Why Drinking Alcohol Can Cause Bruising

Because of this fact, a person with an alcohol use disorder may have several failed attempts to stop drinking. When someone develops an alcohol use disorder, they will show signs or symptoms that are characteristic of this condition. When people use the term “alcoholism,” what they are really referring to is an alcohol use disorder, which is the clinical term for an addiction to alcohol. Alcoholism is a colloquial term, and it really isn’t a politically correct way to refer to an alcohol addiction.

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• It can also increase snoring and sleep apnea, making it hard to get a good night’s rest.
• You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use.
• One of the diagnostic criteria that points toward an alcohol use disorder is continuing to drink, even in the face of consequences.
• An assessment of alcohol use will establish when alcohol consumption started, how much a person drinks, and how often.
• Vasculitis refers to a group of conditions that cause inflamed blood vessels.
• (B) Stomatocytes have a defect in their membranes that causes them to assume a mouth-, or stoma-, like shape when viewed under a microscope.
• Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking.

If you drink every day, or almost every day, you might notice that you catch colds, flu or other illnesses more frequently than people who don’t drink. That’s because alcohol can weaken your immune system, slow healing and make your body more susceptible to infection. Cirrhosis, on the other hand, is irreversible and can lead to liver failure and liver cancer, even if you abstain from alcohol. Steatotic liver disease used to go by the name fatty liver disease. Patrick McCamley (Clinical Therapist) is a Cincinnati native who has worked in substance use disorder/co-occurring mental health disorder treatment since 2019. Patrick has worked in Clinical Operations, Clinical Case Management, and Clinical Therapy throughout his career.

Drinking Alcohol Lupus

Check with your doctor before using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like aspirin or ibuprofen, because these can make bleeding and bruising worse. You can help speed your recovery if you use a cushion or gel doughnut when you sit down because this takes the pressure off your tailbone. Going to the bathroom can be painful, so make sure you eat plenty of fiber and drink plenty of fluids to avoid a bout of constipation. But if the cells that regrow your nail (called the nail matrix) are damaged, it may grow in incorrectly or you may not regrow your nail at all. Ecchymosis (pronounced eh-kuh-mow-sis) is the medical term for a bruise.

Medical Professionals

When drinking becomes compulsive, as is the case with alcohol use disorder, a person may place themselves in danger when consuming alcohol, because drinking becomes more important than safety. Examples of drinking in dangerous situations include driving while under the influence or drinking before operating some form of heavy machinery. What all of this means is that people who live with an alcohol use disorder are likely https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to consume large quantities of alcohol. While some people may have just a drink or two on special occasions, people with an alcohol use disorder may lose control of their drinking, and consume ten or more drinks, for example. They may have such a high tolerance that they do not show any overt signs of intoxication, despite drinking large amounts. Chronic alcohol misuse has a negative effect on every system of the body.

• A person may also develop a tolerance for alcohol, meaning that they need larger and larger amounts to obtain the desired effects.
• Moreover, the neutrophil stores that are maintained in the bone marrow to allow a quick response to a bacterial infection were depleted more rapidly in active alcoholics than in healthy control subjects.
• Early damage to the liver causes fat to deposit onto the liver, resulting in hepatic steatosis, or alcoholic fatty liver disease.
• Bruising occurs more readily as a person ages, making age the most common cause of easy bruising.
• This means it’s a substance that actually relaxes the muscular walls of the blood vessels and allows more blood to flow to the skin and tissues — aka a blood thinner.

Bruising as a Sign of Abuse

• Certain dietary supplements, such as ginkgo biloba, also can increase bruising risk due to a blood-thinning effect.
• Perhaps the most common cause of bruising from alcohol is that alcohol acts as a vasodilator, making blood vessels larger.
• Talk to a healthcare provider if you are concerned about your drinking or that of a loved one.
• Second, alcoholism can lead to a condition called thrombocytopenia, which is a low level of platelets in the blood.

These damaged cells are prematurely destroyed in the spleen, and the patient may develop acute hemolytic anemia. Stomatocytes are RBC’s with a defect in their membranes that causes the cells to assume a mouth-, or stoma-, like shape when examined under a microscope (figure 2). Stomatocytes have a shortened life span because they become trapped in the small capillaries of the spleen and are subsequently destroyed. In healthy people, stomatocytes account for less than 5 percent of the RBC’s, whereas their number can be significantly higher in alcoholics.

How Alcohol Use Disorder Is Treated

For an accurate diagnosis, the physician must therefore exclude folic acid deficiency and evaluate the patient’s iron stores in the bone marrow. The direct consequences of excessive alcohol consumption include toxic effects on the bone marrow; the blood cell precursors; and the mature red blood cells (RBC’s), white blood cells (WBC’s), and platelets. Alcohol’s indirect effects include nutritional deficiencies that impair the production and function of various blood cells. Alcohol is the most commonly used drug whose consequences include the suppression of blood cell production, or hematopoiesis.

Impact on your health

Spur cells are distorted RBC’s that are characterized by spikelike protrusions of their cell membrane (figure 2). These spurs are caused by the incorporation of excess amounts of cholesterol into the cell membrane, resulting in an increase of the cell’s surface area without a corresponding alcohol and bruising increase in cell volume. Modestly elevated membrane cholesterol levels result in a flattened RBC shape, whereas larger increments of cholesterol cause the membrane to be thrown up into spikes. To a lesser extent, vacuoles also develop in the granulocyte precursors of alcoholics.

What Is A Bruise?

The brain is highly vulnerable to the damaging effects of alcohol, which disrupts communication between brain cells. Excessive or chronic alcohol use can lead to a steady decline in cognitive function, causing memory problems, difficulty learning new information, mood changes, and behavior changes. Occasional drinking of fewer than two glasses per day is acceptable, but it’s best to familiarize yourself with signs of alcohol addiction and to prevent developing an alcohol use disorder. In this case, you should go see your doctor to find out what’s going on. People with hemophilia don’t make much of several blood clotting factors, such as factor VIII and factor IX. These disorders are rare, but they can be life-threatening if you don’t treat them.

• In many patients with thrombocytopenia, rebounding platelet numbers even exceed normal values.
• If you’re concerned about someone who drinks too much, ask a professional experienced in alcohol treatment for advice on how to approach that person.
• Long-term alcohol use can change your brain’s wiring in much more significant ways.
• On dark skin tones, purpura may appear purple or as darker skin.

Alcohol-Related RBC Disorders