Here's What One Night Drinking Does To Your Body
If you have a boozy weekend lined up, you might want to rethink how much you're knocking back, as one specialist has revealed the damaging effects one night of drinking can have on your body.
Although binge drinking doesn't always signal a problem with booze, overindulging on alcohol could do more than just leave you with a nasty hangover.
Generally, binge drinking for men is classed by having five or more drinks over a few hours, whereas for women it's four or more.
According to Martin Preston, the founder and chief executive at rehab retreat Delamere, anyone who is dependent on regular booze-filled nights could be at risk of seriously harming their brain, stomach, liver, heart, and kidneys.
Alcohol is known to enter our bloodstreams, which means it can be carried to our brains and can cause blurry vision, loss of coordination and impaired memory.
Ever woken up barely remembering your wild night out?
Preston explained: "Binge drinking can also cause people to black out. This is because the increase in the amount of alcohol in your brain can mean that you stop forming new memories.
"The risk of blacking out also becomes further heightened when a person binge drinks without eating anything first."
But ensuring you're well fed before cracking open a bottle of wine doesn't mean your stomach is safe, as excessive drinking can damage the lining of your stomach, which can lead to stomach pain and in some cases chest pain.
Preston added: "Bingeing on alcohol can also be dangerous as it can make a person more likely to vomit.If a person is vomiting violently or continually, they run the risk of tearing their oesophagus which could cause a life-threatening bleed."
Most of us will know that long-term alcohol abuse can cause liver damage but a night of binge drinking could also be detrimental to your liver.
The liver is designed to remove fat and alcohol, but it always removes alcohol before fat. This can cause a build up of dangerous fat that could result in liver disease.
The kidneys, which are responsible for filtering out waste in the body, could also be at risk, as alcohol prevents the production of hormones that help your kidneys put water back into your body.
The specialist said: "When alcohol suppresses hormones it can cause dehydration which may contribute to how bad a hangover you have the next day."
The heart is also susceptible to harm, as you could experience heart palpitations shortly after drinking that could lead to health complications including irregular heartbeat, weakened heart muscles and high blood pressure.
It might be time to start making sure that the innocent one drink doesn't turn into a full-on boozy sesh.
If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support
Shiala Mahmood