Stomach irritation linked to alcohol?

[evapaterson]

I have known my husband for seven years.  We rarely drink as have two pre-school children.  Often (but not always) if my husband drinks alcohol at all his stomach seems to be severely irritated the next day to the extent he cannot even hold down water.  He is 6' 1" and over 14 stone and this is usually caused by three or four drinks.  Symptoms last for approx 24 hours and he usually has to go to bed for that entire time.  Because he drinks so rarely it's been difficult to pin point what is causing the problem.  He enjoys a glass or two of wine a week and is usually fine with this.  For a while we thought it may be an additive in lager as he seemed to be fine with a heavy beer.  He then had a couple of episodes after heavy beer so we had to rule that out.  I now question if it could be a combination of alcohol and certain types of food (he had an Indian and one bottle of beer last night and has been sent home from work with an escort as so unwell!).  I know the last time he was very ill we had a tapas meal out before a few drinks so wonder if it could be rich/spicy food and alcohol?  He doesn't have a good stomach at the best of times probably experiencing the runs around once a week.  Could he have an underlying issue that is aggravated by alcohol?  Could it be linked to dehydration even (he doesn't drink many fluids)?   Any ideas would be helpful.  Searching online has not proved helpful as sites relating to alcohol and stomach complaints almost exclusively relate to heavy drinkers.  Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Eva

[evapaterson]

Thank you for taking the time to answer.  Hubby has now been to doctor and looks likely he may be suffering from gastritis.  Potentially linked to stress and with alcohol and high fat/spicy foods as as trigger f  or symptoms.  More tests next week then hopefully medication to help.

[gymdandee]

Beer ingredients like preservatives, sulfur dioxide as well as histamine could be the trigger. The epithelial lining is a protective covering of the stomach. Intake of too much alcohol damages this lining resulting in inflammation. This triggers stomach pain and cramps. The damage to this lining also causes medical complications.

[rogelio63]

If you can relate it to alcohol and it isn't a part of your lifestyle it's probably better to just avoid it. If he has problems with his stomach and digestion maybe you could try some probiotics, like yogurt with active cultures. Some people have the good bacteria wiped out of their system by a round of antibiotics and have trouble getting their normal gut flora back to normal. Some don't have the Antibiotics for a reason, they just don't have a good ratio of good flora to bad. If you have a health food store nearby, they usually have some probiotic supplements around, but don't buy the least expensive as they usually are devoid of active bacteria.
Hope it helps!