CHENNAI: Binge drinking is the practice of consuming large quantities of alcohol in a short span of time — usually five or more drinks for a man, or four or more drinks for a woman. A large proportion of youngsters are binge-drinkers; as age progresses this tendency reduces.
When large amounts of alcohol is consumed in a short span, it can result in alcoholic hepatitis in the liver. It will require emergency hospitalisation. There is more than 50 per cent death rate. Other organs like heart, lungs and brain can also get affected.
The heart may develop rhythm abnormalities (Holiday heart syndrome), blood pressure shoots up making the person prone to heart attack; brain bleed along with withdrawal seizures is possible. The lungs might develop aspiration pneumonia which means an inebriated person who is half-awake may cough up food and digestive juices through food pipe and into the lungs, inducing pneumonia.
Each millilitre of alcohol is harmful to the organs. Once alcohol enters our body, it views it as a toxic molecule. Since ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is not usually used by the body, the body will try to expel it. A step by step destruction of alcohol molecule happens and a lot of this process in fact happens in liver. When large amounts of alcohol is ingested, the destruction process saturates and the liver can no longer handle the alcohol. High levels of ethyl alcohol circulates in the blood stream making it dangerous for other organs. There is no cure for alcoholic hepatitis but the treatment will aim to reduce symptoms and stop the progression of the disease. Stopping the consumption of alcohol is the best treatment. Scarring of the liver is permanent but it can repair some of the damage.
Dietary changes
Vitamin supplements or a diet plan may help correct the balance of nutrients in the body if a person has malnourishment after regular alcohol consumption.
Liver transplant
In severe cases, a liver transplant may be the only chance for survival. However, the process of finding a donor can be long and complicated.The best hope for recovery is to be aware of the possible signs and symptoms and to reduce, manage or stop alcohol consumption before the condition progresses.
The writer is senior consultant hepatologist and liver transplant physician, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai