Effects of hitting booze after Dry January - including 'soft penis' and nightmares
ok.co.ukCongratulations if you stuck to your Dry January resolution and don't beat yourself up too much if you didn't. Perhaps you've even decided to extend your break from booze into February and beyond.
So many of us can recall waking up after the night before with a throbbing headache and a craving for McDonald's, but what is the effect of falling spectacularly off the wagon?
Just how bad is booze for our bodies and minds? Here, OK!'s experts talk you through it... Kidneys A lot of people link alcohol and the kidneys, but the effects on the liver and cardiovascular system are more dramatic, one expert says.
Dr Tom Oates, Consultant Nephrologist and General Physician at the Royal London Hospital Regular, says excessive drinking can up to double the risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD). "Additionally, too much alcohol is highly likely to raise your blood pressure, which is both a common cause of CKD, and a risk factor for worsening of CKD caused by something else," he says. "In the short term, a night on the booze dehydrates the body, lowering both body water content and various salts in the system, this can affect the normal function of various cells and organs...you might know it as a hangover. "A safe alcohol intake for the kidneys is the same as national guidance: not to drink more than 14 units a week, and that really means no more than 2 units a day, rather than binge drinking them all in one go." Libido We’ve all heard of ‘brewer’s droop’ but it’s not just anecdotal.There’s a medical reason why this happens.Too much drinking can lead to erectile dysfunction and a ‘softer penis’.
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