Dizzy after drinking but conscious

Drinking is a very traditional diet. Alcohol is an indispensable drink in various parties. Alcohol can make the atmosphere of the party more lively. Therefore, drinking is very popular in life. However, since alcohol is toxic, drinking too much can cause great harm to the body. Let’s take a look at why people feel dizzy after drinking but are conscious? I hope everyone can understand it.

The main component of wine is alcohol, also known as ethanol. Ethanol will be absorbed into the blood within 5 minutes after drinking. The ethanol that enters the blood flows with the blood to the liver, immediately activating the alcohol dehydrogenase in the liver, and metabolizing the ethanol into acetaldehyde.

Acetaldehyde is a harmful substance to the human body. When it flows throughout the body with the blood, it directly stimulates the blood vessels and causes them to dilate. Blood pressure will drop, resulting in a decrease in the amount of blood flowing per unit time, causing insufficient oxygen supply to the surrounding tissue cells. Brain cells are very sensitive to oxygen. If the brain is deprived of oxygen for 4-6 minutes, it can cause irreversible brain death. Therefore, this temporary brain deprivation after drinking can cause dizziness.

Subsequently, when acetaldehyde flows through the liver through the blood, it will be broken down and metabolized into acetic acid under the action of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. Acetic acid has no irritating effect on the human body and is a harmless substance. It is excreted from the body with urine, and the metabolism of alcohol is considered complete.

Since the process of ethanol breaking down into acetaldehyde after drinking is very rapid, it will stimulate blood vessels to dilate within a few minutes after drinking, which is manifested as some people's faces turning red as soon as they drink. The process of acetaldehyde being metabolized into acetic acid is relatively slow, so the feeling of dizziness and other discomfort after drinking will continue for a while. For people who drink heavily for a long time, they have developed a certain tolerance to dizziness and the feeling may be lighter, but it does not mean that it does not exist.

The amount and activity of alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase in the human body vary from individual to individual, that is, the speed at which ethanol is metabolized into acetaldehyde and acetaldehyde is metabolized into acetic acid is different. This is why some people drink a lot of alcohol and some people drink less. But no matter what, the long-term presence of acetaldehyde will have adverse effects on blood vessels, so controlling the amount of alcohol consumed is the guarantee to avoid damage to the body.