Using Alcohol to Relieve Your Pain: What Are the Risks? National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

If you are not sure if it is safe to drink alcohol while you are taking medication, call a local pharmacy or talk to your doctor about the potential interactions. Narcan (naloxone hydrochloride) is an opioid agonist—a medication that can help counteract the effects of opioid medications such as morphine, oxycodone, and heroin. Naloxone can rapidly reverse opioid overdose by quickly restoring normal respiration to a person whose breathing has slowed or stopped due to mixing opioid pain medications with alcohol. Drowsiness and dizziness are common side effects of medications used to treat allergies, colds, and the flu.

1. In combination with alcohol, acetaminophen can cause side effects or severely damage the liver.
2. These drugs are usually safer to use with alcohol, but they may cause gastrointestinal discomfort or even bleeding in those with a history of gastrointestinal bleeding.
3. The Recovery Village Atlanta offers comprehensive addiction treatment for drug and alcohol addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions.
4. Not only does this organ filter out toxins from the blood, but it assists with blood clotting and plays an essential role in food digestion.
5. Acetaminophen alone can cause toxic damage to the liver, which is called acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity.

Acetaminophen safety: Be cautious but not afraid

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and alcohol have an interaction that can cause liver damage. When someone drinks a lot of alcohol regularly, they can increase liver enzymes as the body struggles to compensate for the alcohol. Addiction Resource is an educational platform for sharing and disseminating information about addiction and substance abuse recovery centers. Addiction Resource is not a healthcare provider, nor does it claim to offer sound medical advice to anyone.

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Some drugs (often antihistamines) used to prevent and treat motion sickness can also be purchased over-the-counter. It’s important that you don’t mix alcohol with any of the following medications. John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.

How Does Alcohol Interact With Acetaminophen?

Package labeling for all over-the-counter pain relievers and fever reducers warns patients who drink 3 or more alcoholic beverages daily to consult with a physician before using these products. Recently, a well-controlled clinical study was conducted to more rigorously characterize the risk to alcohol users taking acetaminophen. Serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels, used to detect hepatic necrosis or liver disease, were monitored at baseline and again both during and after the What is Powdered Alcohol and is it Dangerous study.

Tylenol is widely available and considered safe when used as directed. A significant number of Tylenol overdoses occur due to intentional self-harm, yet a considerable amount happens accidentally. The recommended maximum daily dose of acetaminophen for adults is 4g/day. Some medications—including many popular painkillers and cough, cold, and allergy remedies—contain more than one ingredient that can react with alcohol.

Older people are at particularly high risk for harmful alcohol–medication interactions. Aging slows the body’s ability to break down alcohol, so alcohol remains in a person’s system longer. Older people also are more likely to take a medication that interacts with alcohol—in fact, they often need to take more than one of these medications. Medications typically are safe and effective when used appropriately. Your pharmacist or other health care provider can help you determine which medications interact harmfully with alcohol.

This risk of severe side effects may be higher for people with alcohol use disorder (AUD). If you have a medical condition (such as atrial fibrillation) that puts you at risk for developing a blood clot, your doctor might prescribe anticoagulant medications to “thin” your blood. While these drugs make it less likely your body will form blood clots, they also make you bleed more easily. If you take medications for arthritis, it is important to know that mixing them with alcohol can increase your risk for stomach ulcers and bleeding in the stomach, as well as liver problems. The following list of medications that shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol isn’t exhaustive.

For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If you use alcohol to relieve your pain, it is important to learn about possible adverse health effects. Ultimately, you should always consult with your doctor before using any medication at the same time as alcohol. Long-term alcohol misuse and excess Tylenol use both deplete glutathione reserves. This leaves the body (and liver) vulnerable to acetaminophen metabolites should the user take Tylenol. Alcohol and medicines can interact harmfully even if they are not taken at the same time.

To learn more about a medicine and whether it will interact with alcohol, talk to your pharmacist or other health care provider. Tell your healthcare providers about all the medications you use, including prescription, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, vitamins, dietary supplements and herbal products. If you drink less than three drinks a day, your risk of liver damage is likely lower.

More resources for a variety of healthcare professionals can be found in the Additional Links for Patient Care. In other words, no amount of either Tylenol or alcohol is completely safe for your liver. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. It’s possible that if you use them together, antibiotics may be less effective at clearing up the infection that you are being treated for. Thus, for a more personalized answer, please consult a healthcare professional. Tylenol is an over-the-counter painkiller containing the active ingredient acetaminophen.