The kidneys play a very crucial part in keeping our body free from unwanted, noxious wastes by filtering them via urine. Alcohol is one such undesirable substance. Alcohol provides our body with no nutrition and what’s more, it dehydrates the tissues and builds up calories.
If you consume excessive amounts of alcohol, it can impair your kidney function significantly, thus causing pain.
One drink is approximately 5 ounces wine, 12 ounces beer, or 1.5 ounces hard liquor. If you have more than 3 drinks in a day (or more than 7 per week) for women, and more than 4 drinks in a day (or more than 14 per week) for men, it is termed heavy drinking.
What Causes Kidney Pain After Drinking Alcohol?
- It is the job of the kidneys to filter out the waste materials, as well as to ensure that the body is well hydrated. The kidneys can deal with alcohol in limited quantities, maybe a drink or two intermittently; however, when the level of alcohol in your blood is too high, your kidneys need to work harder than usual to sluice it out, and this eventually triggers dehydration.Dehydration affects the functioning of the kidneys as well as the other organs and cells in your body.
- The anti-diuretic hormone governs the amount of that is excreted in the urine, and helps strike a balance between the amount of water released and absorbed by the body. Alcohol suppresses the release of ADH into the blood, thus setting off dehydration, and causing impairment in the kidney function, which produces discomfort and pain.
- The kidneys produce more urine to flush out the alcohol; and this formation of large quantities of urine adversely affects the renal pelvis and causes pain.
- Alcohol-induced dehydration is responsible for the occurrence of kidney stones. This is another vital cause for kidney pain.
- Excessive amount of alcohol consumed habitually is known to cause liver disorders, which, in turn, affects kidney function. Liver impairment changes the rate of blood flow to the kidneys, which needs to be balanced to filter the blood efficaciously. Those who have a liver disease experience pain when they consume alcohol.
How To Stop Kidney Pain After Drinking Alcohol?
The pain is a signal from your body, telling you that you have crossed the limit, and that you have consumed too much of alcohol. If you experience kidney pain after drinking alcohol, you need to abstain from drinking. You also need help from professionals. It is advisable to seek counseling from groups such as the Alcoholics Anonymous; it will help you manage the addiction well.
For those who are heavy drinkers but not yet alcoholics, reduce the consumption significantly, or do away with, drinking alcohol altogether. Staying well hydrated is very essential to revitalize the body from the dehydrating effects of alcohol abuse. Ensure that you drink up to 3 liters of water daily; it’ll expedite the healing.
What’s more, it is not necessary that you have to be an alcoholic or a binge drinker to experience kidney pain. There are several instances where occasional drinkers are also affected by kidney discomfort.