Love a drink to unwind after work? A drink on occasion is harmless, but here’s what happens when you drink in excess.
<div class="ExternalClass284AC6300F94418D9D81CF3938D5594E"><p>You’ve had a long day, and you want a drink to unwind. Nothing like a night out with the girls to relax and de-stress.</p><p>A cocktail while enjoying girls’ night out will not hurt—taken in small quantities, alcohol lowers inhibitions and lightens the drinker's mood. But what happens when we take alcohol in excess?</p><h2>In Your Head </h2><p style="text-align:center;">
<img src="/sites/assets/Assets/Categories/Alcohol/624-inline1.jpg" alt="asian lady massaging her forehead" style="margin:5px;" />
</p><p>Try downing shot after shot of alcohol with a male friend and you will find that the alcohol gets to your head faster. This is simply because you are smaller.</p><p>Not only that, a woman's body clears alcohol more slowly, greatly increasing your post-drinking hangover—yes, that pounding headache and general discomfort will affect you more than it does your male friend.</p><p>
<strong>Related:
<a href="http://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/182/alcohol_health_setting_drink_limits" title="Alcohol and Health—Setting Your Drink Limits">Alcohol and Health—Setting Your Drink Limits</a></strong></p><h2>What’s The Damage?
</h2><p style="text-align:center;">
<img src="/sites/assets/Assets/Categories/Alcohol/624-inline2.jpg" alt="two couples enjoying drinks" style="margin:5px;" />
</p><p>In addition, there is increased risk of injury from accidents, especially in drink-and-drive accidents, due to poorer hand and limb coordination.</p><p>Drinking in excess also increases your risk of liver damage and cirrhosis, serious conditions that can be fatal.</p><p>
<strong>Related:
<a href="http://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/607/When%20to%20drink" title="To Drink or Not to Drink?">To Drink or Not to Drink?</a></strong></p><h2>Baby, Don’t Hurt Me
</h2><p style="text-align:center;">
<img src="/sites/assets/Assets/Categories/Alcohol/624-inline4.jpg" alt="a pregnant asian lady holding her head in pain" style="margin:5px;" />
</p><p>Most women will not know they are pregnant until the second month. Drinking when pregnant will harm the health of the unborn child.</p><p>Drinking also increases the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, abnormalities and cognitive defects—affecting attention, intelligence, language, and memory.</p><p>The effects continue after birth, too. If you drink while breastfeeding, the alcohol in your bloodstream passes into breast milk.</p><p>Even low levels of alcohol intake reduces the amount of milk you produce, and causes irritability, poor feeding, and sleep disturbances in the infant.</p><p>
<strong>Related:
<a href="http://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/927/pregnancy-dos-and-donts-in-pregnancy" title="Dos and Donts in Pregnancy">Do's and Don'ts in Pregnancy</a></strong></p><h2>Tips (Not Tipsy)
</h2><p style="text-align:center;">
<img src="/sites/assets/Assets/Categories/Alcohol/624-inline5.jpg" alt="two friends enjoying glassess of wine on a rooftop" style="margin:5px;" />
</p><p>If you do choose to drink, here are some tips to help minimise your risks.</p><h3>Dial M for Moderation</h3><p>Women should drink no more than 1 standard drink a day. That’s:</p><ul><li>A can (330 ml) regular beer</li><li>Half glass (100 ml) wine *height of glass is 15cm</li><li>1 nip (30 ml) spirits</li></ul><p>Love cocktails? You might not realise it, but cocktails like Screwdriver or Bourbon Coke can contain 30ml of spirits or more.</p><p>Instead of cocktails, why not try mocktails? They’re just as yummy, and you don’t get the hangover!</p><h3>Eat, Drink and Be Merry</h3><ul><li>Eat before and after you drink</li><li>Space out your drinks, sipping slowly</li><li>Alternate your drinks with non-alcoholic beverages</li><li>Eat food while drinking to slow down alcohol absorption</li><li>Watching your weight? Cut back on fat during the day to make room for the additional calories from your drinks</li></ul><h3>Do Not Drink and Drive</h3><p>Alcohol affects hand-eye coordination. If you plan to drink:</p><ul><li>Take a taxi to the party</li><li>Take a taxi home</li></ul><p>If you need to drive:</p><ul><li>Choose only non-alcoholic drinks</li><li>Tell your friends you are driving so they won't buy you drinks</li></ul><h3>Get Help, If Needed</h3><p>Be honest and seek help if you have a problem with alcohol. Reach out to any one of the
<a href="https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/614/getting_support" title="Getting Support">agencies dedicated to helping people with alcohol dependence or addiction</a>.</p><hr /><p>
<strong>Read these next:</strong></p><ul><li>
<a href="http://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/1471/alcohol-and-diabetes" title="Alcohol and Diabetes">Alcohol and Diabetes</a></li><li>
<a href="http://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/501/drinkingmythsbusted" title="Drinking Myths Busted">Drinking Myths Busted</a></li><li>
<a href="https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/1319/watch-out-for-these-chronic-complications-of-diabetes" title="Excessive Alcohol Intake: When You Have One Too Many for the Road">Excessive Alcohol Intake: When You Have One Too Many for the Road</a> </li><li>
<a href="https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/1872/life-is-better-when-youre-sober" title="Life is Better When You're Sober">Life is Better When You're Sober</a>
</li></ul></div>
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Monday, April 16, 2018
ICD-9-Circulatory,ICD-11-Digestive,ICD-15-Pregancy Childbirth Puerperium,PGM_Obesity Prevention,PGM_Substance Abuse,GENDER_Female,AGE_Young Adult,AGE_Adult,MARITAL_Married,CHILD_Children,INTEREST_Food & Nutrition,
No
624
Monday, October 12, 2020
<div class="ExternalClassA318562EAD924B8098B4452F01AA643E"><p>Health Promotion Board
3 Second Hospital Avenue
Singapore 168937</p></div>
HPB_Mailbox@hpb.gov.sg
<div class="ExternalClass88758F7025C54F2CAB0BFF8EC692ED65">Established in 2001, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) has a vision to build a nation of healthy people.
HPB implements programmes that reach out to the population, specifically children, adults and the elderly. These programmes include health and dental services for school children, BreastScreen Singapore, AIDS Education Programme, CervicalScreen Singapore, Childhood Injury Prevention Programme, Mental Health Education Programme, National Myopia Prevention Programme, Physical Activity, National Smoking Control Programme, Nutrition Programme, Osteoporosis Education Programme, Workplace Health Promotion Programme, HPB Online, HealthLine, Health Information Centre and HealthZone. New programmes will also be initiated over time to address health concerns among the community.</div>
/sites/assets/Assets/Logos%20and%20Official/logo-hc-hpb.png
Health Promotion Board
64353500
http://www.hpb.gov.sg
Women and Alcohol - How Well Do They Mix?
Articles
ICD-9-Circulatory, ICD-11-Digestive, ICD-15-Pregancy Childbirth Puerperium, PGM_Obesity Prevention, PGM_Substance Abuse, GENDER_Female, AGE_Young Adult, AGE_Adult, MARITAL_Married, CHILD_Children, INTEREST_Food & Nutrition