But if you bruise more easily all the time after chronic heavy drinking, it may be a sign of significant health concern. Continuing to drink, even when it causes health problems, is a sign of an alcohol use disorder. Someone who lives with an alcohol use disorder may experience lasting brain changes that make it difficult to stop drinking.

• Alcohol can deprive you of the energy and mental focus you need to go through the following day.
• If you keep drinking, your liver can swell, and cells within the liver can die.
• This is because it affects the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls reasoning and higher brain function.
• Even in people who are not struggling with alcohol use disorder, drinking alcohol can affect other psychiatric conditions.

Signs Your Body Is Telling You You’re Drinking Too Much

The health risks of alcohol develop because ethanol, the type of alcohol found in beverages, metabolizes into a compound called acetaldehyde, which damages DNA and other cellular components. When acetaldehyde builds up in the body, it can damage cells throughout the digestive system and beyond. But long-term and excessive alcohol consumption can lead to liver inflammation (liver hepatitis). In this guide, we’ll explore 15 short and long-term signs that you’re drinking too much, including symptoms that don’t necessarily involve a hangover. There are many other potential causes of bruising, does drinking too much make you bruise heres what the alcohol is actually doing to your body overnight including injury, certain medications, and underlying medical conditions.

Why Do You Bruise More Easily After Drinking?

Alcohol and unexplained bruising could point to liver damage from drinking. Easy bruising and bleeding are signs of cirrhosis, which is a serious liver disorder. Liver damage from cirrhosis is not reversible, and it is linked to high mortality rates.

There are several causes of bruises after drinking; some of these causes are not particularly serious, whereas others could point to a health problem. Perhaps the most common cause of bruising from alcohol is that alcohol acts as a vasodilator, making blood vessels larger. You may avoid possible health problems by limiting your alcohol consumption.

Dangers Of Alcohol-Related Bruises

If the skin is injured over a bruise, be sure to watch for signs of a skin infection. Because alcohol’s effects rise with every sip, even small reductions in how much you drink can have measurable benefits. Cutting back doesn’t just lower your risk for disease—it can help the body begin to repair itself. Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health Report, which was issued in 2023, estimates this increase in risk to happen when going from two drinks a week to three to six drinks per week.

Alcohol Bruises FAQ

It increases the risk of various types of cancer, as well as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Another health-related risk linked to chronic alcohol misuse is liver disease, which is often the cause of bruising from alcohol. If you notice that you bruise easily after one night of drinking, it may not indicate anything serious.

A 2024 report from the American Association for Cancer Research concluded that more than 5% of all cancers in the U.S. are attributable to alcohol use. The more alcohol consumed, the greater the risk of cancer, but the risks start with any alcohol consumption. While there is no direct relationship between alcohol and hair loss, heavy drinking may lead to other issues that thin out your locks. Hence, drinking alcohol makes it harder for your immune system to gear up and mount a defense response against invading pathogens and viruses.

• They are also more likely to already be living with chronic diseases, and to be taking prescription medications that might interact poorly with alcohol.
• They have experienced no trauma, and the bruises they have are large and appear frequently.
• Learn the answer, as well as how to get help with medication assisted treatment for alcohol use, below.
• Cutting back doesn’t just lower your risk for disease—it can help the body begin to repair itself.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, heavy drinking for women involves having more than three drinks in one day or more than seven drinks per week. Heavy drinking for men involves more than four drinks in one day or more than 14 drinks per week. For the same reason you have trouble with motor control and coordination, you will also have a worse reaction time while drinking.

In other words, weight gain isn’t inevitable, but you could still tip the scale up from drinking too much alcohol. According to the CDC, moderate drinking is defined as having two standard drinks or less per day for men and one drink or less per day for women. Of course, no one needs to wait for new guidelines or warning labels to curb their drinking. Many are exploring ways to cut back, including the Dry January Challenge or alcohol-free drinks. It’s worth noting that current guidelines advise against drinking alcohol as a way to improve health. For millions of people, it’s a regular part of the dining experience, social and sports events, celebrations, and milestones.

Is Alcohol-Induced Bruising Dangerous?

In Weber’s experience, initiatives such as Dry January or Sober October have the benefit of offering a socially acceptable excuse to try cutting out alcohol. “Alcohol is so much a part of our culture that people don’t even realize that they might have friends or colleagues or family members that are struggling with their alcohol use,” Weber says. Newer studies are also uncovering how alcohol may interfere with the immune system and accelerate molecular signs of aging. Mindful drinking offers that middle ground where you’ll proactively improve your drinking habits without any pressure to quit. It centers on being more conscious and thoughtful of how much, how often, and why you drink. As a result, you’ll enjoy better sleep, improved mood and energy, and fewer wellness issues.

Alcohol-induced bruising looks similar to regular bruising, but the bruises may be larger than expected for the level of trauma or injury. The best approach to prevent alcohol-induced bruising is to minimize or stop consuming alcohol in large volumes. In other words, bruising alone isn’t enough to diagnose alcoholism, but it can be a sign. Bruising can be one of the side effects of alcohol dependence, but it’s not the sole cause of it. Aside from going into alcohol treatment, there’s nothing specific you need to do to speed up the healing process, assuming that you’re not suffering from other diseases that affect coagulation.

Some people may also experience night sweats due to alcohol withdrawal syndrome or alcohol intolerance. Because alcohol is a potent diuretic, it can quickly dehydrate you, leading to the characteristic symptoms of a hangover, including a throbbing headache. Research reviews have also listed alcohol as a culprit for triggering migraine attacks. If you’ve ever had to nurse a hangover, nausea and vomiting are commonly part and parcel of the ordeal. While throwing up can make you feel miserable, it is one of your body’s self-defense mechanisms to remove excess toxins from the alcohol consumed.

When that happens, the person convulses uncontrollably and may harm themselves or others in the process, potentially leading to bruises. Vasodilation is the widening of the blood vessels caused by the relaxation of the muscles in these blood vessels. Alcohol is a blood thinner, which means it affects the platelet count and quality in people who drink too much. That vital organ, which sits on the right side of your body beneath your rib cage, processes all of the blood in your body and cleans it of toxins before releasing it into circulation.

Before consuming alcohol while taking medication, always consult with a healthcare professional. It is important to be aware of the possible dangers of combining these two, as such encounters may have detrimental repercussions for your general health and fitness. Consider drinking a glass or two of water before indulging in your favorite alcoholic beverage. People who drank moderately appeared to live longer than both heavy drinkers and those who abstained entirely. It seemed to suggest that a small amount of alcohol might be good for you.