As we enter the festive season it’s a good time to think about what all those celebratory alcoholic drinks can do to your gut.

Alcohol can interfere with the time it takes for food to go through your gut (also known as the “transit time”). In particular, it can affect the muscles of the stomach and the small bowel (also known as the small intestine).

So, how and why does alcohol make your poos goes weird? Here’s what you need to know.

Diarrhoea and the ‘transit time’

Alcohol’s effect on stomach transit time depends on the alcohol concentration.

In general, alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka with high alcohol concentrations (above 15%) slow down the movement of food in the stomach.

Beverages with comparatively low alcohol concentrations (such as wine and beer) speed up the movement of food in the stomach.

These changes in gut transit explain why some people can get a sensation of fullness and abdominal discomfort when they drink vodka or whisky.

How long someone has been drinking a lot of alcohol can affect small bowel transit.

We know from experiments with rats that chronic use of alcohol accelerates the transit of food through the stomach and small bowel.

This shortened transit time through the small bowel also happens when humans drink a lot of alcohol, and is linked to diarrhoea.

Alcohol can also reduce the absorption of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the duodenum (the first part of the small bowel).

Alcohol can lead to reduced absorption of xylose (a type of sugar). This means diarrhoea is more likely to occur in drinkers who also consume a lot of sugary foods such as sweets and sweetened juices.

Chronic alcohol use is also linked to:

• lactose intolerance
• overgrowth of small bowel bacteria and
• reduced absorption of fats from the pancreas not producing enough digestive enzymes.

This means chronic alcohol use may lead to diarrhoea and loose stools.

How might a night of heavy drinking affect your poos?

When rats are exposed to high doses of alcohol over a short period of time, it results in small bowel transit delay.

This suggests acute alcohol intake (such as an episode of binge drinking) is more likely to lead to constipation than diarrhoea.

This is backed up by recent research studying the effects of alcohol in 507 university students.

These students had their stools collected and analysed, and were asked to fill out a stool form questionnaire known as the Bristol Stool Chart.

The research found a heavy drinking episode was associated with harder, firm bowel motions.

In particular, those who consumed more alcohol had more Type 1 stools, which are separate hard lumps that look or feel a bit like nuts.

The researchers believed this acute alcohol intake results in small bowel transit delay; the food stayed for longer in the intestines, meaning more water was absorbed from the stool back into the body. This led to drier, harder stools.

Interestingly, the researchers also found there was more of a type of bacteria known as “Actinobacteria” in heavy drinkers than in non-drinkers.

This suggests bacteria may have a role to play in stool consistency.

But binge drinking doesn’t always lead to constipation. Binge drinking in patients with irritable bowel syndrom (IBS), for example, clearly leads to diarrhoea, nausea and abdominal pain.

What can I do about all this?

If you’re suffering from unwanted bowel motion changes after drinking, the most effective way to address this is to limit your alcohol intake.

Some alcoholic beverages may affect your bowel motions more than others. If you notice a pattern of troubling poos after drinking certain drinks, it may be sensible to cut back on those beverages.

If you tend to get diarrhoea after drinking, avoid mixing alcohol with caffeinated drinks. Caffeine is known to stimulate contractions of the colon and so could worsen diarrhoea.

If constipation after drinking is the problem, then staying hydrated is important. Drinking plenty of water before drinking alcohol (and having water in between drinks and after the party is over) can help reduce dehydration and constipation.

You should also eat before drinking alcohol, particularly protein and fibre-rich foods.

Food in the stomach can slow the absorption of alcohol and may help protect against the negative effects of alcohol on the gut lining.

Is it anything to worry about?

Changes in bowel motions after drinking are usually short term and, for the most part, resolve themselves pretty efficiently.

But if symptoms such as diarrhoea persist beyond a couple of days after stopping alcohol, it may signify other concerning issues such as an underlying gut disorder like inflammatory bowel disease.

Researchers have also linked alcohol consumption to the development of irritable bowel syndrome.

If problems persist or if there are alarming symptoms such as blood in your stool, seek medical advice from a general practitioner.

Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Dealing with chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) means facing more than the occasional discomfort. It’s like being on a never ending battlefield against an unseen adversary, making simple daily activities a trial.

UTIs happen when bacteria sneak into the urinary system, causing pain and frequent trips to the bathroom.

Chronic UTIs take this to the next level, coming back repeatedly or never fully going away despite treatment. Chronic UTIs are typically diagnosed when a person experiences two or more infections within six months or three or more within a year.

They can happen to anyone, but some are more prone due to their body’s makeup or habits. Women are more likely to get UTIs than men, due to their shorter urethra and hormonal changes during menopause that can decrease the protective lining of the urinary tract. Sexually active people are also at greater risk, as bacteria can be transferred around the area.

Up to 60% of women will have at least one UTI in their lifetime. While effective treatments exist, about 25% of women face recurrent infections within six months. Around 20–30% of UTIs don’t respond to standard antibiotic. The challenge of chronic UTIs lies in bacteria’s ability to shield themselves against treatments.

Why are chronic UTIs so hard to treat?

Once thought of as straightforward infections cured by antibiotics, we now know chronic UTIs are complex. The cunning nature of the bacteria responsible for the condition allows them to hide in bladder walls, out of antibiotics’ reach.

The bacteria form biofilms, a kind of protective barrier that makes them nearly impervious to standard antibiotic treatments.

This ability to evade treatment has led to a troubling increase in antibiotic resistance, a global health concern that renders some of the conventional treatments ineffective.

Antibiotics need to be advanced to keep up with evolving bacteria, in a similar way to the flu vaccine, which is updated annually to combat the latest strains of the flu virus. If we used the same flu vaccine year after year, its effectiveness would wane, just as overused antibiotics lose their power against bacteria that have adapted.

But fighting bacteria that resist antibiotics is much tougher than updating the flu vaccine. Bacteria change in ways that are harder to predict, making it more challenging to create new, effective antibiotics. It’s like a never-ending game where the bacteria are always one step ahead.

Treating chronic UTIs still relies heavily on antibiotics, but doctors are getting crafty, changing up medications or prescribing low doses over a longer time to outwit the bacteria.

Doctors are also placing a greater emphasis on thorough diagnostics to accurately identify chronic UTIs from the outset. By asking detailed questions about the duration and frequency of symptoms, health-care providers can better distinguish between isolated UTI episodes and chronic conditions.

The approach to initial treatment can significantly influence the likelihood of a UTI becoming chronic. Early, targeted therapy, based on the specific bacteria causing the infection and its antibiotic sensitivity, may reduce the risk of recurrence.

For post-menopausal women, estrogen therapy has shown promise in reducing the risk of recurrent UTIs. After menopause, the decrease in estrogen levels can lead to changes in the urinary tract that makes it more susceptible to infections. This treatment restores the balance of the vaginal and urinary tract environments, making it less likely for UTIs to occur.

Lifestyle changes, such as drinking more water and practising good hygiene like washing hands with soap after going to the toilet and the recommended front-to-back wiping for women, also play a big role.

Some swear by cranberry juice or supplements, though researchers are still figuring out how effective these remedies truly are.

What treatments might we see in the future?

Scientists are currently working on new treatments for chronic UTIs. One promising avenue is the development of vaccines aimed at preventing UTIs altogether, much like flu shots prepare our immune system to fend off the flu.

Another new method being looked at is called phage therapy. It uses special viruses called bacteriophages that go after and kill only the bad bacteria causing UTIs, while leaving the good bacteria in our body alone. This way, it doesn’t make the bacteria resistant to treatment, which is a big plus.

Researchers are also exploring the potential of probiotics. Probiotics introduce beneficial bacteria into the urinary tract to out-compete harmful pathogens. These good bacteria work by occupying space and resources in the urinary tract, making it harder for harmful pathogens to establish themselves.

Probiotics can also produce substances that inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and enhance the body’s immune response.

Chronic UTIs represent a stubborn challenge, but with a mix of current treatments and promising research, we’re getting closer to a day when chronic UTIs are a thing of the past.

Iris Lim, Assistant Professor, Bond University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.