Drink alcohol at Christmas and New Year? These drugs really don't mix

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A glass or two of champagne with Christmas lunch. A cold and crisp beer at the beach. Some naughty cocktails with friends to see in New Years. There seems to be so many opportunities to relax with an alcoholic drink this summer.

But if you take certain medications while drinking alcohol, it can affect your body in several ways. Drinking alcohol with certain medications means they may not work as well. With others, you risk a life-threatening overdose.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re taking medication over the summer and planning to drink.

Why is this a big problem?

After taking medicine, it goes to the stomach. From there, your body transports it to the liver where the drug is metabolized and broken down before entering your bloodstream. Each medication you take comes in a dose that takes into account the amount of metabolism that occurs in the liver.

When you drink alcohol, it is also broken down in the liver and can affect the amount of drug metabolized.

Some drugs are metabolized Followingwhich may mean that there is not enough access to your blood circulation to be efficient.

Some drugs are metabolized less. This means that you get a much higher dose than expected, which could lead to an overdose. the effects of alcohol (such as sleep) may act in addition to the similar effects of a drug.

Whether or not you have an interaction and what interaction you have depends on many factors. These include the drug you are taking, the dose, the amount of alcohol you drink, your age, your genes, your gender, and your general health.

women, older people and people with liver problems are more likely to have a drug interaction with alcohol.

Which medications do not mix well with alcohol?

Many drugs interact with alcohol, whether prescribed by your doctor or purchased without a prescription, such as medicinal plants.

1. Medicine + alcohol = drowsiness, coma, death

Drinking alcohol and taking medication that depresses you central nervous system reducing arousal and stimulation can have additive effects. Together, these elements can make you even more drowsy, slow your breathing, and heartbeat and, in extreme cases, lead to coma and death. These effects are more likely if you use more than one medicine of this type.

Medications to watch out for include those for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, pain (except paracetamol), sleep disturbances (such as insomnia), allergies, colds and flu. It is best not to drink alcohol with these medications or to keep your alcohol intake to a minimum.

2. Medicine + alcohol = more effects

Mixing alcohol with certain drugs increases the effect of these drugs.

An example is with the sleeping pill zolpidem, which is do not take with alcohol. Rare, but serious side effects are strange behaviors during sleep, such as sleepwalking, sleepwalking, or sleepwalking, which are more likely with alcohol.

3. Medicine + craft beer or home brew = high blood pressure

Some types of drugs only interact with certain types of alcohol.

Examples include certain drugs for depression, such as phenelzine, tranylcypromine, and moclobemide, the antibiotic linezolid, selegiline, a drug for Parkinson’s disease, and procarbazine, a cancer drug.

These so-called monoamine oxidase inhibitors only interact with certain types of boutique and craft beers, beers with visible sediment, Belgian, Korean, European and African beers, as well as homemade beers and wine.

These types of alcohol contain high levels of tyramine, a natural substance usually broken down by your body that usually causes no harm.

However, monoamine oxidase inhibitors prevent your body from breaking down tyramine. This increases the levels in your body and can cause your blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels.

4. Medicine + alcohol = effects even after stopping drinking

Other drugs interact because they affect how your body breaks down alcohol.

If you drink alcohol while using such medicines, you may feel nauseous, vomit, have flushing of your face and neck, feel short of breath or dizzy, your heart may beat faster than usual, 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 both while using the drug and for at least 24 hours after stopping treatment.

An example of where alcohol changes the amount of drug or related substances in the body is acitretin. This medicine is used to treat skin diseases such as severe psoriasis and to prevent skin cancer in people who have had an organ transplant.

When you take acitretin, it turns into another substance…etretinate– before it is removed from your body. Alcohol increases the amount of etretinate in your body.

This is particularly important because etretinate can cause birth defects. To avoid this, if you are a woman of childbearing age, you should avoid alcohol while using the drug and for two months after stopping treatment.

Myths about alcohol and drugs

Alcohol and birth control

One of the most common myths about drugs and alcohol is that it is forbidden to drink while consuming the contraceptive pill.

It is generally safe to use alcohol with the pill. does not directly affect how well birth control works.

But the pill is most effective when taken at the same time each day. If you drink a lot, you are more likely to forget to drink the next day.

Alcohol can also make some people nauseous and vomit. If you pop within three hours of taking the pill, it won’t work. This increases your risk of pregnancy.

Birth control pills can also affect your reaction to alcohol because the hormones they contain can change the way your body cut out alcohol. This means you can get drunk faster and stay drunk longer than you normally would.

Alcohol and antibiotics

Then there’s the myth of not mixing alcohol with antibiotics. This only applies to metronidazole and linezolid.

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

But if you can, it’s best to avoid alcohol while taking antibiotics. Antibiotics and alcohol have similar side effects, such as upset stomach, dizziness, and drowsiness. Using both together means you are more likely to have these side effects. Alcohol can also lower your energy and increase the time it takes you to recover.

Where can I seek advice?

If you plan to drink alcohol These days and if you are concerned about any interactions with your medications, don’t just stop taking your medications.

Your pharmacist can tell you if it’s safe to drink based on the medications you’re taking, and if not, advise you on alternatives.

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Quote: Drinking alcohol at Christmas and New Year? These Medicines Really Don’t Mix (2022, December 22) Retrieved December 22, 2022 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-alcohol-christmas-year-medicines-dont.html

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