Studies show that people who don’t sleep enough are more likely to get sick after exposure to viruses like the common cold. Health experts generally advise limiting alcohol to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men to minimize risks to immune health. Chronic alcohol consumption can slow recovery from infections by impairing immune function, resulting in longer healing times. Alcohol can trigger an inflammatory response in the body, leading to chronic inflammation, which is detrimental to immune function. Chronic inflammation can tax the immune system and make it less effective at responding to actual infections. Long-term alcohol consumption is one of does alcohol lower immune system the primary causes of liver damage.
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- Whiskey and other types of alcohol are not recommended to treat or prevent colds.
- If you or a loved one are abusing alcohol or struggling with alcoholism, safe, effective, and customized care is available.
- Your liver detoxifies and removes alcohol from your blood through a process known as oxidation.
Impact on Lung Health
The temporary rise in body temperature during exercise may also help fight infections, similar to how a fever works. While regular exercise can support immunity, too much intense exercise—like marathon training—can weaken the immune system. Alcohol Drug rehabilitation and drug overuse has negative effects on the immune system but can also make mental illness worse and cause you to develop serious respiratory and other infections and long-term health problems. The job of the immune system is to fight off foreign invaders like viruses and infections, but drug and alcohol misuse can have a significant effect on this natural defense mechanism. Despite these potential health benefits, most doctors don’t recommend that someone who doesn’t drink start drinking, or for a moderate drinker to drink more. That’s because these are only correlations (which does not necessarily mean causation).
How does alcohol affect the immune system?
Alcohol immunosuppression can cause someone to catch a simple cold easier than other people or develop a more serious condition such as cancer or septicemia. The ability of alcohol to alter both innate and adaptive immune defenses inevitably impacts how the immune system of even a moderate alcohol drinker can respond to infections. In fact, alcohol use has been shown to increase the susceptibility of drinkers to both bacterial and viral infections, as well as advance the progression of several chronic viral infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C. Although most research has focused on the effects of heavy alcohol consumption on the immune system, several studies have also confirmed that even moderate consumption can have significant effects on the immune system. For example, one study found that women who consumed 330 mL of beer for 30 days exhibited a significant increase in leukocytes, mature CD3+ T-cells, neutrophils, and basophils. In contrast, men who consumed a similarly moderate amount of beer for the same period exhibited a significant increase in basophils alone.
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“The only remedy for an immune system damaged from drinking alcohol is to stop drinking. If you are not able to drink in moderation, you should avoid alcohol,” Dasgupta says. This condition occurs when bacteria enter the chest cavity’s pleural space, typically due to pneumonia or a post-surgery infection. A weakened immune system increases an individual’s chances of developing empyema. “Those at increased risk should cut down or abstain from alcohol because every little thing an individual can do to improve the health and reduce risk is worth it at this point, even if the evidence is not entirely clear,” Mroszczyk-McDonald said.
Short-Term Effects of Alcohol on the Immune System
You can lower the risk of alcohol impacting your immune system by drinking less. Overall, avoid drinking more than moderate amounts if you want your immune system in good shape, says Favini. And if you feel like you’re coming down with something or are sick, do not drink. Not only will drinking alcohol reduce your immune system’s strength, but alcohol also has a dehydrating effect.