Does alcohol have a harmful effect on your stomach? Yes, it is true that drinking alcohol has a seriously harmful effect on your stomach. It interferes with your digestive system by making your stomach to produce more acid than usual. This condition will cause the inflammation of your stomach lining (gastritis). The inflammation of your stomach lining will, therefore, trigger stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea. In the case of heavy drinkers, the situation may even be worse to the extent of bleeding i.e. throwing up blood after drinking.
It is good to note that any amount of alcohol consumed will make your stomach produce an unusual amount of acid. This will, therefore, can trigger what can lead to stomach pain.
Why I will experience stomach pain after drinking alcohol
There are two common substances that normally irritate the lining of the digestive system. These are alcohol and caffeine. Normally, the cause of stomach pain is usually harmless and common among drinkers but when you happen to develop severe and recurring stomach pain which cannot withstand home remedies then you should take the situation seriously and immediately visit your doctor.
What are the conditions that may lead to stomach pain after drinking?
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Gastroesophageal also is known as GERD is normally a condition that most of the time causes heartburn. GERD has got two mainly distinguished symptoms. These symptoms are the burning, painful sensation in the middle of the lower part of the chest and upper portion of the stomach.
These are due to the fact that some stomach fluids enter the esophagus due to the malfunction of the esophageal sphincter muscle. This sphincter is the flat muscle that usually acts as a flap, keeping the stomach fluids out of the esophagus. So, in any case, the normal operation of this muscle is interfered with, then one will definitely develop heartburn and other GERD symptoms. So, in this case, alcohol and caffeine are substances that should be avoided to prevent GERD symptoms.
Ulcers
Ulcers usually develop as a result of infection with the H. pylori bacteria present in the lining of your somebody`s digestive system. So actually when the protective lining in the digestive tract is eroded away and expose the soft underneath tissue, then ulcers will be absolutely the case.
Now, it is good for you to understand some risk which may befall you whenever you consume alcoholic beverages or even caffeinated products. Be assured that sometimes you may develop pain in the middle of your stomach upon consumption of any alcoholic substance. This is due to the fact that alcoholic substances will lead to the development of open sores in your esophagus, stomach and duodenum.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
This condition will cause abnormal contractions in the colon and this will lead to pain in the stomach, cramping, bloating and chronic diarrhea. There are also some foods that will trigger some of the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and these maybe chocolate, some specific fruits and vegetables and dairy products. IBS will develop after one has consumed alcoholic substances. Though medical specialist has not fully established the real root of IBS, it is believed that the condition has something to do with alcohol and caffeine product consumptions.
Inflammation of the Pancreas
The pancreas is always inflamed after an individual consumes several types of alcoholic foods and drinks. So when this condition occurs, other severe situations may develop. This will include stomach pain, nausea and even vomiting.
Chronic cholecystitis
Chronic cholecystitis is also known as gallbladder disease. This will develop due to the presence of many stones in the gallbladder and then this will definitely lead to severe stomach pain after alcohol consumption.
Epithelial Lining Damage
There is a very important lining covering the stomach and that is the epithelial lining. This lining will be destroyed when or after consuming too much alcohol. Basically, this will lead to inflammation, abdominal pain, numbness and cramps for several days or good months after heavy alcohol consumption.
Long term effects of long-time alcohol drinking
As we have discussed earlier there is no safe amount of alcohol drinking level, even a little consumption of alcohol will have an effect on your body health. So in relation to this fact, many people now understand very well, the relationship between alcohol consumption and some illness for instance cancers.
Long term drinking of alcohol will be accompanied by the risks of mouth cancer, tongue, lip, throat, stomach, pancreas and colon. One can also be affected by other digestive problems caused by too many consumptions of alcohol. This will include stomach acid burning your throat, and painful open sore in your stomach lining.
There are some other risks related to too much drinking especially in situations where the drinkers cannot control themselves. For example, those who are sick and somehow not conscious can breathe and vomits into their lungs and if in any case, they will not be able to cough it back, then they can even die. Violent vomiting again can lead to your throat tearing, as for this case one can vomit blood. This condition always settles of its own but can develop to its severity leading to the death of the victim.
Is it safe to drink alcohol during pregnancy?
How harmful is drinking alcohol while pregnant? It is good to understand that abdominal pain during pregnancy can be a normal part of a pregnant woman`s body as her body adapts to changes due to the growing baby. Again there are many causes of these harmless pains but alcohol will cause severe problems especially stomach pain.
It is sometimes very difficult to estimate the extent of the effect the alcohol may have on some women because, during pregnancy, some women usually have a high level of enzymes that break down alcohol. But those women who have a small amount of these enzymes during pregnancy will be more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol. So an expectant mother should educate herself on all the potential effects alcohol may have on her during pregnancy.
Generally like any other person, alcohol may cause various conditions that lead to stomach ache, but the situation may be even worse in pregnant women. Imagine a pregnant woman who is exposed to severe stomach pain. The expected outcome may shock you. When a pregnant lady is exposed to severe pain, she may even miscarriage.
Home Remedies for Stomach Pain After Drinking Alcohol
Are you worried about what action you may take after having consumed alcohol with your friends or even alone and now, you are there complaining of stomach pain? If this is the case, then don’t worry about yourself because we have some home remedies here for your stomach pain after drinking alcohol. Now take your time to go through them and examine which one of these remedies will work for you.
Take toast For Breakfast
Sometimes your abdominal pain after drinking alcohol may be due to increased level of acid in your stomach. So the best cure for such a situation will be eating something that will soak all the extra acid. So for this case eating toast and salty crackers will be of great significance. It will make you feel better and even the heartburn will stop.
Pickles
This another good home remedy for abdominal pain due to alcohol is taken into account that pickles are a good source of nutrients such as calcium, manganese, iron and vitamin A. All the mentioned nutrients are very significant for the hastening of the stomach ache relief.
Vitamin supplement
You should understand that there are some vitamins which make the brain and your nervous system function properly and this, definitely will help reduce body pains. So vitamin B and vitamin B12 are the vitamins that will help your brain and nervous system function properly. Another very important vitamin is vitamin C which is an antioxidant. It can aid the fighting off free radicals in the body and also alleviate the headache.
Honey
Eating honey is also very important because it contains high amounts of fructose. The fructose can aid the metabolizing of alcohol in your body, therefore, it will help reduce your stomach ache. Due to the fact that some people don’t like eating honey directly, they can as well dilute it with some amount of water before eating it.
Chicken soup
Did you know that after drinking too much alcohol, you will definitely lose electrolytes? So chicken soup will help you restore the electrolytes and even calm the stomach and provide hydration. Actually one plate of chicken soup will be okay.
Vomiting
When there is toxic substance (alcohol) present in your stomach, it will be truly good to get rid of the toxin in your body and the best way of doing that is to vomit. Though it is not that very pleasant it will bring you relief very fast. Certain circumstances (discomfort, severe suffering, indigestion, empty stomach) may compel one to induce vomiting after drinking alcohol.
What can I do to stop alcohol drinking?
There are many reasons that may make an alcohol abuser quit drinking. One may opt for after developing medical conditions such as liver diseases or maybe the medication they are undergoing can be affected by alcohol consumption. Other will also opt to quit alcohol due to social and economic problems they this found themselves into due to alcohol addiction.
Now, before we proceed to steps of quitting alcohol, we have to clearly understand what alcohol abuse is. Alcohol abuse is when the user starts to seek substance compulsively and continues to use alcohol even though there have been harmful effects on his/her life. The harmful effects may include problems with family, school, work or the legal system.
In many cases, alcohol abusers may find it very difficult to stop drinking especially when he/she has abused the substance for a long time. So it very important for such people to talk to their doctor for the determination to quit alcohol. So now take your time to go through some of the tips and techniques that can help you stop drinking alcohol.
- When you are convinced that you want to quit drinking alcohol, the first step you should take is to make your family and your friends or your doctor know your intention. This will help you share your success with them. Let them know the reason as to why you want to do so.
- Another tip is to identify the factors that trigger you to drink and try to avoid them. When you are used to drinking in restaurants that sell alcohol, try to go to another restaurant that doesn’t sell alcohol. You may even organize a meeting with friends who are not alcohol users at cinemas. I mean you should at all cost avoid temptations.
- Again due to the fact that stopping drinking at once is not possible, you should stop drinking gradually and eventually give up completely.
- You also have to enjoy the benefits of stopping drinking for instance you will have more energy. Try putting this energy into other important activities like beautification of your home compound. This will make others appreciate you hence you will gain motivation. You will, therefore, enjoy the benefits of quitting alcohol.
- You also need to reward your progress like going out with your family together to make yourself forget alcohol and cope up with alcohol-free moments.
Though one will suffer many symptoms while trying to quit alcohol, there is some medication available that will help you fight the alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Doctors and specialists can also offer counseling and psychological support that will be of great help.
How I can prevent developing stomach ache after drinking alcohol
As we have emphasized, the best option to stop developing stomach pain after drinking is to stop drinking at all but this cannot be very practical. We, therefore, have some simple ways that you can opt for to prevent developing this pain.
- Please before you drink, make sure you have some food i.e. never drink alcohol on an empty stomach. This will help reduce the risk of stomach pain by reducing alcohol absorption.
- Take some water after drinking alcohol. This will help prevent stomach upsets and provide your body well hydration.
- Don’t use any drug while drinking alcohol. For instance, smoking while drinking will double your abdominal pain.
- By all means, please try to avoid dark alcoholic beverages because they contain more congeners than other drinks. You should note that high levels of congeners are found in dark-colored scotch, tequila, red wine, etc.
Some conditions may be worse to the extent that one will develop blood in their stool. Some will even experience severe abdominal cramps or may become short of breath. So when the condition develops to its severity then one should at all cost seek the attention of his/her doctor with immediate effect. There are also some other conditions that may cause stomach pain from the consumption of alcohol, for example, cancer and inflammatory bowel diseases such as Cohn’s disease.
When should I seek the attention of my Doctor?
You should immediately seek medical care after trying out the home remedies but stomach pain persists. It is not advisable to keep on trying out several home remedies when the stomach ache still persists. This is due to the fact that by the time you will see your doctor, the damage of alcohol in your stomach may severe to an extent that no medication will reverse it. Maybe the medication will only reduce its effect.