How much alcohol destroys your liver

Liver failure can eventually lead to kidney failure. Bleeding disorder Overview of Blood Clotting Disorders Blood clotting coagulation disorders are dysfunctions in the body's ability to control the formation of blood clots.

These dysfunctions may result in Too little clotting, leading to abnormal Also, alcohol can reduce the number or activity of platelets, which also help blood clot. Portal hypertension leads to an enlarged spleen, which also decreases the number of platelets. Enlarged spleen Enlarged Spleen An enlarged spleen is not a disease in itself but the result of an underlying disorder.

Many disorders can make the spleen enlarge. Many disorders, including infections, anemias, and cancers The enlarged spleen traps and destroys more white blood cells and platelets than it normally does.

As a result, the risk of infections and bleeding is increased. People can understand their risk of alcohol-related liver disease more precisely if they know how much alcohol they are drinking. To determine how much they are drinking, they need to know the alcohol content of alcoholic beverages.

Different types of beverages contain different percentages of alcohol. However, in typical servings of these different types of beverages, the amount of alcohol is similar even though the amount of liquid is very different:. In hard liquor, the alcohol concentration is often described as proof.

The proof is about twice the percentage of alcohol. For cirrhosis to develop, men usually must drink more than about 3 ounces of alcohol a day for more than 10 years.

Consuming 3 ounces a day involves drinking 6 cans of beer, 5 glasses of wine, or 6 shots of liquor. About half the men who drink more than 8 ounces of alcohol a day for 20 years develop cirrhosis Cirrhosis of the Liver Cirrhosis is the widespread distortion of the liver's internal structure that occurs when a large amount of normal liver tissue is permanently replaced with nonfunctioning scar tissue.

Generally, the more and the longer people drink, the greater their risk of alcohol-related liver disease. However, liver disease does not develop in every person who drinks heavily for a long time.

Thus, other factors are involved. Women are more vulnerable to liver damage by alcohol, even after adjustments are made for smaller body size. Women are at risk of liver damage if they drink about half as much alcohol as men. Risk may be increased in women because their digestive system may be less able to process alcohol, thus increasing the amount of alcohol reaching the liver.

Genetic makeup is thought to be involved because alcohol-related liver disease often runs in families. Family members may share genes that make them less able to process alcohol. Accumulation of iron in the liver and hepatitis C Overview of Chronic Hepatitis Chronic hepatitis is inflammation of the liver that lasts at least 6 months.

Common causes include hepatitis B and C viruses and certain drugs. Most people have no symptoms, but some have vague Iron may accumulate when people have hemochromatosis Hemochromatosis Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disorder that causes the body to absorb too much iron, causing iron to build up in the body and damage organs. In the United States, over 1 million people have However, iron accumulation is not necessarily related to how much iron is consumed.

If iron has accumulated in the liver or if people have had hepatitis C for more than 6 months, the risk of liver cancer hepatocellular carcinoma Hepatocellular Carcinoma Hepatocellular carcinoma is a cancer that begins in the liver cells and is the most common of the primary liver cancers. Having hepatitis B or hepatitis C or fatty liver disease, or drinking Heavy drinkers usually first develop symptoms during their 30s or 40s and tend to develop severe problems about 10 years after symptoms first appear.

Fatty liver Fatty Liver Fatty liver is an abnormal accumulation of certain fats triglycerides inside liver cells. In one third of people, the liver is enlarged and smooth but is not usually tender. As alcohol-related liver disease progresses to alcoholic hepatitis, symptoms may range from mild to life-threatening. People may have a fever, jaundice, and a tender, painful, enlarged liver. They may feel tired. Heavy drinking can make the bands of fibrous tissue in the palms tighten, causing the fingers to curl called Dupuytren contracture Dupuytren Contracture Dupuytren contracture is a progressive tightening of the bands of fibrous tissue called fascia inside the palms, causing a curling in of the fingers that eventually can result in a clawlike Small spiderlike blood vessels spider angiomas may appear in the skin of the upper body.

Salivary glands in the cheeks may enlarge, and muscles may waste away. Peripheral nerves nerves outside the brain and spinal cord may be damaged, causing loss of sensation and strength. The feet and hands are affected more than the upper legs and arms.

This photo shows the curling in contracture of the little finger, which is caused by tightening of bands of fibrous tissue called fascia around the tendon inside the palm. Men who drink heavily may develop female characteristics, such as smooth skin, enlarged breasts, and decreased body hair. Their testes may shrink. The pancreas may become inflamed called pancreatitis Overview of Pancreatitis Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas.

The pancreas is a leaf-shaped organ about 5 inches about 13 centimeters long. It is surrounded by the lower edge of the stomach and the first People may become undernourished because drinking too much alcohol, which has calories but little nutritional value, decreases the appetite. Also, the damage caused by alcohol can interfere with the absorption and processing of nutrients.

People may have deficiencies of folate, thiamin, other vitamins, or minerals. Deficiencies of certain minerals can cause weakness and shaking. Also, nutritional deficiencies probably cause or contribute to peripheral nerve damage. In heavy drinkers, thiamin deficiency Thiamin Deficiency Thiamin deficiency causing beriberi and other problems is most common among people whose diet mainly consists of white rice or highly processed carbohydrates in developing countries and among Wernicke encephalopathy is caused by a severe deficiency If not promptly treated, Wernicke encephalopathy may result in Korsakoff syndrome Korsakoff Psychosis Korsakoff psychosis is a complication of Wernicke encephalopathy and causes memory loss for recent events, confusion, and behavioral changes.

See also Drug Use and Abuse. Korsakoff psychosis Korsakoff syndrome causes memory loss and confusion. Anemia may develop because bleeding occurs in the digestive tract or because people develop deficiencies of a nutrient needed to make red blood cells certain vitamins or iron. Symptoms may also result from the complications of cirrhosis see Introduction Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Alcohol-related liver disease is liver damage caused by drinking too much alcohol for a long time.

In general, the amount of alcohol consumed how much, how often, and for how long determines One is Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease or Steatosis , which results from increased fat accumulation in liver cells and may begin the process of liver scarring or fibrosis.

Alcoholic Hepatitis is characterized by fat formation, inflammation and early scarring of the liver. In its milder forms, the damage can be potentially reversed with abstinence. In its most severe forms, however, serious complications can occur, including liver failure and death. Alcoholic Cirrhosis is the most advanced type of alcohol-related liver disease with extensive scarring and disruption of the normal structure of the liver.

This condition cannot be reversed. Many individuals with advanced cirrhosis will experience complications such as fluid retention ascites , gastrointestinal bleeding from abnormal veins varices , confusion hepatic encephalopathy or development of liver cancer. Some individuals will benefit from a liver transplant but may not be eligible until a period of abstinence has been attained.

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