The relationship between alcohol and medicines can be dangerous, as the consumption of alcoholic beverages can increase or decrease the effect of the drug, alter its metabolism, activate the production of toxic substances that damage the organs, and can contribute to the exacerbation of drug side effects such as drowsiness, headache, or vomiting, for example.
In addition, ingestion of alcohol along with medications may cause reactions similar to disulfiram, which is a drug used to treat chronic alcoholism, which acts by inhibiting an enzyme that helps to eliminate acetaldehyde, which is an alcohol metabolite, responsible for the symptoms of the hangover. This leads to an accumulation of acetaldehyde, which causes symptoms such as vasodilation, decreased blood pressure, increased heart rate, nausea, vomiting and headache.
Almost all medications interact negatively with excess alcohol; however, antibiotics, anti-depressants, insulin, and anticoagulant medications are the ones that, taken with alcohol, become more dangerous.
Drugs that interact with alcohol
Some examples of remedies that may have their effect changed or cause side effects when taking alcoholic beverages are:
| Examples of Remedies | Effects |
Antibiotics such as metronidazole, griseofulvin, sulfonamides, cefoperazone, cefotetan, ceftriaxone, furazolidone, tolbutamide | A similar reaction to disulfiram |
| Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs | Increased risk of bleeding in the stomach |
| Glipizide, glyburide, tolbutamide | Unpredictable changes in blood sugar levels |
| Diazepam, alprazolam, chlordiazepoxide, clonazepam, lorazepam, oxazepam, phenobarbital, pentobarbital, temazepam | Depression of the central nervous system |
| Paracetamol and Morphine |
Increases risk of liver toxicity and causes stomach pain |
| Insulin | Hypoglycemia |
| Antihistamines and antipsychotics | Increased sedation, psychomotor impairment |
| Anti-depressants monoamine oxidase inhibitors | Hypertension that can be fatal |
| Anticoagulants such as warfarin | Decreased metabolism and increased anticoagulant effect |
However, it is not forbidden to drink alcohol when taking medicines, as it depends on the medications and the amount of alcohol ingested. The more alcohol ingested, the worse the effect of the resulting interaction will be.
