health.
