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Mixing Alcohol and Medications

By Staff Writer

If you have taken any medication, whether bought over the counter or prescribed by a doctor, you've likely noticed the warning against drinking. Whether you're taking cough medicine, allergy pills, or an antidepressant, few medicines mix well with alcohol. Some increase drowsy or lightheaded feelings, while others can cause toxic reactions in your body. A study conducted in 1992 estimated that 25 percent of all emergency room admissions were due, at least in part, to alcohol-medication interactions.

Why Is Mixing Dangerous?

Alcohol and medication behave similarly. Both travel through the blood stream to a particular organ or set of tissues in order to alter that organ or tissue. Medication is often aimed at altering muscles or organs like the heart or liver. Alcohol is aimed at altering the brain. The effects of both are reduced as they're metabolized and discharged from the body. However, if both are present in the blood at the same time, the metabolizing enzymes that would normally be devoted to either the alcohol or the medication now have to divide their energies. This can cause the effects of the medication to last longer, making the person more susceptible to harmful side effects.

Conversely, if someone has been drinking for a long time, there may be an abundance of metabolizing enzymes in the bloodstream, which will decrease the effectiveness of the drug, possibly making higher doses necessary - again increasing the risk of harmful side effects. Not only can the alcohol itself cause toxic reactions, but so can the types of enzymes that are activated by long-term drinking.

For the alcoholic or the person struggling with alcohol abuse, medications can add another layer of danger, especially if the medication is necessary (like a prescription for anxiety or high blood pressure). Every time this person drinks, he runs the risk of an adverse, possibly life-threatening reaction between the alcohol and the medicine. For example, mixing anxiety or epilepsy medicine with alcohol increases the risk of overdose. There's an ingredient in the popular blood-clotting medication Coumadin® that, when mixed with alcohol, can cause internal bleeding. Several medications, for everything from infections to high cholesterol, can cause liver damage.

If you struggle with excessive alcohol use, and you're taking medication of any kind, take it to your local pharmacist and find out if you're at risk.