Health Risks of Binge Drinking

Binge drinking is the consumption of alcohol in large amounts in a very short time. It is normally described as drinking alcohol beyond the recommended levels of 4 units per day for women and 6 units per day for men. Drinking too much alcohol may be detrimental to  health. In the USA, binge drinking accounts for more than 90% of the total alcohol consumed by youngsters below the age of 21 years.

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Binge drinking may lead to several long-term and short-term health risks; these health risks can be lowered by reducing the rate of consumption.

Long-term health risks

Prolonged consumption of too much alcohol may cause several detrimental effects on the nervous system, brain, pancreas, liver, and heart. Binge drinking may increase blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It debilitates the immune system by causing severe infection and lowers the bone density, thereby increasing the risk of bone erosion and fracture.

• Blood pressure: Hypertension may occur due to excessive alcohol consumption. High blood pressure leads to aneurysm, mild cognitive impairment, kidney failure, damage of eye blood vessels, chest pain, and narrowed and damaged arteries.

• Brain damage: Excessive quantities of alcohol function as a neurotoxin and lead to the destruction of brain cells. Youngsters addicted to binge drinking show impaired memory, reasoning and cognitive functioning. It also leads to 10% shrinkage in the volume of the hippocampus, i.e., an organ located within the human brain that is associated with long-term memory and reasoning skills.

• Cancer: Binge drinking is a major risk factor in causing several cancers that are associated with  the pharynx, liver, colorectal unit, and the esophagus. In women, excess alcohol intake is found to be a major cause of breast cancer; however, there is a possibility for this malignancy to occur even after consuming only one drink per day. Combined with smoking, binge drinking is a triggering factor for oral cancers.

• Liver damage: Continuous binge drinking may damage the liver and lead to acute alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis; the severity of both these conditions is high and their symptoms include jaundice, acute abdominal pain, and fever.

• Gastrointestinal problems: Excessive alcohol consumption can damage the esophagus, causing gastritis and acute hemorrhage. If this condition is left untreated, the complications may worsen over time and also cause death.

• Cardiac issues: Myocardial contraction occurs as a result of excess alcohol utilization, which may hinder the blood-pumping mechanism and increase the risk of cardiac arrest. The risk of cardiac arrhythmia is also doubled, leading to unexpected death as a result of heart failure.

• Stroke: Binge drinking is a causative factor of acute hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes, where the occurrence of acute hemorrhage is a result of increased blood pressure along with cerebral artery spasm.