Can alcohol cause numb feet?
Don’t worry—an occasional glass of champagne at weddings won’t cause your feet to go numb. If you are a heavy drinker, however, keep this in mind: excessive alcohol use can damage your nerves, and one of the early symptoms is numb feet. The condition is called alcoholic neuropathy, and others symptoms are a pins-and-needles feeling, muscle weakness, aching muscles, and cramps or pain in your arms and legs. It can even damage your autonomic nerves, which regulate such internal processes as your heat tolerance, urinary and sexual function, and digestive tract health.
That’s quite a list—enough to make you think twice about binge drinking or repeated overuse of alcohol. There are treatments available to deal with these various problems, but damage to the nerves is usually permanent and will greatly affect your quality of life. It may lead to chronic pain and disability if alcohol use is not curbed and you don’t get proper nutrition.
If you struggle with overuse of alcohol and are experiencing numbness in your feet, call Advanced Foot & Ankle Center at (302) 355-0056 and set up an appointment at one of our offices in Newark, Glasgow, or Wilmington, Delaware, to get help.