Unfortunately, this can lead some people down a path of alcohol dependence. Thankfully, effective treatment is available for those with alcohol addiction, as well as any co-occurring physical or mental health concern. Heavy drinking can reduce your levels of glutathione, which is an antioxidant that helps protect your lungs. Drinking too many alcoholic beverages can also cause COPD flare-ups. Wine sensitivity can occur among people with COPD due to the histamine and sulfites in wine. In addition to causing respiratory difficulties, wine can produce allergic reactions and uncomfortable symptoms, like skin itching or flushing.
So there is a link between people who are dependent on alcohol and tobacco users, but there is less research that suggests there is a connection between alcohol consumption and COPD. Bloating puts pressure on your lungs, making it harder to take deep breaths. Extra mucus makes it harder to breathe, especially if you already have lung problems like COPD.
Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
So alcohol may make COPD worse — but can it actually cause breathing problems? While researchers haven’t found clear evidence that drinking alcohol can directly cause COPD, alcohol can damage our lungs and our body’s immune response. This could make it harder to breathe and increase our risk of COPD. In addition to decreasing lung function, alcohol can also create breathing problems while we sleep. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, and it can help us fall asleep faster. But, despite drifting off more quickly, alcohol actually reduces the overall quality of sleep and causes frequent disruptions.
It refers to a group of respiratory illnesses that cause breathing problems and airflow blockages, including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or asthma. If you have COPD or are concerned about your lung health, it’s safest to avoid smoking or vaping cannabis. While research is ongoing, experts say inhaling any kind of smoke can damage the lungs—even if the long-term risk of COPD from cannabis alone isn’t yet clear. So it is established that there is a relationship between drinking alcohol and smoking. In fact, people with alcohol dependence are three times more likely to be smokers than the average population. COPD is in reference to a group of lung diseases that affects your lungs in certain ways all of which impact your body’s ability to breathe.
Can We Drink Alcohol if We Have COPD?
If pancreatitis becomes chronic and is not treated properly, it can cause permanent damage to the organ and lead to diabetes or death. If you believe that alcohol may be causing you to experience depression, sleep disturbances, or poor eating habits, consult your physician and discuss your situation openly. According to the American Lung Association, 85–90% of COPD cases result from smoking, either directly or from secondhand smoke. Plus, we’re always introducing new features to optimize your in-app experience. We recently launched our in-app chatbot, Melody, powered by the world’s most powerful AI technology. Melody is here to help as you adjust to a life with less (or no) alcohol.
Patients suffering from severe COPD are often advised to eat 5 small meals a day rather than 3 large meals to help stave off shortness of breath after eating. A drinker may eat more rapidly than normal, or consume a large quantity of food in one sitting without being aware of how much he’s eating, causing unnecessary breathing problems. If a person has COPD or is at risk for the disease, they should consider staying away from alcohol.
If you do drink, you should take special care of yourself to minimize any negative effects that alcohol might have on your lungs or your COPD symptoms. Drink only in moderation, eat a healthy diet, and drink extra water to prevent thickened mucus and dehydration. This can trigger sleep apnea or worsen pre-existing sleep apnea symptoms, which can make it difficult for your body to get enough oxygen while you sleep. This can cause hypoxemia (low blood oxygen levels) which, over time, can lead to a variety of severe and life-threatening health complications in people with COPD.
- A 2023 study suggested that people who smoke both have more damage to the small airways in their lungs than those who only smoke tobacco.
- This is especially true if you are taking steroids long-term or if you drink heavily.
- People with COPD and other respiratory diseases are as likely to quit drinking despite their diagnosis.
- Without the gag reflex, or if you are constantly hurting your gag reflex, it is likely you will inhale food, water, or other irritants into your lungs.
- Airways blockage is the most invasive part of COPD and related respiratory disease.
Immune system
Glucose is important because it helps protect your lungs from damage against smoke. Therefore, the combination of drinking and smoking is very volatile, and harsh on your lungs, nad bodily functions. It’s common knowledge that smoking is the primary cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but heavy alcohol consumption can also play a role.
Research Explaining COPD and Drinking
Similarly, alcohol often leads to inflammation throughout our body, which can impair does alcohol affect copd our immune system. This makes us more susceptible to all types of infections, including those of our lungs. In fact, studies show that heavy alcohol consumption can increase our risk of respiratory infections. While the occasional drink may be safe, heavy drinking can make COPD symptoms worse and impair the health of our lungs. Alcohol can also increase our risk of respiratory infections, disrupt our sleep, and decrease the effectiveness of some COPD medications.
This may include sneezing, running nose, congestion, itching or flushing of the skin. While any type of alcohol can cause these symptoms, wine appears to cause allergic reactions more than others. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. It affects 16 million Americans and is the third leading cause of death in the United States.
It’s long been known that a glass of wine a day can help the heart, and it appears that a drink may also improve lung function in both the short-term and the long-term. At locations throughout the U.S., Vertava Health provide alcohol rehab programs with personalized treatment plans. This means that every patient is assessed and provided a treatment plan to fit their unique needs.
Regular or chronic drinking can also damage your mucociliary transport system, which is constantly working to clear mucous and other contaminants out of your airways. Alcohol may also interfere with the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents in the airway and the body’s natural immune response. Researchers have found that heavy drinking reduces levels of an antioxidant in the body called glutathione. This antioxidant helps protect the lungs from damage caused by inhaled toxins such as tobacco smoke.
On drinking and smoking
- It’s important for those living with COPD to follow a treatment plan.
- When a person flushes, becomes itchy, or gets a stuffy nose after drinking, it’s a sign their body may be sensitive to alcohol.
- If you have COPD, managing the symptoms and making lifestyle changes can be one of the most important parts of your treatment plan.
While there is no cure for COPD, treatments often aim to slow or prevent its negative impact on our life by reducing symptoms and exacerbations, and improving activity and strength. Learn about how drinking might interfere with your illness, and whether it is possible for you to safely mix COPD and alcohol. To learn more about alcoholism and COPD, reach out to one of our treatment specialists today. Take the first step toward addiction treatment by contacting us today.
These reactions are most common among women, and seem to be triggered most often by red or white wine. Sleep apnea can present a larger problem for people with COPD, who already struggle with lung health and breathing-related issues. People who drink heavily are 25 percent more likely to experience an episode of apnea while asleep.
While alcohol can complicate issues of COPD, alcohol use doesn’t cause this condition. Instead, there are certain risk factors and markers that make a person more likely to develop COPD. Additionally, although alcohol is initially relaxing for many, this substance has been shown to reduce a person’s quality of sleep. Loss of sleep can contribute to a lowered immune system, which can increase the chance and frequency of a COPD flare-up. While many people can have an occasional social drink, others struggle to control their alcohol intake. A cardiovascular disorder such as COPD may require urgent medical attention.