How Does Alcohol Affect the Respiratory System?

It’s well known that alcohol can have serious effects on the liver, but many people don’t realize that alcohol negatively affects many systems of the body, including the respiratory system. If you drink alcohol regularly, it’s important to know how your lungs may be impacted so that you can watch for symptoms of respiratory issues.

What Is the Respiratory System?

Your respiratory system is a set of structures that allows you to breathe. It includes the lungs, nose, mouth, and connecting airways. The system allows oxygen into your body and expels carbon dioxide. It also protects your body from harmful particles that you breathe, allows you to talk, and assists with smelling.

Effects of Alcohol on the Lungs

Alcohol’s effects on the respiratory system and lungs are generally called alcohol related lung disease (ARLD) which can refer to several alcohol-related respiratory system conditions. Generally, ARLD affects long time heavy drinkers, but can also affect people who are chronic alcohol users.

ARLD occurs because alcohol causes inflammation that can affect the immune system, which can lead to infections and lung diseases. Alcohol can also alter the airways over time, which can interfere with inhalation, decrease saliva, and let bacteria into the mouth. This, combined with the affected immune system, can allow bacteria to travel to the windpipe and lungs.

Some of the complications that heavy drinkers may develop are:

• Asthma symptoms.
• Aspiration pneumonia, which is caused when you vomit and inhale the vomit.
• Reduced glutathione, which protects small airways. This can lead to damage of those airways, which makes the body more vulnerable to lung damage or disease.
• Increased risk of infections like RSV and tuberculosis.

The symptoms of ARLD depend on the type of damage or disease caused by alcohol, but can include:

• A cough with green, yellow, or bloody mucus
• Chest pain that comes with deep breaths or coughing
• Shallow breathing or shortness of breath
• Fever and chills
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Rapid heart rate
• Bluish lips or nails

Alcoholic Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection of one or both lungs caused by a virus, bacteria, or fungal pathogen. It causes fluid to develop in the lungs and pus accumulation in the air sacs of the lungs. Heavy alcohol drinkers are at a higher risk of pneumonia because of alcohol’s impact on the immune system. Essentially, alcohol decreases the lung’s ability to clear foreign bodies and negatively affects the white blood cells that protect the body.

Another cause of alcoholic pneumonia is the increased risk of aspiration, meaning that gastric acid or microbes enter the lungs.

Chronic alcohol users are also at risk of more severe pneumonia that can lead to death. One study showed that the mortality rate for alcohol users hospitalized for pneumonia was 64.3%, a significantly higher rate than non-alcohol users, whose mortality rate is 20%.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

Heavy alcohol users are at a higher risk for ARDS, which occurs when the lungs swell and fluid accumulates in the air sacs of the lungs. This keeps the lungs from filling with air. ARDS usually develops after an injury or illness but is more likely to develop for chronic alcohol users.

Studies have shown that chronic alcohol users are nearly three times more likely to develop ARDS. ARDS can be fatal. In one study, the mortality rate of chronic alcohol users with ARDS was 62%.

Symptoms of ARDS include:

• Severe shortness of breath
• Cough
• Labored, fast breathing
• Increased heart rate
• Chest pain
• Confusion

If you have these symptoms, you need immediate medical care.

ARDS can have several causes.

• Sepsis, a widespread infection of the bloodstream
• Pneumonia
• COVID-19
• Inhaling chemical fumes or smoke
• Injury to the head or chest

ARDs can also lead to other complications, including:

• Blood clots
• Infections
• Collapsed lung
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Ulcers

For patients who survive ARDS, certain symptoms can continue, such as breathing problems, memory issues, or weakened muscles.

Treatment for the Respiratory Effects of Alcohol

The conditions caused by or related to alcohol can be treated in similar ways to the same conditions when they occur without alcohol abuse as a factor. Some of the structural damage caused by alcohol can be reversed with abstinence, but permanent effects may remain.

The best course of action, whether you have developed a lung condition or not, is to stop drinking.

Treating Alcohol Use Disorder

If you are a chronic alcohol user and have health or life issues due to alcohol, you may have an alcohol use disorder.

When chronic alcohol use is stopped suddenly, uncomfortable and even life-threatening withdrawal symptoms can occur. For that reason, detoxing from alcohol should be medically supervised in an inpatient setting.

In a medically supervised detox program, you may be given medications to control your withdrawal symptoms and you’ll be monitored in case of severe withdrawal symptoms, such as elevated blood pressure or seizures, occur.

Medications to treat alcohol withdrawal may include:

• Benzodiazepines to reduce anxiety and prevent seizures
• Anticonvulsants
• Other anxiety medications
• Sleep aids

It’s important to understand, however, that detox is only the first step in treating an alcohol use disorder. The addiction needs to be treated as well, which is done through individual and group therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is often used in addiction treatment. It involves teaching you strategies to cope and to avoid relapse, and to change harmful thinking patterns such as “I can control my drinking” or “alcohol is not hurting me.”

This therapy should start in an inpatient treatment program, but the recovery process will continue. The longer you stay in treatment, the better your chances of avoiding relapse.

After inpatient treatment, the next step is often a partial hospitalization program (PHP), which is held for several hours each day for four to six weeks. The third step is an intensive outpatient program (IOP) that you’ll attend for several hours per week for ten to twelve weeks.

Longer term treatment can involve regular therapy and support groups for those in recovery. Peer support is often critical to recovery success. Peers provide empathetic companionship and can share their strategies to cope and avoid relapse.

In addition to support groups, you may also want to try a peer support network that connects you to someone in recovery that you can interact with on a one-on-one basis.

Help Is Available

Alcohol can cause many health problems, including respiratory conditions. The sooner you seek treatment, the more likely it is that you’ll avoid these issues and recover your health. Help is available, and you should not be afraid to seek it. You’ll learn and grow from it, and go on to live a healthy, fulfilling life.