What changes will occur in the body within 72 hours after alcohol enters the body?

Experts in this article:

Wang Hao, Master's student at the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College

Hu Houxiang, Chief Physician, Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Professor, Doctor of Medicine, Master Supervisor

During the May Day holiday at home, some people choose to have a few drinks.

Alcohol can bring a moment of pleasure and relaxation when consumed, but drinking in moderation can make you happy, while drinking too much can harm your body.

Many people may have the first impression that drinking alcohol damages the liver. In fact, drinking alcohol not only damages the liver, but also causes great harm to brain tissue.

In addition, do you know what changes will happen to our body after alcohol enters the body? Take a look before drinking.

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01

0 seconds

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From the first sip of wine, a small amount of alcohol penetrates the oral epithelial cells and enters the blood, but most of it goes down the esophagus into the stomach.

02

5 minutes

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About 10-20% of the alcohol that enters the stomach penetrates the gastric mucosa and enters the blood circulation through the capillaries. The alcohol absorbed into the blood appears in the blood circulation in about 5 minutes.

03

6 minutes

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Armin Biller of Heidelberg University in Germany found in human experiments that the presence of alcohol can be detected in brain tissue within 6 minutes after drinking.

The alcohol concentration in most tissues of the human body is roughly the same as that in the blood, except for the liver and brain tissue, where the alcohol content is 10 times that in the blood.

04

10 minutes

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The alcohol that enters the stomach then enters the small intestine through the pylorus. Due to the absorption function of the small intestine itself and its larger surface area, about 80-90% of the alcohol is absorbed into the blood in the small intestine.

05

30-60 minutes

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At this time, the alcohol concentration in the blood reaches its peak, and the alcohol has circulated through the blood to various organs and tissues throughout the body.

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During this period, the large amount of alcohol that enters the blood first reaches the liver through the portal vein, where it is metabolized, while the alcohol that exceeds the metabolic capacity flows into the right heart with the blood.

Alcohol is ejected into the lungs through the contraction of the right heart, and about 5% of the alcohol will pass through the respiratory membrane and be excreted from the body through the respiratory tract. At this time, the alcohol is transferred from the venous blood channel into the fast lane arterial blood.

As the left heart pumps blood into the systemic circulation, the blood carrying alcohol quickly passes through the blood-brain barrier and flows into the brain, affecting brain function and making people unable to control themselves.

At the same time, about 5% of the alcohol that flows through the kidneys is filtered by the kidneys and excreted from the body with urine.

06

3 hours

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Alcohol that enters the gastrointestinal tract can be completely absorbed into the blood in about 3 hours.

07

12 hours

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Prior to this, a large amount of alcohol accumulates in the liver and is metabolized through the liver's three steps. Ethanol is converted into acetaldehyde by the action of alcohol dehydrogenase; acetaldehyde is converted into acetic acid by the action of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase; acetic acid, as an energy substance, is further oxidized into CO2 and H2O.

After about 12 hours, most of the alcohol in the body is metabolized and the blood alcohol concentration drops significantly.

08

24 hours

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At this time, the alcohol in the body of an average person is basically completely metabolized and converted into water and carbon dioxide. However, studies have shown that alcohol can still be detected in the blood, breath and urine of some people.

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09

72 hours

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Although alcohol can be detected in saliva after the first sip of alcohol, its presence can still be detected 3-5 days after drinking. Saliva testing can be used to assess blood alcohol content.

After alcohol enters the body through the mouth, it first goes from the stomach to the intestines, then into the blood through the capillaries, and then flows into the liver for metabolism. When the amount exceeds the metabolic capacity of the liver, it diffuses throughout the body, enters the heart, lungs, brain, kidneys and other tissues, causing corresponding lesions.

What harm does alcohol cause to the body?

Brain retardation

Alcohol quickly passes through the blood-brain barrier and enters the brain, affecting the nerve cells and conduction in the brain.

When the time is short and the alcohol concentration in the blood is low (<0.05%), alcohol causes the blood vessels in the brain to dilate and increase blood supply, making the drinker feel clear-headed, speak fluently, and be very excited.

As the alcohol concentration in the blood increases, ethanol is metabolized into acetaldehyde, which accumulates in the brain, interfering with the activity of neurotransmitters and nerve receptors, causing unsteady walking and slow reaction.

When the alcohol content in the blood continues to rise (> 0.3%), alcohol has already caused harm to the body, the body begins to feel tired, memory declines, and even amnesia occurs. Therefore, some people will "black out" after waking up after drinking.

Induces liver fibrosis

Investigations and studies have found that an average adult can clear about 7g of ethanol per hour, which is 9ml of 100% ethanol.

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Studies have shown that some people lack acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, which causes acetaldehyde to accumulate in the body after drinking, resulting in headaches, nausea, flushed face, palpitations and other discomforts. If a large amount of acetaldehyde accumulates in the body for a long time, it will stimulate liver cells to synthesize collagen fibers and cause liver fibrosis. In severe cases, liver fibrosis will develop into cirrhosis, which is life-threatening.

Gastrointestinal damage

The alcohol that enters the body and the secreted gastric acid will stimulate the pancreas to secrete a large amount of pancreatic juice. When the secreted pancreatic juice blocks the duct, it may induce acute pancreatitis.

Alcohol can also stimulate damage to the gastric mucosa, induce gastric acid secretion, produce a burning sensation in the stomach, and in severe cases even erode the gastric mucosa, leading to the occurrence of acute gastritis, gastric ulcers, gastric bleeding and other diseases.

Sex hormone imbalance

The metabolism of alcohol will change the balance of sex hormones. For example, alcohol can damage the testicles, inhibit the synthesis of male hormones, reduce the secretion of male hormones, and make your tadpoles weak and sickly and stagger.

Finally, a warm reminder: when drinking, don’t drink too much!

I wish you all a happy May Day holiday!

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