“Ordinarily, this very painful stage of bursitis begins to recede in four or five days, although it may take longer. When the pain is no longer acute, therapy must be radically changed. At this point, it becomes essential to return full, normal movement to the joint. Naturally, this should be done slowly and cautiously.”

NATURAL PEDIA Nature of the world.  Naturally. (naturalpedia.com)

How a MD diagnoses Bursitis:

1 – Doctors can often diagnose bursitis based on a medical history and physical exam but if further testing needed the M.D. will do the following:

2 – Imaging tests. X-ray images can’t positively establish the diagnosis of bursitis, but they can help to exclude other causes of your discomfort. Ultrasound or MRI may be used if your bursitis can’t easily be diagnosed by a physical exam alone.

3 – Lab tests. Your doctor may perform blood tests or an analysis of fluid from the inflamed bursa to pinpoint the cause of your joint inflammation and pain.

Treatment for Bursitis:

Bursitis treatment usually involves conservative measures, such as rest, ice and taking a pain reliever. If conservative measures don’t work, treatment may include:

• Medication. If the inflammation in your bursa is caused by an infection, your doctor might prescribe an antibiotic.
• Therapy. Your doctor may recommend physical therapy or exercises to strengthen the muscles in the affected area to ease pain and prevent recurrence.  When cleared by PT or OT it is up to you to continue those exercises the rest of your life unless your MD tells you otherwise.
• Injections. Your doctor may inject a corticosteroid drug into the bursa to relieve inflammation in your shoulder or hip. This treatment generally brings rapid pain relief and, in many cases, one injection is all you need.  It cause anti inflammatory effects to the area.
• Assistive device. Temporary use of a walking cane or other device will help relieve pressure on the affected area.
• Surgery. Sometimes an inflamed bursa must be surgically drained, but only rarely is surgical removal of the affected bursa ever needed and if told necessary by the MD a second opinion never hurts even though it is time consuming and that is up to you.

Measures you can take to alleviate the pain of bursitis:

• Rest and immobilize the affected area
• Apply ice to reduce swelling
• Take an over-the-counter medication, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve, others), to relieve pain and reduce inflammation
• Cushion your knees if you sleep on your side by placing a small pillow between your legs
• Avoid elbow pressure by not leaning or placing your weight on your elbows to rise from a lying position or if taking long drives and leaning on the Right elbow or Left elbow on the door or console.

Measures you can do to prevent Bursitis:

While not all types of bursitis can be prevented, you can reduce your risk and the severity of flare-ups by changing cushioning your areas of where bursitis can take place:

• Using kneeling pads. Use some type of padding to reduce the pressure on your knees if your job or hobby requires a lot of kneeling.
• Lifting properly. Bend your knees when you lift. Failing to do so puts extra stress on the bursae in your hips.
• Wheeling heavy loads. Carrying heavy loads puts stress on the bursae in your shoulders. Use a dolly or a wheeled cart instead.
• Taking frequent breaks. Alternate repetitive tasks with rest or other activities.
• Walking around. Try not to sit in one position too long, especially on hard surfaces, because that puts pressure on the bursae in your hips and buttocks.
• Maintaining a healthy weight. Being overweight places more stress on your joints.
• Exercising. Strengthening your muscles can help protect your affected joint.
• Warming up and stretching before strenuous activities to protect your joints from injury.

Revised 4/02/24 by Elizabeth Lynch RN BSN

“Bursitis is inflammation or irritation of a bursa sac. You have these sacs all over your body. They’re filled with fluid that helps ease rubbing and friction between tissues like bone, muscle, tendons, and skin. Bursitis is common around major joints like your shoulder, elbow, hip, or knee.”

WebMD

Common areas you experience the diagnosis:

Shoulder bursae

Elbow bursae

Hip  & Back bursae

Knee Bursae

What bursitis is?

Bursitis (bur-SY-tis) is a painful condition that affects the small, fluid-filled sacs — called bursae (bur-SEE) — that cushion the bones, tendons and muscles near your joints. Bursitis occurs when bursae become inflamed.

The most common locations for bursitis:

1 – The shoulder 2 – The elbow  and 3 – The hip.

4 – But know you can also have bursitis by your knee, heel and the base of your big toe. Bursitis often occurs near joints that perform frequent repetitive motion.

The signs and symptoms of bursitis:

1 – Feel achy or stiff

2 – Hurt more when you move it or press on it

3 – The site affected looks swollen and red

When to see a Doctor:

Consult your doctor if you have:

• Disabling joint pain
• Pain for more than one to two weeks
• Excessive swelling, redness, bruising or a rash in the affected area
• Sharp or shooting pain, especially when you exercise or exert yourself
• A fever going to a systemic infection from localized where the bursitis is probably.

The most common causes of bursitis:

1 – The causes are repetitive motions or positions that irritate the bursae around a joint.

Examples include:

• Throwing a baseball or lifting something over your head repeatedly
• Leaning on your elbows for long periods
• Extensive kneeling for tasks such as laying carpet or scrubbing floors
• Prolonged sitting, particularly on hard surfaces

2 – Injury or trauma to the affected area

3 – Inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout, and even infection.

Anyone can develop bursitis, but certain factors may increase your risk.

Risk Factors for bursitis:

1 – Age. The occurrence of bursitis becomes more common with aging.  Why the more wear and tear to the area and repetitively injuring or trauma or inflammation for what ever reason to the site.  Just like a car more the more wear and tear to the car the more work needs to be done to it.

2 – Occupations or hobbies.  

If your work or hobby requires repetitive motion or pressures on particular bursae, your risk of developing burisitis increases (take baseball especially a pitcher for 10 plus years playing as opposed to one year playing again there is more wear and tear to the older pitcher so higher potential for the older pitcher to get bursitis but not in all cases.  Today for some pitchers they throw 100 mph or more which you see at times the young one injured before as opposed to the older one throwing only at 80 mph or less more often depending on the player.  Look how many times in a year a pitcher is thrown out for the season due to an injury to the arm or shoulder for that reason.

Examples in your job could also include carpet laying, tile setting, gardening, painting and even playing a certain instrument for types of bands or orchestras.

Examples of hobbies that could cause bursitis is sports like baseball and certain instruments already mentioned especially for how many times you play it a year and how repetitive in how much time a session or game.  Other hobbies could computer playing doing long time sitting to the hip or typing with the elbows leaning, etc…

So be more mindful of repetitive motions you may do at work or out of work.

3 – Other medical conditions.  Certain systemic diseases and conditions — such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout and diabetes — increase your risk of developing bursitis.

Revised 4/02/24 by Elizabeth Lynch RN BSN

“The less alcohol you drink, the lower your risk for cancer. Some studies show that drinking three or more alcoholic drinks per day increases the risk of stomach and pancreatic cancers. There is also evidence that drinking alcohol increases the risk for prostate cancer. All alcoholic drinks, including red and white wine, beer, and liquor, are linked with cancer. The more you drink, the higher your cancer risk.  In 2020 to 2025 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal drinking age to choose not to drink or drink in moderation = 2 drinks or less a day for men and a drink or less in women a day.  If you don’t drink than don’t start drinking.  Don’t drink if you are under 21, pregnant, with a medical condition or health problem that could worsen from drinking, driving, on medications without checking with your MD, and a recovering alcoholic.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/alcohol/index.htm)

Complications:

Alcohol depresses your central nervous system. In some people, the initial reaction may be stimulation. But as you continue to drink, you become sedated.

Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain. A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma or death. This is of particular concern when you’re taking certain medications that also depress the brain’s function

Impacts on your safety:

Excessive drinking can reduce your judgment skills and lower inhibitions, leading to poor choices and dangerous situations or behaviors, including:

• Motor vehicle accidents and other types of accidental injury, such as drowning
• Relationship problems
• Poor performance at work or school
• Increased likelihood of committing violent crimes or being the victim of a crime
• Legal problems or problems with employment or finances
• Problems with other substance use
• Engaging in risky, unprotected sex, or becoming the victim of sexual abuse or date rape
• Increased risk of attempted or completed suicide

Drinking too much alcohol on a single occasion or over time impacts health problems:

• Liver disease. Heavy drinking can cause increased fat in the liver (hepatic steatosis), inflammation of the liver (alcoholic hepatitis), and over time, irreversible destruction and scarring of liver tissue (cirrhosis).
• Digestive problems. Heavy drinking can result in inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis), as well as stomach and esophageal ulcers. It also can interfere with absorption of B vitamins and other nutrients. Heavy drinking can damage your pancreas or lead to inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).
• Heart problems. Excessive drinking can lead to high blood pressure and increases your risk of an enlarged heart, heart failure or stroke. Even a single binge can cause a serious heart arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation.
• Diabetes complications. Alcohol interferes with the release of glucose from your liver and can increase the risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). This is dangerous if you have diabetes and are already taking insulin to lower your blood sugar level.
• Sexual function and menstruation issues. Excessive drinking can cause erectile dysfunction in men. In women, it can interrupt menstruation.
• Eye problems. Over time, heavy drinking can cause involuntary rapid eye movement (nystagmus) as well as weakness and paralysis of your eye muscles due to a deficiency of vitamin B-1 (thiamine). A thiamine deficiency also can be associated with other brain changes, such as irreversible dementia, if not promptly treated.
• Birth defects. Alcohol use during pregnancy may cause miscarriage. It also may cause fetal alcohol syndrome, resulting in giving birth to a child who has physical and developmental problems that last a lifetime.
• Bone damage. Alcohol may interfere with the production of new bone. This bone loss can lead to thinning bones (osteoporosis) and an increased risk of fractures. Alcohol can also damage bone marrow, which makes blood cells. This can cause a low platelet count, which may result in bruising and bleeding.
• Neurological complications. Excessive drinking can affect your nervous system, causing numbness and pain in your hands and feet, disordered thinking, dementia, and short-term memory loss.
• Weakened immune system. Excessive alcohol use can make it harder for your body to resist disease, increasing your risk of various illnesses, especially pneumonia.
• Increased risk of cancer. Long-term excessive alcohol use has been linked to a higher risk of many cancers, including mouth, throat, liver, colon and breast cancer. Even moderate drinking can increase the risk of breast cancer.
• Medication and alcohol interactions. Some medications interact with alcohol, increasing its toxic effects. Drinking while taking these medications can either increase or decrease their effectiveness, or make them dangerous.What to expect to report to your doctor.Before your appointment, make a list of: Consider your drinking habits, taking an honest look at how often and how much you drink. Be prepared to discuss any problems that alcohol may be causing. You may want to take a family member or friend along, if possible. If you want to stop drinking, there is help. Start by talking to your health care provider. Treatment may include medicines, counseling, and support groups.

Alcohol can damages our cells and this can stop cells repairing damage.  Alcohol effects chemical signals which can make cells more likely to divide this in turn increases the chance of cancer to develop.  Alcohol makes it easier for cell in our mouth and throat to absorb cancer causing chemicals.

There are many ways that alcohol can cause cancer. Some of the main ways are:

• Damage to cells. When we drink alcohol, our bodies turn it into a chemical, called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde can damage our cells and can also stop cells from repairing this damage.
• Changes to hormones. Alcohol can increase the levels of some hormones in our bodies such as oestrogen and insulin. Hormones are chemical messengers, and higher levels of oestrogen and insulin can make cells divide more often. This increases the chance that cancer will develop.
• Changes to cells in the mouth and throat. Alcohol can make it easier for cells in the mouth and throat to absorb harmful chemicals that cause damage.

Remember, it’s the alcohol itself that damages your body, even small amounts. It doesn’t matter whether you drink beer, wine or spirits. All types of alcohol can cause cancer.

There’s plenty of tricks that people claim ‘cure’ hangovers. But even if they work for your hangover, they don’t reverse the damage caused from drinking alcohol.

What types of cancer does alcohol cause?

Drinking alcohol causes 7 different types of cancer. This includes:

• Breast cancer and bowel cancer (two of the most common types)
• Mouth cancer
• Some types of throat cancer: oesophagus (food pipe), larynx (voice box) and pharynx (upper throat)
• Liver cancer
• Colon and Rectum

Treatments for alcoholism disorder may include:

• First know treatment for alcohol use disorder can vary, depending on your needs. Treatment may involve a brief intervention, individual or group counseling, an outpatient program, or a residential inpatient stay. Working to stop the use of alcohol to improve quality of life is the main treatment goal.Detox and withdrawal. Treatment may begin with a program of detoxification or detox — withdrawal that’s medically managed — which generally takes two to seven days. You may need to take sedating medications to prevent withdrawal symptoms. Detox is usually done at an inpatient treatment center or a hospital.  Learning skills and establishing a treatment plan. This usually involves alcohol treatment specialists. It may include goal setting, behavior change techniques, use of self-help manuals, counseling and follow-up care at a treatment center.
• Psychological counseling. Counseling and therapy for groups and individuals help you better understand your problem with alcohol and support recovery from the psychological aspects of alcohol use. You may benefit from couples or family therapy — family support can be an important part of the recovery process.
• Oral medications. A drug called disulfiram (Antabuse) may help to prevent you from drinking, although it won’t cure alcohol use disorder or remove the compulsion to drink. If you drink alcohol, the drug produces a physical reaction that may include flushing, nausea, vomiting and headaches. Naltrexone (Revia), a drug that blocks the good feelings alcohol causes, may prevent heavy drinking and reduce the urge to drink. Acamprosate (Campral) may help you combat alcohol cravings once you stop drinking. Unlike disulfiram, naltrexone and acamprosate don’t make you feel sick after taking a drink.
• Injected medication. Vivitrol, a version of the drug naltrexone, is injected once a month by a health care professional. Although similar medication can be taken in pill form, the injectable version of the drug may be easier for people recovering from alcohol use disorder to use consistently.
• Continuing support. Aftercare programs and support groups help people recovering from alcohol use disorder to stop drinking, manage relapses and cope with necessary lifestyle changes. This may include medical or psychological care or attending a support group.
• Treatment for psychological problems. Alcohol use disorder commonly occurs along with other mental health disorders. If you have depression, anxiety or another mental health condition, you may need talk therapy (psychotherapy), medications or other treatment.
• Medical treatment for health conditions. Many alcohol-related health problems improve significantly once you stop drinking. But some health conditions may warrant continued treatment and follow-up.
• Spiritual practice. People who are involved with some type of regular spiritual practice may find it easier to maintain recovery from alcohol use disorder or other addictions. For many people, gaining greater insight into their spiritual side is a key element in recovery.
• Things you would let your doctor know in your original visit would include:   Any symptoms you’ve had, including any that may seem unrelated to your drinking.  Key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes.  All medications you might be taking, vitamins or other supplements that you’re taking, and their dose.

Article revised on April 1, 2024 Elizabeth Lynch RN

“According to the ARDI application, during 2020–2021, excessive alcohol use was responsible for about 178,000 deaths and 4 million years of potential life lost each year, on average. More than one third of these deaths and nearly half of the years of potential life lost were due to binge drinking.  Keeping in mind alcoholism effects our health over long time heavy drinking one aspect alone the B/P.  Drinking a lot of alcohol can affect the muscles in your blood vessels. This can cause them to become narrower. The more alcohol you drink, the higher the risk of developing hypertension. If you drink regularly you are at risk, especially if you’re over the age of 35.  High Blood Pressure can cause deaths or long term health problems.”

ARDI/CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Risk factors for alcohol use disorder include:

• Steady drinking over time. Drinking too much on a regular basis for an extended period or binge drinking on a regular basis can lead to alcohol-related problems or alcohol use disorder.
• People who begin drinking at an early age, and especially in a binge fashion, are at a higher risk of alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use may begin in the teens, but alcohol use disorder occurs more frequently in the 20s and 30s. However, it can begin at any age.
• Family history. The risk of alcohol use disorder is higher for people who have a parent or other close relative who has problems with alcohol. This may be influenced by genetic factors.
• Depression and other mental health problems. It’s common for people with a mental health disorder such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder to have problems with alcohol or other substances.
• Social and cultural factors. Having friends or a close partner who drinks regularly could increase your risk of alcohol use disorder. The glamorous way that drinking is sometimes portrayed in the media also may send the message that it’s OK to drink too much. For young people, the influence of parents, peers and other role models can impact risk.

Alcohol intoxication results as the amount of alcohol in your blood stream increases. The higher the blood alcohol concentration is, the more impaired you become. Alcohol intoxication causes behavior problems and mental changes. These may include inappropriate behavior, unstable moods, impaired judgment, slurred speech, impaired attention or memory, and poor coordination. You can also have periods called “blackouts,” where you don’t remember events. Very high blood alcohol levels can lead to coma or even death.

Alcohol withdrawal can occur when alcohol use has been heavy and prolonged and is then stopped or greatly reduced. It can occur within several hours to four or five days later. Symptoms include sweating, rapid heartbeat, hand tremors, problems sleeping, nausea and vomiting, hallucinations, restlessness and agitation, anxiety, and occasionally seizures. Symptoms can be severe enough to impair your ability to function at work or in social situations.

Are you wondering if you drinking is on the high side or it crossed a line into a problem?  It may be time to make some changes and its never too LATE!

What could be telling you that your having a problem with drinking? Well if you are asking yourself any of the listed problems or asking yourself the followng questions listed below it maybe time to be checked or you get help:

1. You drink more than planned. If your coming into this situation drinking more than you planned to or longer than you thought than you are having problem controlling your alcohol!

2. You find yourself spending a long time drinking, even getting sick from the drinking but  and in time from the side effects of drinking recover.  Why even get to that point.  Keep track of your daily activities with seeing how often you drink in a diary and see if the bottles add up highier than one glass of wine a day or one or three glasses a week of alcohol.  Again you might see it adds up much higher than that.

3. Has your tolerance build up that you have to drink more for your buzz.  Your brain adapts over time to alcohol sensitivity and goes up when drinking high levels of alcohol.  Just like a completely different disease but similar concept.  In a pt without emphysema (COPD type the worst)  where in time the brain adjusts to CO2 – Carbon Dioxide levels with O2 levels.  A person without emphysema the brain makes us breath on low 02 levels but with a emphysema pt the brain makes them breath based on low CO2 levels since in time the brain developed sensitivity to it.

4. You crave alcohol frequently, another factor in making you want to seek help.  There are times you want to drink so badly bases on emotions or physical feelings you are experiencing that can trigger the craving.  You can be at a place (like a bar) triggering that craving.  That strong need or urge to drink can be triggered by people, places, things also.  When you have a trigger reacts to these factors differently than a social drinker’s does.

5.  You give up activities; what do you do for fun besides drinking?  Now yes life does change but what have you edged out of your life for drinking and or does everything you do entail a lot of drinking.  Has drinking stopped you from doing those things you use to do or pushed them out of your life.

6.  Are dropping the ball on life?   Take work, how many times have you come to work with a hang over, missed dead lines for your boss, or got behind on college work?  Now if your drinking in high school you know your under the age and its against the LAW!  When your drinking keeps you home sick or from your responsibilities that is a problem!

7.  Is it causing friction in your relationships?  If you care about your loved ones but can’t imagine your life without drinking that is a problem!  If your in this situation, this does not make you a bad person at all but like any problem you need to resolve it.  You need to look for help and make changes to help the relationship you have with a significant one in your life or with family members or friends to get those relationships back on the right track for both of you.

8. Are you having Withdrawal S/S from drinking?  (S/S are listed above under withdrawal).  Remember alcohol changes your brain’s chemistry.  When you drink heavy over a long period of time the brain has adapted to the high alcohol in your body.  So understand,  if you suddenly stop drinking your brain has to adjust again and with doing so this will make withdrawal s/s occur.

9.  Have you been put in the situation that you could have been hurt due to drinking or has an injury actual already happened.  Your brain didn’t react fast enough or was it from poor decision making that an injury almost occurred or actually happened (Examples of getting into risky situations due to your heavy drinking could be: Driving, swimming, getting into fights, poor sex-ending up with sexual transmitted diseases or passing on your STD like HIV for example and walking into dangerous areas getting hurt or someone else hurt.)

10. Getting sick with medical conditions or health problems due to your heavy drinking.  Alcohol can damage your liver, brain, heart, pancreas and even immune system.  It can even raise odds of getting certain cancers.

Drinking alcohol increases the risk of cancer. Drinking alcohol doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely get cancer, but the risk is higher the more alcohol you drink.

People might talk about some alcoholic drinks being better or worse for you than others. But all types of alcohol increase the risk of cancer – as it’s the alcohol itself that causes damage, even in small amounts.

So the more you can cut down on alcohol the more you can reduce your risk of cancer.

Drinking less alcohol has lots of other health benefits, too. You can reduce your risk of accidents, high blood pressure and liver disease by cutting back.

Alcohol can damages our cells and this can stop cells repairing damage.  Alcohol effects chemical signals which can make cells more likely to divide this in turn increases the chance of cancer to develop.  Alcohol makes it easier for cell in our mouth and throat to absorb cancer causing chemicals.

There are many ways that alcohol can cause cancer. Some of the main ways are:

• Damage to cells. When we drink alcohol, our bodies turn it into a chemical, called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde can damage our cells and can also stop cells from repairing this damage.
• Changes to hormones. Alcohol can increase the levels of some hormones in our bodies such as oestrogen and insulin. Hormones are chemical messengers, and higher levels of oestrogen and insulin can make cells divide more often. This increases the chance that cancer will develop.
• Changes to cells in the mouth and throat. Alcohol can make it easier for cells in the mouth and throat to absorb harmful chemicals that cause damage.

Remember, it’s the alcohol itself that damages your body, even small amounts. It doesn’t matter whether you drink beer, wine or spirits. All types of alcohol can cause cancer.

There’s plenty of tricks that people claim ‘cure’ hangovers. But even if they work for your hangover, they don’t reverse the damage caused from drinking alcohol.

What types of cancer does alcohol cause?

Drinking alcohol causes 7 different types of cancer. This includes:

• Breast cancer and bowel cancer (two of the most common types)
• Mouth cancer
• Some types of throat cancer: oesophagus (food pipe), larynx (voice box) and pharynx (upper throat)
• Liver cancer
• Colon and Rectum

Stay tune for Part III in tomorrow’s article.

If yes to any of the questions listed in the first box above on the right side you may want to be checked out if you done know by now for your health!

“Specifically, Neuroticism has been recognized as the strongest predictor among other personality traits that discriminate between non-drinkers, drinkers, and moderate drinkers in women (Lac & Donaldson, 2016), with lower scores in binge drinkers (Adan et al., 2017).  Neuroticism is defined as a tendency toward anxiety, depression, sensivity, self-doubt, sensitive, and other negative feelings. A chronic disease in which a person craves drinks that contain alcohol and is unable to control his or her drinking. A person with this disease also needs to drink greater amounts to get the same effect and has withdrawal symptoms after stopping alcohol use.  You don’t have to have these symptoms to be an alcoholic or drinking too much.  Heavy Drinking is considered:

• NIAAA defines heavy drinking as follows:
  • For men, consuming five or more drinks on any day or 15 or more per week
  • For women, consuming four or more on any day or 8 or more drinks per week
• SAMHSA defines heavy alcohol use as binge drinking on 5 or more days in the past month
• Less you drink the better for your mind and body health.”

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

(https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking)

Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, is a disease that causes

• Craving – a strong need to drink
• Loss of control – not being able to stop drinking once you’ve started
• Physical dependence – withdrawal symptoms
• Tolerance – the need to drink more alcohol to feel the same effect

With alcohol abuse, you are not physically dependent, but you still have a serious problem. The drinking may cause problems at home, work, or school. It may cause you to put yourself in dangerous situations, or lead to legal or social problems.

Alcohol use disorder (which includes a level that’s sometimes called alcoholism) is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol, continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems, having to drink more to get the same effect, or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.Unhealthy alcohol use includes any alcohol use that puts your health or safety at risk or causes other alcohol-related problems. It also includes binge drinking — a pattern of drinking where a male consumes five or more drinks within two hours or a female downs at least four drinks within two hours. Binge drinking causes significant health and safety risks.  If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder. It can range from mild to severe. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important.

Another common problem is binge drinking. It is drinking about five or more drinks in two hours for men. For women, it is about four or more drinks in two hours.

Too much alcohol is dangerous. Heavy drinking can increase the risk of certain cancers. It can cause damage to the liver, brain, and other organs. Drinking during pregnancy can harm your baby. Alcohol also increases the risk of death from car crashes, injuries, homicide, and suicide.

Genetic, psychological, social and environmental factors can impact how drinking alcohol affects your body and behavior. Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder.

Over time, drinking too much alcohol may change the normal function of the areas of your brain associated with the experience of pleasure, judgment and the ability to exercise control over your behavior. This may result in craving alcohol to try to restore good feelings or reduce negative ones.**

Alcohol use disorder can include periods of alcohol intoxication and symptoms of withdrawal.

Alcohol use disorder can be mild, moderate or severe, based on the number of symptoms you experience. Signs and symptoms may include:

• Being unable to limit the amount of alcohol you drink
• Wanting to cut down on how much you drink or making unsuccessful attempts to do so
• Spending a lot of time drinking, getting alcohol or recovering from alcohol use
• Feeling a strong craving or urge to drink alcohol
• Failing to fulfill major obligations at work, school or home due to repeated alcohol use
• Continuing to drink alcohol even though you know it’s causing physical, social or interpersonal problems
• Giving up or reducing social and work activities and hobbies
• Using alcohol in situations where it’s not safe, such as when driving or swimming
• Developing a tolerance to alcohol so you need more to feel its effect or you have a reduced effect from the same amount
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms — such as nausea, sweating and shaking — when you don’t drink, or drinking to avoid these symptoms
• Risk factors for alcohol use disorder include:
• Steady drinking over time. Drinking too much on a regular basis for an extended period or binge drinking on a regular basis can lead to alcohol-related problems or alcohol use disorder.
• Age. People who begin drinking at an early age, and especially in a binge fashion, are at a higher risk of alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use may begin in the teens, but alcohol use disorder occurs more frequently in the 20s and 30s. However, it can begin at any age.
• Family history. The risk of alcohol use disorder is higher for people who have a parent or other close relative who has problems with alcohol. This may be influenced by genetic factors.
• Depression and other mental health problems. It’s common for people with a mental health disorder such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder to have problems with alcohol or other substances.
• Social and cultural factors. Having friends or a close partner who drinks regularly could increase your risk of alcohol use disorder. The glamorous way that drinking is sometimes portrayed in the media also may send the message that it’s OK to drink too much. For young people, the influence of parents, peers and other role models can impact risk.
• Alcohol withdrawal can occur when alcohol use has been heavy and prolonged and is then stopped or greatly reduced. It can occur within several hours to four or five days later. Symptoms include sweating, rapid heartbeat, hand tremors, problems sleeping, nausea and vomiting, hallucinations, restlessness and agitation, anxiety, and occasionally seizures. Symptoms can be severe enough to impair your ability to function at work or in social situations.