• Alcohol can change the amount of medicine the body absorbs. This can cause a toxic amount of the drug to accumulate in the body.
• Alcohol’s effects on the central nervous system can make the risk of drowsiness and impaired motor function caused by medicine more likely.
• Alcohol can increase the risk of side effects from medicines; for example, lowered blood pressure and stomach irritation.
Keep in mind that drug interactions with alcohol may not affect everyone the same way.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers recommends learning about the effects of alcohol when combined with medicines before indulging during the holiday season. To help, here are a few examples of interactions between some medicines and alcohol from experts at the nation’s 57 poison control centers.
• If the medicine you are taking causes you to be drowsy, assume that it will interact with alcohol to make you drowsier and more likely to be impaired. Examples include cough and cold medicine and over-the-counter sleep aids.
• If you are taking a prescription drug for anxiety, stress, depression, mood control, seizure control or pain control (hydrocodone, oxycodone, or morphine, for example), assume that alcohol will interact with it. In addition to increasing the risk for drowsiness, dizziness and impairment, mixing alcohol with these medicines can place you at risk for life-threatening breathing difficulties and other effects.
• If you are taking any medicine to treat stomach pain, be aware that alcohol can make stomach pain worse and make the drug less effective.
• If you are taking any medicine that causes you to have stomach pain or nausea (aspirin or ibuprofen for example), drinking alcohol will likely make your stomach pain and nausea worse.
• If you are taking medicine to lower your blood pressure, be aware that some blood pressure drugs, when mixed with alcohol, increase the chance for your blood pressure to drop too low.
• If you are taking medicine for diabetes, you should be aware that some of these drugs, when mixed with alcohol, can make your blood sugar fall too low.
• Some antibiotics (for example, metronidazole) and diabetes drugs (for example chlorpropamide) when mixed with alcohol can cause flushing, nausea, vomiting, confusion, low blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms.
It is best to talk with a doctor or pharmacist before drinking alcohol while taking medicine. If you experience effects from combining alcohol and medicine, call your local poison control center at (800) 222-1222 for medical help.