Introduction
Stomach pains often occur after drinking alcohol the evening before. Stomach pain is described as a burning or stinging sensation in the upper abdomen or behind the esophagus. The consumption of alcohol stimulates the stomach to produce more gastric acid, which leads to the characteristic pain. A combination of alcohol and nicotine consumption can make the stomach pain even worse.
Causes
Alcohol is one of the many possible causes of stomach pain. This is related to the fact that alcohol stimulates the secretion of stomach acid. Stomach acid is a corrosive and therefore aggressive liquid, which is needed, among other things, to break down food components.
However, due to its aggressiveness, the stomach that produces it must also protect itself from it. It does this mainly by producing gastric mucus, which covers the stomach wall as a protection and prevents the gastric acid from penetrating. However, this is only the case when there is a balance between the production of gastric acid and the production of gastric mucus.
Many factors can disturb this balance. Alcohol is one of them. Although it stimulates the secretion of stomach acid, it does not at the same time upregulate the production of gastric mucus.
Thus, the aggressive hydrochloric acid predominates and there is a risk of damage to the stomach. This can manifest itself, for example, in the development of a stomach or small intestinal ulcer. These are often accompanied by pain.
In the case of a gastric ulcer (ulcus ventriculi), the pain often increases after eating, whereas that of the small intestinal ulcer often improves after eating. Gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach, can also occur or be aggravated as a result of hydrochloric acid overproduction due to alcohol consumption. The situation is similar with the widespread reflux disease (gastroesophageal reflux disease = GERD).
Certainly, the negative influence of alcohol on the stomach is related on the one hand to the amount consumed and on the other hand to the individual conditions of the person affected. From a medical point of view, approximate limits to daily alcohol consumption can be advised. Women should not consume more than 20 grams and men no more than 30 grams of pure alcohol per day.
A 0.3 liter glass of beer contains about 12 grams of alcohol, a 0.2 liter glass of wine about 18 and a 0.02 liter glass of whiskey about 7 grams. In addition to these limits – from a medical point of view – no alcohol should be drunk at least two days a week. It should be noted, however, that a lower weekly alcohol consumption than that stated here is not harmful but rather beneficial to health.