Why its a bad idea to mix alcohol with some medications

This risk is especially high during alcohol intoxication because lowered sexual inhibition can make it difficult to withdraw in time. Delirium tremens is a condition that requires people with a long history of heavy drinking to undertake an alcohol detoxification regimen. Alcohol-based sugar-sweetened beverages, are closely linked to episodic drinking in adolescents.35 Sugar-infused alcoholic beverages include alcopops, and liqueurs. The best way to prevent an addiction to a drug is not to take the drug at all. If your health care provider prescribes a drug with the potential for addiction, use care when taking the drug and follow instructions.

Ethanol has a variety of analogues, many of which have similar actions and effects. In chemistry, “alcohol” can encompass other mind-altering alcohols besides the kind we drink. Some examples include synthetic drugs like ethchlorvynol and methylpentynol, once used in medicine.

Here, we describe briefly how alcohol and medications can interact, and we provide a few examples of common medications that could interact negatively with alcohol. We provide links to resources to help you mitigate these risks, including a consensus-developed list of potentially serious alcohol-medication interactions in older adults. When you pick your prescription up at the pharmacy, chances are the label or package insert will come with a warning if it is not safe to consume alcohol while you are taking the medication. The risks of mixing antipsychotics and alcohol include impaired judgment, dizziness, drowsiness, low blood pressure, the worsening of a psychiatric condition, an increased risk of suicide, and more. Mixing anti-anxiety and epilepsy medications with alcoholic beverages can cause slowed breathing, impaired motor control, abnormal behavior, and memory loss. The effects of mixing alcohol with medication also depend on certain individual factors.

A 2023 study suggests that people who drink for both recreational enjoyment and therapeutic reasons, like relieving pain and anxiety/depression/stress, have a higher demand for alcohol compared to those who drink solely for recreation or self-medication. Since literally hundreds of medications can lead to interactions with alcohol, it is important to review your medicines with your pharmacist or other health care provider to check for clinically significant drug-alcohol reactions. Even though some research suggests that moderate alcohol consumption is heart healthy, certain medications and alcohol have the capacity to interfere with your successful treatment. Overall, the effects of alcohol consumption on cardiovascular disease are detrimental in all societies with large proportions of heavy-drinking occasions, which is true for most societies globally (Rehm et al. 2003a). This conclusion also is supported by ecological analyses or natural experiments. For example, studies in Lithuania (Chenet et al. 2001) found that cardiovascular deaths increased on weekends, when heavy drinking is more common.

Other Medications

The authors concluded that the cardio-protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption disappears when light to moderate drinking is mixed with irregular heavy-drinking occasions. The relationship between alcohol consumption and HIV infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is different from that with other infectious diseases. To become infected with HIV, people must exchange body fluids, in most cases either by injecting drugs with a contaminated needle or, more commonly in low-income societies, engaging in unsafe sex. Researchers frequently have pointed out that personality characteristics, such as a propensity for risk-taking, sensation-seeking, and sexual compulsivity, may be involved in the risk of HIV infection. Indeed, a recent consensus meeting determined that there is not yet sufficient evidence to conclude that alcohol has a causal impact on HIV infection (Parry et al. 2009). However, it can be argued that experimental studies in which alcohol consumption led to a greater inclination to engage in unsafe sex indicate that some causal relationship between alcohol and HIV infection exists (e.g., George et al. 2009; Norris et al. 2009).

According to a 2008 study published by researchers at Brown University and the University of Rhode Island, 60 percent of people who regularly take prescription drugs known to interact with alcohol also drink, and 5 percent have at least three drinks in a row when they do. In closing, combining alcohol with certain medications, particularly those with sedative effects, can increase the risk of adverse events, including falls, driving accidents, and fatal overdoses. The more alcohol a patient consumes, the greater the risk for alcohol and medication interactions. Universal screening, careful prescribing choices, and patient education can help minimize the risks of combining alcohol with certain medications. Asking patients about their alcohol use provides opportunities to discuss potential interactions with medications, to advise changes in their drinking if indicated, and to connect them with further resources as needed.

When you drink alcohol while taking naltrexone, you can feel drunk, but you won’t feel the pleasure that usually comes with it. “You’re trying to make that relationship with alcohol have no rewards,” Holt says. You’ll know if you can’t take alcohol because there will be a prominent warning on the box. Your pharmacist should also counsel you on your medicine when you pick up your script.

When you mix alcohol with medicines, whether prescription or over-the-counter, the medicines can increase the effects of the alcohol or the alcohol can increase the side-effects of the drug. Women are more prone to dangerous drug interactions, liver damage, and other alcohol-induced health issues than men. Different types of medications interact with alcohol differently and can have harmful effects, even herbal remedies. Whatever kind of medication you’re taking, whether prescribed or over-the-counter, you need to know the risks. Warfarin is a commonly used medication to prevent blood clots, sold under the name Coumadin. People who drink occasionally may have internal bleeding while taking this medication.

1. You should not drink alcohol while taking certain medications—and it’s important to know how long after taking medicine you can drink.
2. Alcohol product labelling could be considered as a component of a comprehensive public health strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm.
3. At its worst, the consequences of mixing alcohol and medicines can be fatal.
4. Drinking alcohol while using opioids comes with many risks, including slower breathing, impaired judgment, and potentially overdose and death.
5. Mixing alcohol and oxycodone can have dangerous and dire consequences.

Individual Disease and Injury Conditions Associated With Alcohol Use

This class of drugs can cause excessive drowsiness and may put you at risk if you’re driving a car or operating machinery—and that’s without alcohol. When you combine these drugs with alcohol, you’re even more at risk of accidents. Consult with a medical provider about how any alcohol use may interact with your medications, including any supplements, vitamins, or contraception. Each person’s metabolism, alcohol tolerance, and other individual health factors will determine specifically how long you need to wait before it’s safe to drink. Cardiovascular (heart) medications, central nervous system (CNS) agents like sedatives or narcotic pain relievers, and the metabolic class such as diabetes medicines were the most commonly used drug classes used by current drinkers in the study. Fortunately, educating patients about the risks of combining medications with alcohol may help them avoid negative outcomes.

Herbal medicines and alcohol interactions

The list presented here does not include all the medicines that may interact harmfully with alcohol. Most important, the list does not include all the ingredients in every medication. If you have diabetes, drinking alcohol can affect your blood sugar levels.

The lists presented in this review do not include all the medicines that may interact harmfully What are the side effects of the birth control pill with alcohol. To more closely review specific interactions, visit the Drugs.com Interaction Checker and speak with your doctor or pharmacist. Always review labels on over-the-counter (OTC) bottles to look for drug interactions between allergy, cough and cold medicine and alcohol. Allergy medicine used with alcohol can also cause or worsen drowsiness. You can look at medicine label ingredients to see what medicines have alcohol in them, or ask your pharmacist.