The dangerous relationship between alcohol and medicine

The relationship between alcohol and medications can be dangerous, since the consumption of alcoholic beverages can increase or decrease the effect of the medicine, alter its metabolism, activate the production of toxic substances that damage the organs, in addition to contributing to the exacerbation of the drug's side effects, such as drowsiness, headache, or vomiting, for example.

In addition, alcohol intake together with medications can cause reactions similar to disulfiram, which is a drug used to treat chronic alcoholism, which acts by inhibiting an enzyme that helps eliminate acetaldehyde, which is an alcohol metabolite, responsible for symptoms of the hangover. Thus, there is an accumulation of acetaldehyde, which causes symptoms such as vasodilation, decreased blood pressure, increased heart rate, nausea, vomiting and headache.

Almost all drugs interact negatively with alcohol in excess, however, antibiotics, antidepressants, insulin and anticoagulant medications are the ones that, consumed together with alcohol, become more dangerous.

Medicines that interact with alcohol

Some examples of remedies that can have their effect altered or cause side effects when drinking alcohol are:

Examples of Remedies	Effects
Antibiotics such as metronidazole, griseofulvin, sulfonamides, cefoperazone, cefotetan, ceftriaxone, furazolidone, tolbutamide	Similar reaction to disulfiram
Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs	Increase the risk of bleeding in the stomach
Glipizide, glyburide, tolbutamide	Unpredictable changes in blood sugar levels
Diazepam, alprazolam, chlordiazepoxide, clonazepam, lorazepam, oxazepam, phenobarbital, pentobarbital, temazepam	Central nervous system depression
Paracetamol and Morphine	Increases the risk of liver toxicity and causes stomach pain
Insulin	Hypoglycemia
Antihistamines and anti-psychotics	Increased sedation, psychomotor impairment
Monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressants	Hypertension that can be fatal
Anticoagulants such as warfarin	Decreased metabolism and increased anticoagulant effect

However, it is not prohibited to drink alcohol when taking medications, as it depends on the medications and the amount of alcohol ingested. The more alcohol you drink, the worse the effect of the resulting interaction will be.