The liver can only break down alcohol in small amounts at a time. The alcohol will continue to circulate in the bloodstream and eventually affect other organs. These symptoms can occur in addition to the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. This is a severe and short-term neurologic disease that can be life threatening. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drinking less or not at all may help you avoid neurological harm.
The metabolism of bilirubin is impaired in acute and chronic liver disease. They also found increased levels of IL-6 and activation of ERK44/42 in mice with alcohol withdrawal-related allodynia, but not in mice with alcohol-induced neuropathic pain. Alcoholic neuropathy is one of the most common but least recognizable consequences of heavy alcohol use. People with a long history of alcohol misuse might experience loss of balance, pain, tingling, weakness, or numbness after drinking alcohol. Sometimes, bruising after drinking occurs because of the fact that alcohol dilates the blood vessels. When blood vessels are dilated, you’re more likely to experience a bruise after bumping into something.
Types and symptoms of alcohol-related neurologic disease
It’s not likely, but it’s possible that your bruises are a sign of blood cancer, such as leukemia. If you also feel tired, achy, and weak all the time, or lose weight without trying to, give your doctor a call. We don’t mean you woke up with a black-and-blue mark because you bumped into something after one too many cocktails. But if you often drink a lot of alcohol and you tend to bruise easily, it may mean you’ve got liver problems. As you age, your skin gets thinner and you lose some of the layer of fat that cushions your blood vessels and protects you from injury. Both of these things mean you may get more bruises, even from a minor bump.
- Alcohol and unexplained bruising could point to liver damage from drinking.
- A person with AUD may be unable to manage their drinking habits and may drink heavily.
- People with underlying skin conditions, such as psoriasis and rosacea, will need to continue treatment to prevent flare-ups.
- However, some people notice an improvement in symptoms a few months after discontinuing alcohol intake.
Having a mild intolerance to alcohol or something else in alcoholic beverages might not require a trip to a doctor. Simply avoid alcohol, limit how much you drink or avoid certain alcohol and bruising types of alcoholic beverages. While not specifically approved for the treatment of alcoholic neuropathy, antidepressants are often prescribed to help control the pain.
Does Drinking Alcohol Make Bruises Worse?
Read beverage labels to see whether they contain ingredients or additives you know cause a reaction, such as sulfites or certain grains. Be aware, however, that labels might not list all ingredients. Psoriasis is an autoimmune inflammatory condition that causes patches of thick, scaly plaques on the skin. People of East Asian descent https://ecosoberhouse.com/ are more likely to be affected by facial flushing relating to alcohol. This is because of a deficient enzyme that is involved in processing alcohol. What you’re technically experiencing there is a drop in your blood pressure, which causes the heart to work a little harder than usual to pump blood to the rest of your organs.
When they’re present, the early symptoms can include pain in the area of your liver, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss. In mild alcoholic hepatitis, liver damage occurs slowly over the course of many years. Alcoholic fatty liver disease can be reversed by abstaining from alcohol for at least several weeks. Alcoholic fatty liver disease is also called hepatic steatosis.
