Why Drinking Alcohol Can Cause Bruising

Alcohol can damage the cells in your mouth, throat, voice box, and esophagus. Alcohol can help cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco and other sources enter your cells more easily. A bruise is a discolored mark on your skin that forms when blood https://ecosoberhouse.com/ vessels under your skin break and leak. They can be caused by several things, such as an injury, certain disorders, or certain medicines. Most bruises don’t need treatment because they heal on their own, usually within about 2 weeks.

Think you have a drinking problem?

In our blood there are tiny particles called clotting factors and platelets; their job is to form clots only when the vessel wall is damaged (when you are wounded). It was very surprising for me to know that we damage our vessels every time you scratch your hand, kick the ball or keep your arm on the armrest for a long time! Micro-bleeds form at the location of these unnoticeable injuries and clotting factors along with the platelets take care of these micro-bleeds. When some of these factors are lost or dysfunctional your body will not be able to fix these micro-bleeds and they will turn into bruises. Liver disease can affect blood clotting, increasing the risk of bleeding and easy bruising. Although stopping drinking alcohol is the most effective treatment for alcoholic liver disease, it is not a complete cure.

What Does Alcohol Do to Your Body? 9 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health

Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism. If you’re experiencing alcohol symptoms like easy bruising, or you simply want to break free from alcohol misuse, Confidant is here to help. We provide online medication assisted treatment for alcohol use, so you can begin your recovery from home. According to the National Library of Medicine, a bruise is a mark under the skin, usually painful and swollen, that occurs because of blood trapped beneath the skin’s surface. When a person gets a bruise, some sort of injury crushes blood vessels, but the skin does not break and cause external bleeding.

Alcoholic cirrhosis

• A team of healthcare providers, which may include psychologists or addiction specialists, can help if you find it challenging to stop drinking.
• Since nutritional deficiencies are partly to blame for alcoholic neuropathy.
• On people with darker skin tones, bruises can look purple, dark brown, or black.
• Some over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen), Plavix® (clopidogrel) and blood thinners (like Coumadin®) can increase your tendency to bruise.
• Our muscles need to receive a message from nearby nerves in order to function.
• There are several steps you can take to help improve the health of your liver.

I am a licensed social worker.In my scope of practice I have worked in the areas of mental health and recovery for thirty years. The clients I have worked with in my career have ranged in age from seven to seventy. Bill Zimmerman is a Greater Cincinnati Area native who has worked in substance use disorder/co-occurring mental health disorder treatment since 2018. Bill received his (Chemical Dependency Counselor Assistant) license from the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board in 2020.

How to Get Rid of a Bruise

Abstinence can reverse many of alcohol’s effects on hematopoiesis and blood cell functioning. In addition to interfering with the proper absorption of iron into the hemoglobin molecules of red blood cells (RBC’s), alcohol use can lead to either iron deficiency or excessively high levels of iron in the body. Because iron is essential to RBC functioning, iron deficiency, which is commonly caused by excessive blood loss, can result in anemia. In many alcoholic patients, blood loss and subsequent iron deficiency are caused by gastrointestinal bleeding.

Confirming Alcoholic Liver Disease Through Diagnosis

Chronic alcohol use causes hormone imbalances in both men and women and leads to problems with fertility. While treating ALD it is important not only to abstain from alcohol but also become conscious of other factors that could affect the liver. However, eligibility may depend on being abstinent from alcohol for a specific length of time. Getting adequate proteins, calories, and nutrients can alleviate symptoms, improve quality of life, and decrease mortality. Many people with ALD are malnourished (lacking proper nutrition) due to a variety of factors, such as lack of eating, vomiting, and malabsorption (difficulty absorbing nutrients from food). In general, the more severe the ALD, the more malnourished someone becomes.

Studies of heavy drinkers also show that they are more likely to have trouble pumping blood to their heart and may have a higher chance of dying from heart disease. Only a couple of drinks can cause vasodilation of blood vessels close to the skin, leading to potential bruising if you bump your body against a hard surface. According to Scott Swartzwelder, Ph.D. (coauthor of Buzzed), consistent vasodilation caused by drinking alcohol leads to more blood flowing through your blood vessels. This condition occurs naturally in our bodies in response to various stimuli.

If you’re aware that drinking is causing health problems, such as liver issues and bruising from alcohol, but you’re unable to stop drinking on your own, it’s time to seek treatment. After all, heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of serious injuries from falls, burns, and motor vehicle crashes. Finally, one potentially serious cause of alcohol and bruising is alcohol liver alcohol and bruising disease. As liver functioning declines from chronic alcohol misuse, a person is likely to bleed and bruise easily. One of the diagnostic criteria that points toward an alcohol use disorder is continuing to drink, even in the face of consequences. These consequences can include relationship problems, difficulty fulfilling duties at work or home, or a worsening of health problems.

By Heidi Moawad, MDHeidi Moawad is a neurologist and expert in the field of brain health and neurological disorders. Dr. Moawad regularly writes and edits health and career content for medical books and publications. Especially if you have been drinking heavily for many years, coping with alcohol use disorder is not easy. But with the proper resources to help, you are better set up for success with sobriety. Since nutritional deficiencies are partly to blame for alcoholic neuropathy.

Permanent Damage From Alcoholic Liver Disease

Dry skin may be present at the same time but is unlikely to be related to binge drinking. If you are concerned about your drinking or any symptoms, seek prompt advice from a healthcare provider. Although the different blood cells have distinct structures and functions, they are all produced at the same site, the bone marrow, in a complex process called hematopoiesis. The production of all types of blood cells begins with undifferentiated precursor cells—so-called pluripotent stem cells—that can develop into whichever cell type is needed at that time.