Author: Alex Thompson

Binge Drinking: Health Effects, Signs, and Prevention

Alcohol is also often found in the blood of people who harm themselves or attempt suicide.

A person’s BAC is the percentage of alcohol in their blood, and in the United States, a BAC of 0.08% means the person is legally intoxicated. Someone who binge drinks may experience impaired judgment, nausea, vomiting, and even unconsciousness. Over time, a binge drinker is at a higher risk for severe health problems such as liver disease, pancreatitis, and certain types of cancers. Binge drinking is a type of excessive alcohol consumption that raises the BAC to 0.08 g/dL, the point at which a person is legally impaired.

Other ways to get help include talking with a mental health professional or seeking help from a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important. Alcohol use disorder is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol or continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems.

This usually involves drinking five or more drinks for men or four or more for women on a single occasion lasting a few hours. This is the amount of alcohol in your system to be considered legally impaired. For most adults, that equates to five drinks for men or four drinks for women within a two-hour period. How quickly a person’s body absorbs alcohol may depend on their sex, age, and body size. But it typically takes four or more standard drinks for women and five or more standard drinks for men to reach a BAC of 0.08% during a 2-hour binge drinking period.

Genetic, psychological, social and environmental factors can impact how drinking alcohol affects your body and behavior. Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder. Many people with alcohol use disorder hesitate to get treatment because they don’t recognize that they have a problem. An intervention from loved ones can help some people recognize and accept that they need professional help. If you’re concerned about someone who drinks too much, ask a professional experienced in alcohol treatment for advice on how to approach that person.

Are There Different Types of Binge Drinking?

This disorder also involves having to drink more to get the same effect or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking. Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism. By not drinking too much, you can reduce the risk of these short- and long-term health risks.

1. Teenage binge drinkers are about three times more likely to develop alcohol use disorder.
2. You’ll soon start receiving the latest Mayo Clinic health information you requested in your inbox.
3. In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy.
4. For example, a 2018 meta-analysis found a significant increase in alcohol use and binge drinking over the past 10–15 years, but not among all demographics.
5. In addition to increasing the risk of injury, binge drinking impairs the body’s ability to heal from those injuries.

Binge drinking is when you drink enough alcohol to bring your blood-alcohol content up to the legal limit for driving. That works out to about five alcoholic drinks for men or four for women in less than 2 hours. A drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor. Heavy, long-term alcohol use can lead to alcoholic liver disease, which includes inflammation of the liver and cirrhosis.

Tips to reduce health risks

Here’s a look at how all that alcohol is impacting the health of Americans over both the short and long term. Additionally, anyone who feels they are not able to gain control of their drinking might consider the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline. While fear and shame lead many to underreport alcohol use, providers can foster honesty by creating a safe space, asking specific questions, and focusing on health impacts. Honest disclosure is vital for optimal care, and even small reductions in alcohol intake can significantly improve health outcomes.

Over the long run, alcohol increases the risk of several cancers, including cancer of the liver, mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, colon, and rectum. Even a few drinks a week is linked with an increased risk of breast cancer in women. The National Helpline does not provide counseling, but it does connect callers with local resources such as counseling services, support groups, and treatment facilities. By Sarah Bence, OTR/LSarah Bence, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist and freelance writer. She specializes in a variety of health topics including mental health, dementia, celiac disease, and endometriosis. Drinking in moderation is considered to be consuming two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women.

Even though binge drinking can be a single event, it could still have severe health consequences (e.g., alcohol poisoning, STIs, heart disease) in the short and long term. Most people who binge drink are not addicted to or dependent on alcohol. However, binge drinking can increase your risk of developing alcohol use disorder.

Binge Drinking Prevention

Excessive drinking is also bad for the cardiovascular system, leading to increased risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, and irregular heartbeat. The 37 million binge drinkers had about one binge per week and consumed an average of seven drinks per episode. Binge drinking is defined as men consuming five or more drinks within about two hours. For women, it’s defined as consuming four or more drinks within about two hours. Binge drinking has many effects on your body, both over the short and long term. Heavy drinking is believed to cost the U.S. economy more than $200 billion a year in lost productivity, health costs, and property damage.

Binge Drinking

It can be challenging (but also helpful) to talk openly about your concerns about binge drinking with trusted friends and family. These people can support you when you say no to an extra drink or ask to hang out in a different environment where you’re less likely to want a drink in hand. Knowing your limits, including what number of drinks qualifies as binge drinking, is an excellent first step in preventing future binge drinking episodes. While drinking alcohol is normalized socially and is legal above the age of 21 in the United States, it can still have harmful impacts on the body. In addition to increasing the risk of injury, binge drinking impairs the body’s ability to heal from those injuries. Or by depressing the gag reflex, which puts a person who has passed out at risk of choking on their own vomit.

Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking. You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use. Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help.

By adhering to the Dietary Guidelines, you can reduce the risk of harm to yourself or others. Federal and state health agencies also offer resources and can refer you to someone who can help. The  U.S. Preventive Services Task Force also recommends screening and counseling for alcohol misuse in primary care settings.

For example, a 2018 meta-analysis found a significant increase in alcohol use and binge drinking over the past 10–15 years, but not among all demographics. It was middle-aged and older adults who showed the most substantial increase in binge drinking. That increase may be contributing to the increasing rates of alcohol-related illnesses and death.