Kidney pain after drinking alcohol: Causes and complications

In 2018, the World Health Organization estimated that nearly 50% of deaths attributed to cirrhosis of the liver were alcohol related. Alcoholic liver disease has become the most common cause of liver transplants in the United States. At Serenity Lane, we offer medically supervised detox for alcohol use. We are happy to assist you in having a safe and healthy experience removing alcohol from your body and beginning your pathway toward recovery.

Both acute and chronic alcohol consumption can compromise kidney function, particularly in conjunction with established liver disease. Investigators have observed alcohol-related changes in the structure and function of the kidneys and impairment in their ability to regulate the volume and composition of fluid and electrolytes in the body. Chronic alcoholic patients may experience low blood concentrations of key electrolytes as well as potentially severe alterations in the body’s acid-base balance. In addition, alcohol can disrupt the hormonal control mechanisms that govern kidney function. By promoting liver disease, chronic drinking has further detrimental effects on the kidneys, including impaired sodium and fluid handling and even acute kidney failure.

Preventing Kidney Damage and Disease

The Recovery Village Ridgefield is a premier alcohol treatment center in Washington State, conveniently located close to the cities of Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington and Tacoma, Washington. We want to use this opportunity to educate our patients about the kidneys are how influential they are to our health. While most people may think about damaging their livers when consuming an alcoholic beverage, the kidneys actually play an important role too. Though some may be more prone to kidney failure and disease than others, there are still measures you can take to ensure healthy kidney functioning. Though this page is geared towards chronic heavy drinkers, it should be noted that even low chronic doses of alcohol can change and harm the kidneys. Since the kidneys are such vital organs, that harm often spreads to other organs.

• Your kidneys also control the production of red blood cells, produce vitamin D, release hormones to regulate blood pressure, and remove drugs from the body.
• For women who are age 21 and over, drinking in moderation means consuming up to one drink per day and up to two drinks per day for men.
• While a drink or two on occasion is not going to be problematic, binge drinking and excessive, chronic drinking is likely to wreak havoc on the kidneys.
• However, if drinking persists, the kidneys will begin to accrue damage over time.
• Though kidney disease is not a direct outcome from drinking, alcohol will exacerbate any problems in the renal system.

But every time a person consumes alcohol, he or she is putting our kidneys, liver, pancreas, and other parts of the body in jeopardy. Your liver is an essential organ to your body and produces hundreds of vital functions every day, including bile production, excretion of cholesterol and hormones and enzyme activation. In 2018, NIH states that of the 83,517 liver disease deaths among individuals 12 and older, 47.8% involved the use of alcohol. Alcohol can have serious, life-threatening health consequences for the liver, where alcohol is filtered and broken down in the body. Your kidneys are a pair of organs that perform many essential bodily functions and are responsible for the regulation of pH, the production of hormones and the excretion of wastes and toxins, such as alcohol.

Alcohol and Kidney Disease

Two other studies that examined the link between alcohol use and kidney health showed an increased risk of kidney dysfunction and kidney failure. Excessive alcohol use can also lead to high blood pressure, which can increase your risk of developing kidney disease. After you drink an alcoholic beverage, your body experiences an acute spike in blood pressure for up to two hours. Over time, alcohol use can lead to a sustained rise in blood pressure. The American Cancer Society suggests that no one should drink alcohol due to its harmful effects on the body and its potential to increase your risk of cancer.

Promote healthy kidney function and blood pressure by limiting the amount of alcohol you consume. The liver plays a role in maintaining blood flow to the kidneys, and alcohol-related liver problems can further impact kidney health. Moderate drinking is defined as one alcoholic beverage per day for women and two per day for men, and is generally considered safe for most healthy adults. Heavy drinking is more than three drinks per day (or seven per week) for women, and more than four drinks per day (or 14 per week) for men. Binge drinking is drinking more than four or five drinks at one time.

A New Benefit for Drinking in Moderation?

Under the influence of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), for example, the tubules can create either a concentrated urine, to discharge excess solutes and conserve water, or a dilute urine, to remove extra water from body fluids. In the absence of ADH, when body fluids are overly dilute, the kidneys dilute the urine, allowing more water to leave the body. “Normal” urine flow rate is 1 milliliter per minute (i.e., approximately 1 to 1.5 L/day), but this rate https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-alcohol-affects-your-kidneys/ can vary widely, depending on water intake or dehydration level, for instance. They remove all sorts of toxins and waste, including drugs from blood vessels and then send the waste off to be concentrated into urine. They also function to balance the body’s fluids, produce Vitamin D, and use hormones to maintain your blood pressure. According to the Mayo Clinic, acute (sudden) kidney failure can be fatal (deadly) and requires intensive treatment.

For example, a person with a UTI that spreads to the kidneys can develop sepsis, a dangerous infection of the blood. A person may feel intense back pain or pain in their genitals or stomach as the body attempts to pass the stone. If the body does not pass the stone, a person can develop a severe infection or blockage.

Can I still have an occasional drink if I have kidney cancer?

Alkalosis was present in 71 percent of patients with established liver disease in 11 studies, and respiratory alkalosis was the most common disturbance in 7 of the studies (Oster and Perez 1996). If an acute alcoholic binge induces extensive vomiting, potentially severe alkalosis may result from losses of fluid, salt, and stomach acid. The few studies focusing on alcohol’s direct effects on perfusion in human kidneys suggest that regulatory mechanisms retain control over this component of kidney function despite alcohol consumption. Even at high blood alcohol levels, only minor fluctuations were found in the rates of plasma flow and filtration through the kidneys (Rubini et al. 1955). Additional studies are needed to confirm these observations, however.