Hidden flaws

Everyone knows that drinking too much in the long run causes a lot of 'internal damage'. Liver, heart, pancreas, kidneys, intestines: alcohol is bad for many organs. But there are also complaints and ailments that you don't read about very often. Read more about it here alcoholic neuropathy and alcohol and eye complaints.

Alcoholic Neuropathy

You may have heard of it, but chances are it doesn't tell you anything. Alcoholic neuropathy. This is a condition in which the nervous system is damaged. And that's bad news, because it can affect nerves throughout your body. Most people dealing with alcoholic neuropathy suffer from damaged sensory nerves. But in some cases, the motor nerves are also damaged (polyneuropathy). It is a condition associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

Pain, cramps and tingling

Where and to what extent you suffer from alcoholic neuropathy depends on the extent to which your nerves are damaged. If 'only' the sensory nerves are damaged, you can suffer from muscle weakness and sensitivity to touch. A hallmark of neuropathy is that it usually occurs on both sides of your body and usually in your legs or feet. With polyneuropathy you can also suffer from painful cramps and sensitive muscles of the arms and legs.

How does alcoholic neuropathy develop?

Alcoholic neuropathy is caused by the excessive use of alcohol. So far is clear. But what about exactly?

When alcohol is broken down in your liver, toxic substances accumulate in your body. In combination with a poor diet, something that often occurs with excessive alcohol users, you get too few nutrients and vitamins. This mainly concerns vitamins B1 (thiamine) and B2 (riboflavin). This vitamin deficiency can contribute to the development of neuropathy, or exacerbate existing neuropathy. Source: health square.nl

Alcohol and eye problems

It is well known that you will see double when you have looked too deeply into the glass. But maybe we're telling you something new when we say that drinking excessive alcohol can increase your risk of macular degeneration in the long term? stare? Dry eyes? night blindness? Thinning cornea and even complete blindness?

Dry eyes and night blindness are fairly self-explanatory. But what is macular degeneration? This condition causes your retina to age faster, causing your vision to deteriorate. Cataracts means that the lens of your eye is clouded. The result is less good vision.

In fact, if you have the maximum allowable amount of alcohol in your blood, you will see about 30% less contrast. While driving, this means that you are less likely to distinguish the difference between light and dark objects. Alcohol also affects your peripheral vision. And this can lead to tunnel vision. This makes you less aware of what is happening around you. Driving under the influence is in any case extremely dangerous and driving under the influence at night because of the dark is possibly even more dangerous. Get a BOB or stick to tea, water and soda. Source: www.lensonline.nl and www.seemagazine.be.