What Alcohol Does to Your Kidneys

While drinking alcohol in moderation (one or two drinks every once in a while) probably won’t harm your body, excessive alcohol consumption and binge drinking can have negative effects on your physical and mental health. It can also do serious damage to your organs, including your kidneys.

About Your Kidneys

In order to understand the effects of alcohol on kidney health, you need to understand what purpose kidneys serve. The primary function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess fluid from the body. Kidneys are responsible for helping your body maintain a healthy balance of water and electrolytes. Your kidneys also control the production of red blood cells, produce vitamin D, release hormones to regulate blood pressure, and remove drugs from your body.

How Much Alcohol is Too Much?

Moderate drinking, which is generally considered safe for most healthy adults, is defined as one alcoholic beverage per day for women and two per day for men. Heavy drinking is consuming more than three drinks per day (or seven per week) for women, and more than four drinks per day (or 14 per week) for men. Binge drinking is drinking more than four or five drinks at one time.

It is not safe for everyone to drink, even in moderation. Talk to your healthcare provider to determine if it is safe for you to drink alcohol.

How Drinking Alcohol Affects Your Kidneys

Kidneys’ normal function is to filter out harmful substances, including alcohol, from your blood. Alcohol consumption causes your kidneys to be less efficient at filtering your blood. In addition, the dehydrating effects of alcohol impact your kidneys’ ability to maintain the optimal amount of water in your body. This can have negative effects on all the cells and organs in the body.

Other potential effects:

• Kidney stones: While experts aren’t sure if there is a link between excessive alcohol use and kidney stones, we do know that alcohol causes dehydration, which is a risk factor for developing kidney stones.

• Kidney pain: Similarly, there is no direct link between heavy drinking and the kidney pain that some people associate with it, but it could also be attributed to dehydration.

• Acute kidney failure: In some cases, binge drinking can lead to acute kidney failure. Acute kidney failure is characterized by a sudden drop in kidney function, which usually goes away over time, but can sometimes lead to permanent kidney damage.

• Alcoholic neuropathy: This is a chronic kidney disease that results in damage to the nerves in the kidneys from drinking too much alcohol.

What Long-Term Effects Does Alcohol Have on the Kidneys?

Excessive drinking can have serious long-term effects on your health. People who drink too much often have high blood pressure. According to the National Kidney Foundation, consuming more than two alcoholic drinks per day increases your risk of high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a common cause of chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease, or CKD, is a condition where your kidneys are so damaged that they cannot filter blood properly.

Excessive alcohol use can also cause liver disease, which in turn puts more stress on the kidneys. For this reason, chronic alcohol use can lead to both liver and kidney disease.

How Long Do You Have to Drink Alcohol to Damage Your Kidneys?

Acute kidney failure or acute kidney injury is rare but it can occur with binge drinking, and usually can be corrected. Permanent damage to your kidneys happens with regular heavy drinking over time. The amount of time that it takes for kidneys to become damaged depends on genetics, the amount of alcohol consumed, and many other factors.

Myths of How Alcohol Impacts Your Kidneys

There are a lot of misconceptions out there when it comes to how alcohol affects your kidneys and what creates kidney problems. Below, we separate fact from fiction when it comes to your overall health and alcohol.

Myth: Normal alcohol consumption directly damages kidneys

Truth: It takes a whole process to damage your kidneys, and this has to do with heavy drinking. If you are a healthy adult with no alarming pre-existing health conditions, you should be able to enjoy a light or moderate amount of alcohol without any kidney issues.

Myth: Beer helps flush out kidney stones

Truth: There is no evidence that beer helps with kidney stones. In fact, alcohol has a dehydrating effect, so it’s best to drink water when trying to flush out kidney stones. If anything, beer will likely worsen the condition.

Myth: If your kidneys feel fine, you’re probably okay

Truth: Kidney disease can be sneaky, and we don’t typically feel our kidneys. Early stages of the disease often have no noticeable symptoms. If you are currently or have been a heavy drinker, it’s smart to get regular check-ups and screenings, especially if you’re at a higher risk of diabetes or high blood pressure.

Myth: Don’t drink more fluids after drinking alcohol

Truth: Even though alcohol is a diuretic and increases urination, which affects the kidneys, it’s important to rehydrate after imbibing in the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic beverages, especially water, to stay healthy and hydrated.

Myth: Kidney disease cannot be prevented

Truth: Many kidney diseases can be prevented, or at the very least, slowed down. Common ways to prevent it include quitting smoking, keeping a healthy weight, and drinking lightly or moderately (or not at all).

How to Prevent Kidney Damage

When you don’t abuse alcohol, preventing kidney damage becomes simple. Here are tips to keep your kidneys functioning properly:

• Moderate your drinking: Follow the recommended guidelines of one drink per day for women, and two for men. Be sure to avoid binge drinking.

• Hydrate every day, especially when drinking: It’s crucial to drink the recommended amount of water per day, and even more while you’re drinking alcohol. Alcohol is dehydrating, so be sure to drink at least 8 oz. of water after every alcoholic beverage.

• Limit sugar and salt: Sugar and salt can elevate blood pressure, which can contribute to kidney issues. Keep a healthy diet to maintain healthy blood pressure levels.

• Check in on medication interactions: Some medications are contraindicated when it comes to alcohol. When combined, this can create a toxic effect on the body and can harm your kidneys. Read your prescription labels and be sure to avoid alcohol if it says to do so. If you have any questions, talk to your doctor.

• Be aware: If you experience frequent urination, fatigue, or even blood in your urine after drinking alcohol, see your doctor to rule out any kidney damage. Listen to your body and notice any alarming signs.

• Practice gradual reduction: If you’re a heavy drinker, it’s best advised to not go cold turkey. Gradually reduce your alcohol intake to the recommended amount.

Pre-Existing Conditions That Put You at a Higher Risk of Kidney Damage

There are several pre-existing health conditions that may put you at a greater risk of developing kidney disease. If you fall into any of these categories, avoiding alcohol, or closely monitoring your use, may be your best bet.

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

High blood pressure can put a strain on the kidneys, which forces them to work harder to filter blood. Over time, this can damage the kidneys.

Diabetes

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are a leading cause of chronic kidney issues. High blood sugar levels can damage the vessels in the kidneys, which inhibits their ability to filter waste properly.

Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)

This genetic condition happens when fluid-filled sacs that manifest as cysts develop in the kidneys. They can get larger over time, which can damage healthy kidney tissues. This impacts their function.

UTIs

If you have recurring UTIs, it could affect the kidneys. This happens from scarring due to repeated infections. Be sure to get proper treatment for UTIs and take preventative measures to avoid them in the future.

Autoimmune Conditions

Certain autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and vasculitis, may cause inflammation that affects the kidneys.

Can Kidneys Recover From Alcohol Damage?

If it is caught early, an acute kidney injury can usually heal over time. Sometimes, however, damage to your kidneys is irreversible. Kidney disease can often be managed with medication and diet. If you have kidney disease that leads to kidney failure, you will need regular dialysis or a kidney transplant.

How Caron Can Help

If you or a loved one are concerned about your alcohol consumption, you may be suffering from alcohol use disorder. At Caron, we offer individualized, comprehensive treatment programs that are designed to help those struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. Contact Caron today to learn more.