Occasionally, having a glass of wine, beer, or a cocktail is usually harmless. However, overusing alcohol can seriously affect your bladder, liver, and sexual health.
Alcohol and Your Bladder
Alcohol is a diuretic that causes increased urine production and water loss through urine. It does this by inhibiting vasopressin, a hormone that regulates water excretion. Alcohol’s diuretic effect can also cause dehydration and more concentrated urine, irritating and inflaming your bladder lining. The result can be an increased risk of urinary tract infections. Other ways alcohol can affect your bladder health include:
Overactive bladder
Alcohol’s irritating effect on the bladder can exacerbate an overactive bladder or urinary incontinence.
Incontinence
Holding large quantities of concentrated urine for prolonged periods can weaken your bladder, ultimately causing urine to leak.
Alcohol and Your Liver
Your liver has several crucial functions, including producing bile to help you digest food, removing waste, breaking down fats, producing substances that help your blood clot, and storing sugar for energy. It also cleans toxins out of your body.
Your liver has an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which causes a chemical reaction that metabolizes alcohol. However, each time your liver breaks down the alcohol, your liver releases a toxin that damages or kills liver cells. Your liver can develop new cells, but drinking too much alcohol over time compromises regeneration. The result is liver disease and severe and permanent liver damage.
These are the three types of liver damage resulting from excessive alcohol consumption:
Alcoholic fatty liver disease or steatohepatitis
The harmful substance your liver develops to break down alcohol can damage your liver cells. That causes inflammation and weakens your body’s natural defenses. Eventually, it causes fatty liver disease.
Alcohol-induced hepatitis
Chronic alcohol use produces excessive fat and toxins. If your liver overloads and can’t process these substances, the fat builds until your liver is permanently inflamed. Eventually, this inflammation kills liver cells. The result is alcohol-induced hepatitis, the second stage of alcohol-related liver disease.
Cirrhosis
Scar tissue develops in your liver if it is damaged by excessive alcohol use or infection. Eventually, it builds up and replaces most of your liver cells, preventing your liver from functioning as it should. It is usually irreversible.
Alcohol and Your Sexual Health
Alcohol is a depressant that slows down your central nervous system. It also causes dehydration. Together, these can affect your sexual health.
Erectile dysfunction
Consuming large amounts of alcohol can cause erectile dysfunction, making it challenging to get or maintain an erection. When you become aroused, your brain tells your penis to fill with blood to become erect. If you consume too much alcohol, your brain doesn’t function as quickly, which means those messages may not get to your brain quickly or at all.
Dehydration
As a diuretic, alcohol decreases your body’s blood volume and inhibits circulation. That reduces the blood flow to your penis, making it harder to get an erection. Dehydration also increases your body’s level of angiotensin, a hormone that can cause your blood vessels to constrict, further reducing your circulation and causing erectile dysfunction.
Reduced desire and arousal
For both men and women, alcohol use can cause diluted sexual desire and less intense or delayed orgasms. Like men, women’s arousal depends on good blood circulation. When alcohol negatively affects blood circulation, women may struggle to become aroused or reach orgasm.
Compassionate Urological Care
The experienced physicians at Norman Urology Associates are available to discuss any urological concerns affecting your health and well-being. Visit our website for more information about our practice and to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists.