Why the Body Swells in Alcoholics?

Why the Body Swells in Alcoholics?

Liver damage is the main reason

Liver cirrhosis @Seema

A young relative visited, and his body seemed swollen. He admitted he drinks heavily, which made me curious about the effect of alcohol on the human body.

Swelling is common in heavy alcoholics. Alcohol damages the liver, leading to cirrhosis (a scarred, hardened liver).

The liver normally makes albumin, a protein that helps keep fluid inside your blood vessels. As albumin levels drop, fluid leaks out into tissues → causing swollen body. Especially in ankles, legs, and face. In the belly, this fluid buildup is called ascites.

Alcohol damages liver, which raises pressure in the portal vein system. The resultant high pressure makes fluid flow out of blood vessels into the abdominal cavity and legs.

Loss of fluid from blood vessel, feels like low blood volume. So, the kidneys respond retain sodium and water through aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone (ADH). So, more water accumulates in tissues, that’s already overloaded.

Also, excess alcohol affects the heart muscle, causing alcoholic cardiomyopathy. So, blood pumping not efficient. It causes more edema risk in the body.

Alcohol can damages lungs airway cells, weakens immune defenses against infections, and increases mucus buildup. It results in shortness of breath, rapid breathing, persistent coughs, or wheezing. Prolonged alcoholism can also put the patient in the risk of conditions like pneumonia, tuberculosis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

If the patient takes medication to manage this condition, that might add to the body swelling too.

The figure above also shows the adverse effects of too much alcohol consumption, which I will discuss in another article.

If you are drinking, keep it moderate. You can’t afford to damage your organs. The pleasure of drinking is not worth destroying the body.

I hope you found this article informative.