Alcohol, the Immune System, and COVID-19

Examples consist of specific tumors, as well as pneumonia, and other respiratory issues. Additionally, it may result in post-operative problems and a slow recovery from wounds like fractured bones. Infections that you may not typically be at risk for can start to pop up and alcohol-induced inflammation can also occur.

Socially, a person with an addiction to alcohol will likely be very inconsistent. Unpredictable social interactions are a strong indicator of substance use disorders. 1 Individual factors in adults that can moderate the effect of alcohol consumption on immunity. Some of the ways alcohol affects our health are well known, but others may surprise you. Here are six less-known effects that alcohol has on your body, as well as how your liver breaks it down.

How Alcohol Affects the Immune System

When you are sick, taking elderberry supplements may reduce the duration of your illness. It has also been proven that taking a zinc supplement in the first few days of noticing cold symptoms can reduce the length of the common cold. This can cause increased production of acid as well as limit your ability to get rid of bacteria.

These bacteria are necessary for optimal health, and their presence helps prevent harmful bacteria from having the space needed to grow. By disrupting this microbiome, alcohol makes infection more likely to occur. Mark Hutchinson of the University of Adelaide in South Australia says that the results tally with post-mortem data showing that chronic drinkers have less immune chemicals in their blood than normal. Szabo says heavy drinkers should beware of damaging their immune systems. Next, she hopes to see if alcohol makes flu vaccinations less effective.

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When you drink, alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream and quickly travels throughout your body. That’s because alcohol triggers the release of endorphins, or “feel good” chemicals, in the brain’s reward centers. Alcohol also is toxic to a developing brain during pregnancy and can cause congenital disabilities, does alcohol weaken your immune system including developmental disorders. According to the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, even a day of drinking or a single drink can suppress the immune system for the next 24 hours. Even if you have failed previously, relapsed, or are in a difficult crisis, we stand ready to support you.

The Recovery Village at Baptist Health helps people recover from alcohol addiction with evidence-based treatment and compassionate care. Reach out to our team to learn more about addiction treatment options that can help you on the path to recovery. “We’re dealing with brain immune cells, which appear to respond to alcohol differently from blood immune cells,” says Hutchinson. Another way in which alcohol lowers your immunity is by promoting widespread inflammation throughout the body. Normally, the gut microbiome – a collection of “good bacteria” that live in your intestines – keeps inflammation at bay. When you drink too much alcohol, however, those bacteria are destroyed, allowing molecules called inflammatory cytokines to spread.

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Within the GI tract, alcohol exposure can also alter the number and abundance of microorganisms present within the microbiome, all of which play an important role in normal GI function. In addition to its adverse effects on GI functioning, the impact of alcohol on the GI microbiome can also alter the maturation and functions of the immune system. https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-to-write-a-goodbye-letter-to-addiction/ The adaptive immune system can be further subdivided into cell-mediated immunity and humoral immunity. Whereas T-cells are primarily involved with cell-mediated immunity, B-cells play a major role in humoral immunity. This can reduce the effectiveness of later cancer treatments if the immune system is not operating at its full potential.