Alcohol
Most of us drink alcohol on all sorts of occasions and for all sorts of reasons. If you drink sensibly alcohol does you no harm and can be enjoyable, but heavy drinking over a number of years can cause all sorts of health problems.
Alcohol may make you feel lively and talkative and small amounts may make you feel relaxed but alcohol is a depressant drug, it can make you aggressive and argumentative, and drinking large amounts on a single occasion could lead to a coma and even death.
The immediate effects of alcohol include:
Nausea
Vomiting
Headaches
Hangovers
In the long term drinking can cause serious liver damage. As well as:
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Stomach disorders like ulcers and gastritis |
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Cancer of the mouth, throat and gullet |
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Brain damage |
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Sexual difficulties |
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High blood pressure |
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Muscle disease |
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Problems with the nervous system like pain in the legs and arms |
By following the NHS recommendations you can help avoid the long term damage of drinking.
Drinking Recommendations
The NHS advice on drinking is that men should drink no more than 3 or 4 units of alcohol per day, and women should drink no more than 2 or 3 units per day. The limits are lower for women because a women’s bodies have a higher ratio of fat to water than men making them less able to dilute alcohol in the body and they do not process alcohol as effectively. Even if you don’t drink all week, you cannot ‘save up’ your units and then drink them all in one night.
Click on the Unit Calculator to help you understand how units work.
For more information about sensible drinking click below:
Alcohol and Pregnancy
What is a Unit
Health Dangers of Drinking too much
How to Cut Down
If you are concerned about your own or someone else's drinking call Drinkline: 0800 917 8282