With the development of society, many of us today have very busy jobs, especially for male friends. Besides a heavy workload, there are also various social engagements. Drinking alcohol in such situations is unavoidable. But did you know that drinking alcohol can greatly harm our pancreas? Let's take a look together.
It is a well-known fact that long-term alcohol consumption can damage the liver, stomach, and nervous system. In fact, the damage to the human body caused by drinking alcohol, especially excessive drinking, goes far beyond this. For example, damage to the pancreas often does not attract people's attention. The pancreas is the largest digestive gland in the human body. Once acute pancreatitis occurs, the overflow of pancreatic juice can cause serious consequences, which we need to pay attention to. If we fail to take such situations seriously, various serious problems will undoubtedly arise, especially for our health.
After indulging in a feast with a large intake of high-fat and high-protein foods, the pancreas is stimulated to secrete a large amount of pancreatic juice. If a large amount of pancreatic juice cannot flow into the duodenum in time or if the duct leading to the duodenum is blocked, "autodigestion" of the pancreas may occur, causing severe pancreatitis. During festivals, some people indulge in drinking to the point of getting drunk, leading to pancreatitis. Therefore, if we want to have a healthy body, we undoubtedly need to pay attention to controlling the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption. We should also be mindful of reducing the intake of high-fat and high-protein foods.
Most cases of acute pancreatitis occur suddenly, with patients experiencing persistent severe abdominal pain accompanied by nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, fever, and other symptoms of peritonitis. Some patients may experience vomiting of blood and bloody stools. Those with biliary obstruction may develop jaundice. Severe cases may present with cold and clammy extremities, tachycardia, and hypotension, indicating shock. The complication and mortality rates are high. If sudden severe pain occurs in the middle to upper abdomen, consider the possibility of acute pancreatitis. The mortality rate at this time can be over 50%. The clinical manifestations of acute pancreatitis can easily be confused with peptic ulcer perforation, acute gastritis, intestinal obstruction, and gallstones, and must be carefully identified. However, no treatment is better than active preventive measures. Control and restrain yourself, avoid excessive drinking, especially alcohol abuse and overeating, to prevent certain tragedies from occurring.
Experts remind us that the key to preventing acute pancreatitis lies in avoiding overeating and alcohol abuse in daily life, especially for patients with biliary diseases. They should pay more attention to a light diet and strict abstinence from alcohol. Pancreatic diseases are relatively serious and can have a significant impact on our health. Therefore, we should try to avoid such situations by developing good habits in our daily lives and avoiding alcohol consumption and overeating.
