Viraj Pathak, 28, can never forget a New Year party where he drank an entire bottle of vodka within a couple of hours. He has little memory of what happened after that. All that he remembers is waking up on a hospital bed.
“I don’t remember when I passed out. I remember I was dancing, but when I woke up I was in hospital,” said Pathak. His friends told him he vomited blood as he lay unconscious after drinking merrily. “The doctors gave me a dressing down and told me that the blood was due to lacerations in my stomach lining caused by alcohol. Since then, I have cut down on my drinking.”
Pathak was lucky, but doctors warn that excessive drinking, even for a day — as is the case to celebrate New Year — could lead to serious health complications. The young, especially, who like to turn the page in an alcohol-fuelled haze, saying it is just for a night, could repent later.
“People think just because they drink only socially, it is okay to go on a binge. What they don’t realise is that their body is not used to such levels of alcohol and that it can cause serious damage,” said Dr Anil Balani, consultant physician at Lilavati and Hinduja hospitals.
Too much alcohol in the system over a short period of time can lead to atrial fibrillation or irregular rhythm of the heartbeats.
“A sober person has a heart rate of 60-90 beats a minute. During binge drinking, it can rise to 180-200. For a person with a heart condition, it can be fatal,” said Dr Balani.
The liver, too, is another major organ affected. “The function of the liver is to filter out toxins from the body. Too much alcohol reduces the liver’s capacity to do so, leading to the accumulation of toxins in the body,” said Dr Balani.
Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial hospital, said too much alcohol can tear the thin layer of mucus protecting the stomach lining from harmful acids and cause gastric irritation and gastritis. He warned that excessive drinking can also result in electrical impulses in the brain going haywire, leading to strokes that could be fatal or slip a person into coma.
“Even if the effect is not as ominous, there is a definite impact of alcohol on the brain,” said Dr Kersi Chavda, consultant psychiatrist at Hinduja hospital. “The higher centres of the brain that control fine motor functions and decision-making abilities go for a toss, which is why people often behave obnoxiously after drinking too much. Also, alcohol is a depressant. It affects the serotonin levels in the brain - the reason why one feels a bit down after binge drinking. Too much drinking is not advisable especially to those who are already depressed.”
Pathak says it is not necessary to go overboard with alcohol to have fun. “Nowadays, I have two or three drinks and that give me a nice feeling. That is all I need to have a great time,” he said. The fun, Pathak believes, is in your head, not the alcohol.
Comments