This is what happens to your body when you binge-drink

With Covid-19 restrictions lifted across most parts of the world, people will be making the most of this year’s festivities. One common way of having fun for most people is through alcohol consumption. But, drinking too much alcohol within a short period of time can have an immediate effect on various parts of your body, with short to long term impacts.

Your body and alcohol

There’s a growing body of research that shows that just an episode of binge-drinking can take a severe toll on your entire body and not just the brain. Frequent binge drinkers can also develop health problems just as people with alcohol use disorder or alcoholism. So what can be classified as binge-drinking? According to Healthline:

It is defined as men consuming five or more drinks within about two hours. For women, it’s defined as consuming four or more drinks within about two hours.

WebMD lists some of the long-term effects of binge-drinking on the body as:

• A disruption in your heartbeat, which can lead to problems like heart attacks or strokes
• Development of memory problems in young adults
• Damage to your kidneys, lungs and pancreas
• Increased risk of STI as you’re more likely to take part in unsafe sexual behaviour

Short term effects

The effects of alcohol typically kicks in between 5 and 10 minutes of having a drink. If you drink more alcohol than what your liver is able to process, which is about one standard drink per hour for the average sized person, you will start to experience some effects almost immediately such as:

• Miscarriage or stillbirth in pregnant women
• Alcohol poisoning which could result in vomiting, seizures, coma and even death
• Low blood pressure
• Slower breathing
• Dehydration

Binge-drinking could also be fatal by depressing the gag reflex, which puts a person who has passed out at risk of choking on their own vomit.

Sources used:

Healthline: What Happens to Your Body When You Binge Drink

The Healthy: This Is What Happens to Your Body When You Binge Drink

WebMD: Binge-drinking