Gout, gastritis, heartburn, hangovers, burns ... Why Christmas excesses can take a toll on our health

• ROCÍO R. GARCÍA-ABADILLO

  Madrid

Updated Thursday, December 302021-13: 04

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Spain is one of the countries that spends the most on food at Christmas. As if the rest of the year did not matter, on these dates we plan all the menus for the various family meals and dinners and we throw the rest, we buy as if the world were going to end and

. The problem is that it is not just one day and excesses, the word that can best define this time, accumulate until they manifest themselves in the form of multiple conditions.

It is the

, despite vaccination - which mitigates serious illness and death, but does not prevent transmission. But man does not live only from

and, since we all allow ourselves to be carried away to a greater or lesser extent by the Christmas madness, it is advisable to be careful with these other threats to the health of these dates.

For starters,

.

"The common environment, the heat, the heating and being with little clothes and going out or opening to ventilate ... not only the contact between people who can get any type of respiratory disease, but also

when leaving very hot environments to cold environments reduces the local defenses of our nostrils and pharynx. This, together with direct contact with other people and the possibility of transmission through airborne droplets, increases possibility of

", explains Lorenzo Armenteros, spokesman for the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG).

Gout

However, almost all Christmas dangers derive, as we pointed out at the beginning, from excesses with food and drink. Among the most frequent and complicated is gout, says Armenteros. "It is a disease that exists by accumulation:

and at a certain moment microcrystals are formed and produces

and the formation of gouty tophi, those deposits of uric acid crystals that affect the joint and they are what hurts ".

Armenteros indicates that

is a slow metabolic disease. People who always have high uric acid figures should watch what they eat more since there are certain

Either because too many are ingested or because uric acid is not completely eliminated. We all associate it with seafood, but game is also rich in this substance, as well as red meat, liver, blue fish, sausages ... "Almost everything related to Christmas. But it does not mean that because Someone indulges in seafood is going to have gout if they do not have hyperuricemia. It is convenient to have a good diagnosis and good control, to know the uric acid we have, something that can be seen in a simple analysis, and to take care of what we eat to avoid those crises, "adds Armenteros. Crises that usually occur in the

.

"In a large joint it takes a long time to face this accumulation of microcrystals, in smaller ones the accumulation causes pain sooner, that is why it is more typical".

Diabetes

Spain is the second European country with the highest prevalence of diabetes

, according to data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

In Europe, at least one in 7 adults has this disease and in the last two years the number of people with diabetes has increased by 42%.

Although in the popular imagination we associate this disease with sweets (by the way, something very Christmassy), it

and any food that can be converted into glucose metabolism (although sweets, hence the relationship, are richer in glucose).

"Diabetes is controlled if we always eat the same thing and the energy expenditure is the same, if we maintain our daily activity, our daily exercise and a regulated meal. When one of these elements goes out of balance, and at Christmas they all tend to go out of balance - we move less, we exercise less, we eat more and we do not have our usual life-,

. It is advisable, as advice, that we delay the fact of digestion, that we mix those foods that can be rich in carbohydrates carbon with

(asparagus, lettuce, vegetables ...)

.

In this way, the sugar content is not going to be absorbed so quickly, but rather it will be done little by little so that there are no high glucose peaks, "says Armenteros.

The specialist explains that as all metabolic alterations are closely related to how our life has been, it is a slow process, so a rise in glucose in a certain time is not serious enough to cause a hyperglycemic crisis due to a Christmas meal, but be careful not to throw the house out of the window with carbohydrates because

.

"When we speak of great epidemics,

.

What truly modifies mortality, morbidity and diseases is the modification of life habits and making them healthy, it is what causes a health benefit for the population with much difference from anything else that we could think of specifically.

Modifying life habits and making them healthy is what improves our survival and lengthens our lives, "says Armenteros. In this sense, teleworking has created negative habits, adds this family doctor, such as moving less or eating more while at home. "Trends that could have been corrected in a short period of time, but when they occur for about two years, they already become something that has a greater and more dangerous incidence."

Oral problems

Taking advantage of the fact that we have gone through the subject of sweets, be careful because their effects are noticeable after the holidays especially, not only because of the kilos that can be taken, but because of

, according to some specialists.

Hygiene habits are relaxed (many times because people eat out and spend many hours between brushing), they drink more sweets and drink more sugary, carbonated and alcoholic beverages.

Be very careful also with damage to orthodontics and prosthetics and

.

Digestive problems: binge eating, gastritis, heavy digestion, heartburn ...

These conditions are the

of these parties due to the large amount of food we eat, with gargantuan dinners and food mixes that we do not eat at other times of the year. Among the simplest and most common we find

, "a set of symptoms and signs located in the upper abdomen that range from pain to a non-painful negative perception described as: early satiety, postprandial heaviness, sensation epigastric burning,

. Symptoms can be continuous or intermittent and are usually related to ingestion, although this is not a necessary condition ", highlights Concepción Flores Muñoz, member of the SEMG Digestive Working Group.

The doctor points out that there are no quality scientific studies that firmly establish the responsibility of certain foods in the origin of dyspepsia, but some mechanisms could explain the intake of certain foods and the appearance of symptoms, such as the

, excessive stomach distension after a copious intake (number of meals and quantity in each one), delayed gastric emptying induced by foods high in fat (which we avoid at other times of the year, such as cold cuts, sauces various ...) or the

(sparkling and carbonated drinks, nougat, ice cream, various Christmas sweets ...).

All this, as we see, very present at Christmas.

Flores points out that digestion can be improved if we take into account measures such as

, controlling what we take trying not to exceed in quantity,

, changing caffeine and caffeine for drinks without an irritating effect , cook the main dishes with low fat content and take care of the sausages we eat, and make desserts low in fat and sugar.

A recommendation in which several experts agree is to

since the body does not always respond adequately to sudden changes in habits, and especially when there are chronic diseases (cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, kidney ... .), which can be destabilized by these excesses and lead to an even serious exacerbation, explains Pedro Javier Cañones Garzón, head of the Digestive Pathology Group of the SEMG.

is always recommended, adapted to the

age and health conditions of each person, but always maintaining certain habits. "It can be dangerous to try to alleviate the excesses with a level of physical exercise that is not the one that is used to doing, much more if the norm is sedentary lifestyle," says Cañones. That is to say, if one does not move throughout the year

, for example.

Cañones speaks of

as two terms that are not medical "because they do not define a specific condition." "The closest thing to 'empacho' in medical terminology is

, which causes a sensation of abdominal fullness and can be accompanied by discomfort, nausea, vomiting and sometimes what is called a vagal syndrome: dizziness, paleness, profuse sweating , generalized coldness and even syncope. Indigestion does not correspond to a single condition. Most often it is the consequence of food poisoning, an exaggerated seasoning based on spices or an excess of alcoholic drink accompanying the intake ".

Eating in excess is always bad, points out this doctor, because it involves added work for the organs and systems that metabolize food: digestive tract, liver and kidneys - in addition to what we do not use is transformed into fat and extra kilos-. Of course, when we go overboard with food, we have to wait for the body to regain balance. Cañones does not recommend heeding "the advice of those who recommend provoking

to alleviate discomfort, because

(and even the trachea and bronchi) due to acid from the stomach ".

Other times, excess food causes

, the sensation that we have from the stomach that rises to the throat -that is, what we normally call

,

, which is the stomach pain from heartburn. According to the Spanish Foundation for the Digestive System, around

, at least once a week. During Christmas, the figure may increase.

"In the stomach, the second phase of digestion occurs (the first would be chewing), where acids are needed to reduce food, metabolize it and turn it into something that can be absorbed. If we eat a lot it is necessary to secrete a increased amount of acid and doing so can lead to the

at certain times and that stomach content rises, causing that unpleasant sensation that is heartburn, "indicates Armenteros. The SEMG spokesperson emphasizes that it is sometimes alarming because it occurs when we are sleeping, it irritates the throat and produces a feeling of suffocation, which produces a great fright. "The person wakes up very overwhelmed by that sensation of acid in the throat that seemed to prevent him from breathing. Sometimes

, a sustained cough. "

Armenteros points out that

is the inflammation of cells, of the mucosa that lines the stomach and causes pain. "And related to this, and it is common in this age, are

.

The bile that the gallbladder secretes is part of our digestion and colic can sometimes occur because there is an alteration since the fats force us to secrete more bile to make this digestion and that can trigger us, if there is an alteration in the bile ducts (for example, that we may have unknown stones in the gallbladder), that there is an inflammation of the ducts or the gallbladder itself and that biliary colic occurs.

Another extreme consequence that we can associate with the consumption of food and alcohol and biliary pathology would be

, an inflammation of the pancreas that can cause severe pain in the upper abdomen, nausea and vomiting ".

Omeprazole abuse, a typical mistake

Drop down

A mistake that we usually make when faced with these acidity and gastritis problems is to abuse omeprazole. "This group of drugs exerts a

, which gives them great therapeutic efficacy. In this way they manage to alleviate symptoms in patients suffering from gastroesophageal reflux or epigastric heartburn", explains Pedro Juan Tárraga López, member of the Working Group of the Digestive Area of ​​the SEMG. The problem is that people use it without being indicated or prescribed by a doctor. "It is often

as if it were to protect us from the discomfort that this can cause us. But it

: it does not form a protective film nor is it valid for anything in the stomach. Instead of calling it an inhibitor, it is called a protector and that causes people to use it indiscriminately as such, but like all drugs it has its side effects, "says Tárraga.

They are infrequent and generally mild, but in some cases serious alterations can occur. "Studies have been carried out showing that the chronic use of omeprazole is not totally safe. The most common adverse effects include:

. Also abdominal pain, constipation and flatulence and

skin

. Other effects Less frequent side effects, but which have been associated with consumption for a long time, are related to the

. This adverse effect favors changes in the intestinal flora with bacterial overgrowth. There is data indicating that could promote

infection

.

And even mycosis, "adds Tárraga.

Food contamination

To a lesser extent than in summer because temperatures are not so high, but food contamination can occur. "More than because the food has been poorly preserved and could have been contaminated or that there has been bacterial growth in that food, what occurs at this time is an excess of food handling: we cook more, we touch them more with our hands. .. For example, "there have been a lot of prawns, let's leave them for the next day." Well, let's take the appropriate measures to preserve them because it is cold outside but in the houses it is often 22 or 23 degrees and in the kitchens even more, which is not everyone touches it, sometimes they are thrown back into the same tray or platter ... Anyway, sometimes we have the false perception that because we belong to the family we are immunized and not,If my brother lives in Soria, then my brother is another Soriano, he is not my brother, he is someone who lives in another place, in another environment, with another life, he has dealt with other people and may have other types of contamination in his body different from those of my family nucleus. It's another bubble, a Soria bubble, "explains Armenteros.

Alcohol and other substance abuse

"I believe that

, not only due to the direct consequences, that we could speak of heartburn, heartburn, gastritis, pancreatitis or biliary colic because alcohol helps to trigger these problems, but because of what is secondary, with a

... In addition to being frequent, at this moment the pandemic has made us raise our emotional state and our emotional lability [rapid changes in mood] is much more sensitive,

, with which there are more possibilities of triggering aggressive situations and alcohol causes them to occur more frequently ", develops Dr. Armenteros.

The most dangerous for the specialist are, in addition to possible

if driving under the influence of alcohol, criminal behaviors that can occur, for example,

.

"With substances that nullify the will and New Year's Eve is one of the most dangerous in that sense because that youthful disinhibition with too many toxins, not only alcohol, can have serious consequences. But

."

The least severe (as long as we are not talking about a problem of alcoholism), although very annoying is the

. "It is still a withdrawal syndrome caused by alcohol. Alcohol consumption causes dehydration, so it is advisable to

. Alcohol must always be taken with food because if we have an empty stomach, absorption is fast, while if we have a

and it is done little by little. If at the same time we combine it with good hydration by drinking water so that

(so that you do not have to purify yourself in other ways, for example, breathing), then the consequences will be not to be drunk or not even bad for alcohol and it will be eliminated and we will not have the unpleasantness of a hangover".

Choking

At Christmas,

and news of deaths by suffocation are common during these holidays, due to the greater consumption of certain risk foods such as nuts, nougats, polvorones, excess alcohol or New Year's Eve grapes. as well as the usual conversations with food in the mouth, indicates on its website the Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (SEORL-CCC).

It is not a minor issue. Aspiration for food can end up leading to more serious problems such as aspiration pneumonia, a condition that causes more than 40,000 hospitalizations a year in Spain. In addition, according to the INE, in 2020 accidental choking caused 2,511 deaths, of which 11% were caused by food intake. Thus, choking and accidental suffocation are already the second cause of accidental death in Spain after falls.

Children

, especially if they suffer from swallowing disorders such as dysphagia, are most at risk of choking or suffocation, especially with

. Due to their size and their slippery skin, "they can cause them to be swallowed without chewing and generate a clogging of the airways, preventing the child from breathing," says Raimundo Gutiérrez Fonseca, secretary general of the SEORL-CCC. "To reduce the risk of aspiration, it is advisable to remove the skin and seeds and cut them into several pieces, so that they are easier to digest," says the specialist.

Be careful with the traditional

, a weapon of mass destruction in this choking business. "These sweets can create

, and if the child laughs or coughs while chewing, it will encourage traces to reach the larynx, trachea or bronchi, making breathing difficult," adds Gutiérrez Fonseca.

In order to reduce the risk of suffocation, the doctor considers it important to follow certain guidelines such as

during meals.

Apart from going immediately to the emergency service in these cases, it is advisable for adults to have some basic notions of first aid to know what to do in case of choking (in this case, in addition to cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques, CPR, is good to know the

).

Emotional aspects and mood disorders

As the saying goes,

. Christmas can be a beautiful time, but for some people it can be the opposite for different reasons. Without becoming some kind of Mr. Scrooge,

. It should be added that encounters with family and loved ones are sometimes a commitment and that social obligation can generate discomfort and stress. Expenses skyrocket between meals and gifts, something that can also distress some people. Not counting the dreaded family arguments, which happen in every house at the beginning or at the end of the holidays.

To all this must be added the

around the world and that has increased psychological disorders and mental health problems, as we have been counting for a long time. "There is a general tension. Doctors have to be very understanding because their way of unloading patients is by talking and sometimes they arrive very angry and, as if we were the vehicle for transmitting the defects of the health system that they have had in recent times, they end up crying because they

, from anger at having felt alone and abandoned, then they show the sadness and anguish that they have experienced, uncertainties and fears ", describes Armenteros.

The family doctor explains that now practically

and anxiety and depressive problems have multiplied. "We are close to 25% as a disease, because if we talk about

, the mood disorder that does not become pathological, it is more sadness, discouragement, anger, irascibility ... The disorder in which the person says' I have changed Now I am different, I get more angry, I argue more with my wife and children, or I am more irascible, but I go from anger to sadness' ... it is not pathological due to the disease itself, but they are altered moods, well there we would reach 80%. We would speak of a

".

It should be added that many families in these two years have lost a loved one due to the pandemic (or for other reasons) and lived last year or this the first Christmas without someone important. Even if it is not a recent loss, Christmas is an especially family time where

, the

that is often called. "It is an emotional bomb that I think is important to know,

in the sense of people who can be more sensitive and that sadness can emerge in them in a more complete way, and distinguish and value when someone can dominate that feeling or when the feeling dominates him and then it is necessary to seek help " , adds Armenteros.

The professional explains that in those moments it is good to sigh, reflect for a moment and even, why not, cry and vent. "And then the person is fine and even laughs again and hugs each other, that is a controlled and supported emotional situation, but there are times when that does not happen, the memory or the thought takes away your sleep, makes you think, makes you sad that you cannot enjoy dinner, with your children, with your siblings, with your grandchildren, with your family. So there is already a

that we could also attribute to Christmas because it is a fundamental element. That does not happen on a summer vacation even if we go to the Fiji Islands, we do not miss anyone, but at Christmas we do. "

Armenteros emphasizes that it is important to distinguish and recognize that this state is temporary and temporary, and that family shelter and support serve to overcome it. When these limits are exceeded and instead of being a mood disorder it becomes a pathology that needs help. "But

or even, being more radical, of suicide peaks.

It is closely related to changes in light and at Christmas we can criticize a lot the spending on lights or the mayor of Vigo who looks at the lights that he puts on and etc., but people do not complain about seeing Christmas lights, on the contrary, they complain that they have not put lights on their street because a city without lights is a sad city, although the same ones last year were the ones who criticized the spending on lights. "

Sleep disturbances

The

affects some stages of sleep. Some studies indicate that it is a

and makes us feel more tired the next day, apart from the fact that we may also suffer from a hangover. In this sense, it also

. Too copious meals can make it difficult for us to fall asleep, all this added to the fact that we stay up late and change our usual rhythm, can cause alterations and insomnia. "Not as much as in the summer holidays, which are longer periods, but they do change, it stays up late and also here the daily effect is more produced because as sometimes we have mixed holidays and newspapers," says Armenteros.

Burns and injuries from misuse of fireworks

In the Nordic countries it is common for fires to occur in houses from leaving candles lit. In Spain it is not something so common, although it can happen and of course the decoration with electrical ornaments and various lights has grown - without reaching the American levels of competition between neighbors and neighborhoods.

, make sure you don't leave those lights on all day or night so they don't short out or overheat.

, the further away from fireplaces, stoves, candles and other objects that can light them, the better, and the decorations (garlands, ornaments, tinsel ...) that are not flammable, if possible.

.

Candles may not be our thing, but fireworks are in many regions and towns.

Misuse can have dire consequences for

.

Not to mention how bad it is for animals (they can die from the stress and anxiety suffered) and many people with autism or epilepsy problems, for example, which can trigger seizures.

It would be convenient for our health and that of those around us to

and at very specific times.

All these excesses have their peak on New Year's Eve. While the majority attend to the explanation of each year to understand the bells and eat the grapes, a frantic race begins for the health workers on duty to attend to the

, as well as cuts caused by glasses. that break. Then vomiting, gastritis, hangovers arrive ... "We should be a little more restrained and enjoy more all the time, all year round,

so that we do not have consequences or regret what has happened because of that overexertion.

It is something very of the Spanish culture, of the Mediterranean character I would say, to happen to us in certain moments.

Maybe we spend the whole year saving miserably on certain issues and we are able to haggle up to pennies and then on New Year's Eve we don't care about anything and we throw the house out the window ", concludes Armenteros. You know, enjoy the holidays but without excesses, dose a little for the rest of the year.

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