While drinking alcohol in moderation (one or two drinks every once in a while), probably won’t harm your body, excessive alcohol consumption can have negative effects on your physical and mental health. It can also do serious damage to your organs, including your kidneys.
About Your Kidneys
In order to understand the effects of alcohol on kidney health, you need to understand what purpose kidneys serve in the body. The primary function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess fluid from the body. Kidneys are responsible for maintaining a healthy balance of water and electrolytes in the body. 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.
How Much Alcohol is Too Much?
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.
It is not safe for everyone to drink, even in moderation. Talk to your healthcare provider to determine if it is safe for you to drink alcohol.
How Drinking Alcohol Affects Your Kidneys
Kidneys act to filter out harmful substances, including alcohol, from your blood. Alcohol consumption causes your kidneys to be less efficient at filtering your blood. In addition, the dehydrating effects of alcohol impact your kidneys’ ability to maintain the optimal amount of water in your body. This can have negative effects on all of the cells and organs in the body.
While experts aren’t sure if there is a link between excessive alcohol use and kidney stones, we do know that alcohol causes dehydration, which is a risk factor for developing kidney stones. Similarly, we don’t know if there is a link between heavy drinking and the kidney pain that some people associate with it, but it could also be attributed to dehydration.
In some cases, binge drinking can lead to acute kidney failure. Acute kidney failure is characterized by a sudden drop in kidney function, which usually goes away over time, but can sometimes lead to permanent kidney damage.
What Long-Term Effects Does Alcohol Have on the Kidneys?
Excessive drinking can have serious long-term effects on your health. People who drink too much often have high blood pressure. According to the National Kidney Foundation, consuming more than two alcoholic drinks per day increases your risk of high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a common cause of chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease, or CKD, is a condition where your kidneys are damaged so that they cannot filter blood properly.
Excessive alcohol use can also cause liver disease, which in turn puts more stress on the kidneys. For this reason, chronic alcohol use can lead to both liver and kidney disease.
How Long Do You Have to Drink Alcohol to Damage Your Kidneys?
Acute kidney failure or acute kidney injury is rare but it can occur with binge drinking, and usually can be corrected. Permanent damage to your kidneys happens with regular heavy drinking over time. The amount of time that it takes for kidneys to become damaged depends on genetics, the amount of alcohol consumed, and many other factors.
Can Kidneys Recover From Alcohol Damage?
If it is caught early, acute kidney injury can usually heal over time. Sometimes, however, damage to your kidneys is irreversible. Kidney disease can often be managed with medication and diet. If you have kidney disease that leads to kidney failure, you will need regular dialysis or a kidney transplant.
If you or a loved one are concerned about your alcohol consumption, you may be suffering fromalcohol use disorder. At Caron, we offer individualized, comprehensive treatment programs that are designed to help those struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. ContactCaron today to learn more.
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs that filter out waste from your blood. The kidneys also maintain the proper balance of fluid and electrolytes in the body.
Though scientists agree that alcohol can play a role in the development of certain types of cancer, kidney cancer isn’t one of them.
However, alcohol consumption can have negative effects on the body and should generally be avoided if you want to keep your kidneys healthy. Kidney disease can also have an indirect link to alcohol consumption.
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with kidney cancer, your doctor may suggest certain lifestyle changes as part of your treatment plan. This may include avoiding alcohol. Excess alcohol can have harmful effects on the kidneys or worsen the side effects of your cancer treatment.
Having an occasional glass of alcohol may not cause any harmful effects if your kidney functions regularly. Still, you should talk with your doctor about the safety and impact of drinking alcohol if you already have kidney disease or kidney cancer.
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), there is a widesperad agreement among scientists that alcohol can cause several types of cancer, like head and neck cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, and breast cancer.
However, 2012 research shows that alcohol consumption is actually associated with a lower risk of developing kidney cancer. While this might suggest a potential benefit of drinking alcohol, the NCI stresses that any potential benefits are likely outweighed by the harms of alcohol consumption.
Drinking alcohol often can cause kidney damage over time. According to the National Kidney Foundation, regular heavy drinking may double your risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), a condition that isn’t curable.
The risk of developing CKD from heavy drinking also increases if you smoke. Smoking is also one of the most common risk factors for kidney cancer.
Binge drinking, defined as having four or more drinks at a time, may result in a serious condition known as acute kidney injury. This occurs when the toxins from alcohol build up in your blood quickly and your kidneys are not able to maintain the right fluid balance.
The function of the kidneys in the body is to filter harmful substances out of the body. Alcohol is considered one of those harmful substances. While alcohol is mainly metabolized by the liver, some of these substances are released through the kidneys.
So, if you drink alcohol, especially often, the kidneys must work harder to return your blood to its usual state.
What are the first signs of kidney damage from alcohol?
Over time, alcohol can damage the kidneys, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
At first, you might not have any symptoms of kidney damage from regular alcohol consumption. As the kidneys become overworked from heavy alcohol consumption, they will be less able to filter blood and maintain the correct water balance in the body.
As a result, you may experience the following symptoms:
What are the long-term effects of alcohol on the kidneys?
Alcohol is also known to dehydrate the body, which can affect the regular function of the kidneys. People who drink too much are also more likely to have high blood pressure. Over time, this can cause damage to your kidneys and result in CKD.
Heavy drinking can also cause liver disease, which also makes your kidneys work harder. Kidney disease may be complicated by liver disease.
Once CKD develops, it can impact nearly every part of the body. If you have CKD, you may eventually require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
If you’re currently taking medications for kidney cancer or are having surgery to remove a kidney (nephrectomy), talk with your doctor about how much alcohol is safe to have during treatment.
You should also talk with your doctor if you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms:
Acute kidney damage caused by binge drinking will typically resolve within a few days. The damage can usually be reversed if you stop drinking and allow your kidneys to recover, but it can sometimes cause irreversible damage to the kidneys.
Regular heavy drinking can eventually cause CKD, which can lead to kidney failure. There’s no cure for CKD, but treatment can help relieve symptoms and keep it from getting worse.
Once you have kidney failure, you may require a kidney transplant. Heavy drinking makes it more difficult for you to qualify for a kidney transplant.
If you feel a sharp stabbing pain or a dull ache in your back under the ribcage when you drink alcohol, it’s possible that it’s your kidneys or a kidney stone. It also might be due to an anatomical issue, like a ureteropelvic junction obstruction. Both conditions would need to be evaluated and treated by your doctor.
Alcohol may also indirectly increase your risk of developing a UTI, which can cause kidney or abdominal pain.
Can I still have an occasional drink if I have kidney cancer?
Alcohol can worsen the side effects of chemotherapy and other cancer treatments, such as nausea, dehydration, diarrhea, and mouth sores.
An occasional drink might be okay, but you should talk with your doctor about drinking alcohol if you’re undergoing treatment for kidney cancer.
Is it possible for alcohol to reduce the risk of kidney cancer?
Alcohol increases your risk of many types of cancer, including breast, liver, mouth, and colon. However, 2012 research suggests your risk of developing kidney cancer may be lower if you consume alcohol.
It’s unclear why this might occur, but experts warn that the risks of drinking alcohol don’t outweigh this potential benefit.
How much alcohol can I safely drink?
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. If you’ve already been diagnosed with cancer, drinking alcohol could also affect your risk of developing a new cancer.
If you do choose to drink alcohol, limit your intake to no more than one to two drinks per day. A drink in this instance is equivalent to a 5 oz glass of wine, 12 oz beer, or a single shot (1.5 oz) of 80-proof hard liquor.
Cancer experts strongly recommend not drinking alcohol at all due to its potentially harmful effects on the body. Alcohol is known to increase your risk for several different types of cancer and cause kidney damage over time.
If you have kidney cancer, it’s best to talk with your doctor about moderate drinking. Your doctor can give you advice about whether it is safe to consume alcohol while undergoing cancer treatment.