Know which medicines you should not mix with alcohol

There are several occasions to relax with an alcoholic beverage, such as when enjoying with friends or celebrating a special day.

But if you use certain drugs while drinking alcohol, this can affect your body in several ways.

Taking alcohol with some medicines means that the medicine may not work as well.

With other drugs, you risk life

Here's what you need to know if you are taking medication and also plan to drink alcohol.

The effects of alcohol are similar to the effects that drugs can have.

Whether or not you will have interactions, and what interactions you have, depends on many factors.

These include the medications you take, dosage, amount of alcohol you drink, your age, genes, gender and general health.

Women, the elderly, and people with liver problems are more likely to have drug interactions with their alcohol

Because it is important?

After drinking the medicine, it goes to the stomach.

From there, the body transports it to the liver, where drugs are made and broken down before entering the bloodstream.

Every drug you use is given in a dose that takes into account this process in the liver.

When you drink alcohol, it is also broken down in the liver and can affect the amount of medicine that passes through your blood.

Some drugs are broken down more, and that can mean that not enough reaches the bloodstream to be effective.

Some drugs are broken down to a lesser extent.

This means that you are getting a higher dose than intended.

What medicines do not go well with alcohol?

Many medications interact with alcohol, regardless of whether they are prescribed by your doctor or bought over the counter, such as herbal remedies.

1. Drugs + alcohol = drowsiness, coma, death

Drinking alcohol and taking drugs that depress the central nervous system to reduce agitation and excitement can increase the effect.

Together, these can make you drowsy, slow your breathing and heart rate, and in the worst cases, lead to coma and death.

These side effects are possible if you use more than one medicine of this type.

Medications to consider include those for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, pain (except acetaminophen), sleep disorders (such as insomnia), allergies, and the flu.

It is best not to drink alcohol with these drugs or to limit the consumption of alcohol.

2. Drugs + alcohol = more harm

Mixing alcohol with some drugs increases the effects of those drugs.

An example is the sleeping pill zolpidem, which should not be mixed with alcohol.

Less common but serious side effects are sleep disturbances, such as sleep eating or sleep walking, most likely with alcohol.

3. Medicines + alcohol = high blood pressure

Certain types of medication only interact with certain types of alcohol.

Examples include some antidepressants, such as phenelzine, tranylcypromine, and moclobemide, the antibiotic linezolid, the Parkinson's drug selegiline, and the cancer drug procarbazine.

So-called monoamine oxidase only interacts with certain types of beer including Belgian, Korean, European, and African beers, and domestic beers and wines.

These types of alcohol contain high levels of tyramine, a natural substance that is normally broken down by the body and usually does not cause any side effects.

However, monoamine oxidase inhibitors prevent the body from breaking down tyramine.

This increases blood levels in the body and can cause blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels.

4. Drugs + alcohol = side effects even after stopping drinking

Some drugs interact by affecting how the body breaks down alcohol.

If you drink alcohol while taking these medicines, you may experience nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing or dizziness, your heart may beat faster than normal, or your blood pressure may drop.

This can happen even after stopping treatment and then drinking alcohol.

For example, if you are taking metronidazole, you should avoid alcohol while you are taking the medicine and for at least 24 hours after you stop taking it.

An example of how alcohol changes the amount of drugs or related substances in the body is acitretin.

This drug is used to treat skin diseases such as psoriasis and to prevent skin cancer in people who have had an organ transplant.

When you take acitretin, it is converted to another substance, etretinate, before it is removed from the body.

Alcohol increases the amount of etretinate in the body.

This is very important as etretinate can cause birth defects.

To avoid this, if you are a woman of childbearing age, you should avoid alcohol while taking the medicine and for two months after you stop taking it.

Can alcohol interact with birth control pills?

One of the most common myths about drugs and alcohol is that you can't drink while on the pill.

In general, it is safe to use alcohol with the pill, as it does not directly affect the effectiveness in relation to birth control.

But the pill is most effective when taken at the same time each day.

If you drink a lot of alcohol, you are more likely to forget.

Alcohol can also make some people feel nauseous and vomit.

If you vomit within three hours of taking the pill, it will not work. This increases the risk of pregnancy.

Birth control pills can also affect your response to alcohol, as the hormones they contain can change how your body gets rid of alcohol.

This means that you can get drunk faster and stay drunk longer than usual.

Alcohol and antibiotics

Then there is the myth of not mixing alcohol with any antibiotic.

This only applies to metronidazole and linezolid.

Otherwise, it is generally safe to use alcohol with antibiotics, as alcohol does not affect their effectiveness.

But if you can, it's best to avoid alcohol while taking your antibiotics.

Antibiotics and alcohol have similar side effects, including stomach problems, dizziness, and drowsiness.

Using these two together means you are more likely to have these side effects.

Alcohol can also reduce your energy and increase the time it takes to recover.

Where can I go for advice?

If you plan to drink alcohol this holiday season and are concerned about any interactions with your medications, don't stop taking them.

Your pharmacist can advise you if it is safe for you to drink based on the medicines you are taking, and if not, advise you on alternatives.