Many times consuming alcohol when being treated with a drug can be a bad decision. Although we may have once ignored this warning, not all medications react the same way when combined with alcohol .In some cases, it enhances the activity of drugs, in others it reduces it, and in other cases it enhances the toxicity of the drug or of the alcohol itself. Those sold without a prescription usually have much fewer side effects. However, depending on the person, these can be more or less serious. But, just in case, to avoid side effects , we leave a list of medications that you should never mix with alcohol.
MEDICINES THAT SHOULD NOT BE MIXED WITH ALCOHOL
First of all, it should be remembered that the general rule says that they should not be taken simultaneously . Alcohol is a drug like any other, which enters the digestive tract, passes into the blood and then moves to the various sites where it generates its effects, mainly the brain. After a while it is metabolized in the liver and then loses its effect.
Medicines go through the same process. When ingested, they pass from the digestive tract into the blood and from there to the sites where they have their effect. The problem can occur when they are ingested simultaneously, since the enzymes metabolize both substances less , causing them to have a greater effect.
1.Sleeping pills, analgesics or sedatives
The first drugs that you should not mix with alcohol under any circumstances are sedatives, painkillers and sleeping pills. We are talking about medicines like Vicodin, Valium or Ambien.Possible reactions to alcohol: drowsiness, slow or labored breathing, motor disability, unusual behavior, and memory problems, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
2. Antibiotics
When antibiotics are prescribed, one of the reasons doctors give for not mixing these types of drugs with alcohol is that they may not have an effect As the NIH states “alcohol canreduce the therapeutic action of the drug and even completely cancel it and thus turn it into something harmful or toxic for the body”.
In addition to reducing the effect of antibiotics, we cannot forget the side effects that specific drugs can cause , such as those designed to fight infections
You should also not drink alcohol if you are taking antibiotics such as Nizoral, Flagyl or Zithromax Possible reactions with alcohol: fast heart rate, sudden changes in blood pressure, stomach pain, vomiting, pain of headache and liver damage (with Nizoral)
Alcohol can also worsen symptomscommon unpleasantness caused by antibiotics (upset stomach, dizziness, among others), as well as reducing your energy, which makes it take longer to recover from your illness, In addition to the fact that the medicine may not have the expected effect and the worsen infection, if you combine it with alcohol you can feel how your heart accelerates and your pressure rises, it would also be normal for you to have a headache or vomit
3. Medicines for tension
On the other hand we find medicines such as prazosin, clonidine felodipine which should also not be combined with alcohol consumption as they are blood pressure medications that can be dangerous if mixed. These types of drugs do not combine well with alcoholic beverages.Most of these medications act as diuretics, vasodilators or blockers of substances that constrict blood vessels, which could cause fainting, dizziness and arrhythmias in people who consume them.
4. Medications for diabetes
These are medicines that can also prevent the breakdown of alcohol, which can be especially dangerous for your health and your liver.
If you have diabetes problems and you have medicines in your pillbox to control them, such as Glynase or Glucotrol, you should never consume these medicines combined with alcohol because your blood sugar levels can drop to excessively low levels that can be dangerous for your health.
5. Arthritis Medications
Combined with alcohol can cause stomach bleeding, ulcers and liver damage. If you are taking Celebrex, above all, you should not drink alcohol in any quantity because the risk is much higher than when combining alcohol with other medicines and even carries a high risk at a cardiovascular level, such as strokes and heart attacks . Some of them are: Celebrex, Naprosyn, Voltaren.
6. Medicines to treat clots
Medicines to treat clots such as Coumadin should also not be combined with alcohol because they can become especially dangerous. This type of medication mixed with alcohol could cause internal bleeding.Drinking a lot of alcohol combined with medicine for blood clots can also cause heart attacks and strokes.
The liver creates proteins that facilitate blood clotting, which is why even ‘social’ drinkers should be careful when taking Coumadin
7.Medications for allergies and colds
Such as: Benadryl, Claritin, Claritin-D, Dimetapp, Zyrtec , Sudafed Sinus and Allergy, Tylenol Allergy Sinus, Tylenol Cold & Flu.
Possible reactions with alcohol: increased drowsiness, dizziness, liver damage from medications containing acetaminophen.
Another caveat: many folk remediesfor colds, flu and allergies contain more than one ingredient that can react with alcohol. The NIAAA suggests reading the label on the medicine bottle to find out exactly what ingredients it contains.