If you feel severe stomach pain after just one sip of alcohol, then alarm bells should be ringing. Find out here what health problems could be at the root of this.
For most people, alcohol initially makes itself felt as a warm, cozy feeling – and the next morning as a hangover if you’ve had too much to drink.
However, if alcohol causes severe stomach pain soon after consumption, it could be due to a serious inflammation in the abdomen.
Many people quickly feel sick after drinking too much alcohol. This is because alcohol stimulates the production of stomach acid, which can attack the stomach lining. Heartburn and nausea after drinking alcohol are therefore relatively normal.
However, they should not occur too frequently, as this could lead to inflammation.
The stomach is surrounded by a mucous membrane that protects it. If this is severely irritated, it can become inflamed and cause severe pain in the upper abdomen.
Alcohol is one of the factors that can seriously irritate the mucous membrane. It causes more stomach acid to be produced – and too much stomach acid attacks the stomach lining. The more often the stomach lining is attacked by too much alcohol, the higher the risk of gastritis.
But not only alcohol, but also nicotine, stress and certain painkillers (e.g. ibuprofen or diclofenac) can attack the stomach lining. Inflammation of the stomach lining, also known as gastritis, is noticeable not only through pain but also through a feeling of fullness, heartburn, flatulence, (bloody) vomiting and loss of appetite.
In most cases, the inflammation subsides once the irritating substances are removed. However, if the symptoms do not subside, you should definitely have the pain checked by a doctor. Otherwise, you risk the gastritis becoming chronic. Stomach ulcers can then occur, which are very painful and have to be surgically removed.
The pancreas is located between the stomach and the back abdominal wall. Hardly anyone pays much attention to it, even though it is the second largest gland after the liver.
The pancreas is particularly sensitive to high alcohol and nicotine consumption. If you drink too much alcohol, it can become inflamed, which leads to a condition known as pancreatitis.
Sudden, severe pain in the upper abdomen is a possible sign of pancreatitis. The pain can extend to the back. Nausea, vomiting, fever, circulatory problems and heart palpitations can also occur.
If you suspect inflammation of the pancreas, you should definitely have it checked out by a doctor. Like gastritis, the inflammation can heal on its own – but it can also lead to high fluid loss and bacterial infections, which may require clinical treatment.
Those who only drink one glass too many every now and then usually have less to worry about their stomach lining or pancreas.
Things become critical when you regularly consume a lot of alcohol and nicotine. Then there is a risk of gastritis or pancreatitis.
As a rule of thumb, if alcohol consumption suddenly causes unusually severe stomach pain, you should definitely have it checked by a doctor.
The original of this article “Stomach pain after alcohol is an important warning signal from the body” comes from FitForFun.
