While there is no cure for COPD, treatments often aim to slow or prevent its negative impact on our life by reducing symptoms and exacerbations, and improving activity and strength. Learn about how drinking might interfere with your illness, and whether it is possible for you to safely mix COPD and alcohol. To learn more about alcoholism and COPD, reach out to one of our treatment specialists today. Take the first step toward addiction treatment by contacting us today.
How Does Alcohol Suppress the Respiratory System?
It’s long been known that a glass of wine a day can help the heart, and it appears that a drink may also improve lung function in both the short-term and the long-term. At locations throughout the U.S., Vertava Health provide alcohol rehab programs with personalized treatment plans. This means that every patient is assessed and provided a treatment plan to fit their unique needs.
There hasn’t been much scientific research in this area which makes it difficult to discern how alcohol affects people with COPD specifically. This is of particular concern to people with COPD, who must be ever vigilant to avoid illnesses and infections. Even minor colds can lead to serious COPD exacerbations, and recovering from illnesses quickly is key for preventing further damage to the lungs. When you drink alcohol it is ultimately processed by the liver, which removes the alcohol from your blood and breaks it down into less toxic metabolites. However, these metabolites are also slightly toxic to the liver, and in large numbers can lead to problematic inflammation. In the most severe cases, long-term, excessive alcohol consumption can even lead to stroke, cardiomyopathy, or sudden cardiac death.
A person with any of these risk factors needs to consider them when deciding whether to also drink alcohol. This is a rare genetic disorder that reduces the body’s ability to protect the lungs, which can make someone more prone to develop COPD. The key point is moderation, which means no more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.
Allergic Reactions to Alcohol in COPD
It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. Even though it’s generally OK to have a few drinks if you have COPD, there’s still a chance that drinking alcohol can cause COPD symptoms to flare up. Glutathione is an antioxidant in your lungs that helps protect them. The likelihood that you’ll have a flare-up is worse if you drink and smoke cigarettes. Some studies, however, have hinted at a link between heavy alcohol use and increased severity of COPD. In general, light to moderate drinking isn’t usually very bad for you, and most healthy adults who drink in moderation will suffer little to no long-term health problems.
In addition to reducing glucose levels, drinking excess alcohol prevents your lungs from maintaining healthy airways. Drinking prohibits your system from effectively clearing mucus and contaminates from your airways. Carrying extra weight puts more pressure on your lungs, making breathing harder. Sugar can also cause inflammation in your body, which can worsen COPD symptoms. This also makes you you more prone to contracting illnesses and infections. This happens because the thick mucus traps bacteria, providing an ideal, moist environment for them to live and multiply.
Effects of Drinking Alcohol With COPD
So there is a link between people who are dependent on alcohol and tobacco users, but there is less research that suggests there is a connection between alcohol consumption and COPD. Bloating puts pressure on your lungs, making it harder to take deep breaths. Extra mucus makes it harder to breathe, especially if you already have lung problems like COPD.
Does Alcohol Affect Lung Function In People With COPD?
For people with COPD, this may include medical monitoring and medication-assisted treatment. Many people don’t realize they have allergies or sensitivities to alcohol. When a person flushes, becomes itchy, or gets a stuffy nose after drinking, it’s a sign their body may be sensitive to alcohol.
Tell your does alcohol affect copd doctor about any family history of related conditions, including lung cancer, COPD, asthma, or other breathing problems. Similarly, people who are chronic tobacco users are four times more likely to be dependent on alcohol than the average population. According to the National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, people with alcohol dependence are three times more likely to be smokers than the average population. That makes understanding the relationship between drinking, smoking, and COPD hard to pin down. Some people with COPD also experience excessive mucus production, which can make breathing difficult.
- Your doctor may also be able to provide you with more information on the effects of COPD and alcohol.
- While cannabis is much more popular in recent years, researchers are still learning if smoking cannabis damages the lungs the same way tobacco does.
- A person with a health issue like COPD or a person with a risk of the disease may wish to take into account the complications that alcohol can cause.
- Our state-specific resource guides offer a comprehensive overview of drug and alcohol addiction treatment options available in your area.
- If you have COPD, you’re probably especially concerned about making healthy diet and lifestyle choices.
- Alcohol makes these cilia less responsive and less active, which makes them much less effective at doing their job.
We want to give recovering addicts the tools to return to the outside world completely substance-free and successful. Our state-specific resource guides offer a comprehensive overview of drug and alcohol addiction treatment options available in your area. “Allergic and asthmatic reactions to alcoholic drinks.” Addiction Biology, June 9, 2006.
If you do drink, you should take special care of yourself to minimize any negative effects that alcohol might have on your lungs or your COPD symptoms. Drink only in moderation, eat a healthy diet, and drink extra water to prevent thickened mucus and dehydration. This can trigger sleep apnea or worsen pre-existing sleep apnea symptoms, which can make it difficult for your body to get enough oxygen while you sleep. This can cause hypoxemia (low blood oxygen levels) which, over time, can lead to a variety of severe and life-threatening health complications in people with COPD.
Drinking alcohol can also weaken your immune system, putting you at risk for infections, which are dangerous if you have COPD. If you have COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), what you drink can affect your breathing. Over a long period of time, heavy alcohol use can cause permanent damage to the kidneys, including kidney enlargement and dysfunction in the balance of hormones that regulate kidney function. Small amounts of alcohol are not enough to cause any permanent damage to your liver, but when you drink too much at once, the liver gets overloaded with metabolites and becomes inflamed.
If you or someone close to you is unable to cut back or stop drinking, Vertava Health offer treatment for people with co-occurring health conditions like alcoholism and COPD. Those who are struggling with heavy alcohol use may need to consider professional treatment. Alcohol use disorder, or alcohol addiction, is treated with medication, therapy, and peer support.
- As a result, your sleep quality is lower and you have an increased risk of waking up and not being able to sleep in the morning.
- Never downplay the potential harm that alcohol can cause when you have COPD.
- And if we’re already smokers and consume alcohol, our COPD flare ups will only be worse.
- Alcohol can also lessen the effectiveness of certain COPD medications, such as glucocorticoids and antibiotics.
- Those who suffer from COPD are also at an increased risk for social isolation, depression, and other mental health conditions.
Regular or chronic drinking can also damage your mucociliary transport system, which is constantly working to clear mucous and other contaminants out of your airways. Alcohol may also interfere with the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents in the airway and the body’s natural immune response. Researchers have found that heavy drinking reduces levels of an antioxidant in the body called glutathione. This antioxidant helps protect the lungs from damage caused by inhaled toxins such as tobacco smoke.