Ask Yourself: Is It Safe To Have A Drink For New Year's If You're On Medication?
DENVER (CBS4) -A few words to the wise if you're going to knock back a few to celebrate New Year's (or any other day) and you are taking medication —prescription or OTC.
The reason is many meds simply don't mix with alcohol. And the wrong combination can land you in the Emergency Department … or worse.
And if you think that you can just skip your meds today and be A-OK, think again. Medications can take days to clear out of your system, so what you put into yourself yesterday or the day before may still be hanging around today.
What kind of effects might nail you?
The mildest include nausea and vomiting. Maybe a banger of a headache. Or flu-like symptoms.
Worse, how about a sudden drop in blood pressure that causes you to collapse without warning? Or a sudden spike in your numbers that stresses the vessels of your heart and brain? A heartbeat that skips around like a jump rope or races like it's in the Indy 500. Stomach or internal bleeding. Or lungs that just decide they are going to quit breathing on you.
The list of drugs that can be unfriendly with alcohol is a long one, and this list is not even close to being complete, but this will give you an idea:
Antidepressants
Antihistamines
Cold medications
Cough medications
Anti-anxiety medication
Arthritis pills
ADD drugs
High Blood pressure pills
Meds for high cholesterol
Even antibiotics
Add another few hundred drugs and you get the picture. Anything and everything may be a bad mix.
A final emphasis on a couple of things you may not think twice about: combine acetaminophen with alcohol and your liver can go caput. Or wash down some ibuprofen or Aleve with alcohol on board, and the lining of your stomach can spring a life threatening leak.
It's simply not worth the risk.
Have questions? Ask your doctor or pharmacist. Can't get an answer on the night before the New Year? Play it safe and keep in mind, alcohol is a drug. And it may hurt you badly if you combine it with yet another drug. Some just don't mix.
Here's another list , plus some additional interesting info:
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Medicine/medicine.htm
Dr. Dave Hnida is CBS4's Medical Editor. He blogs about the latest studies and trends in the health world. Read his latest blog entries, check out his bio or follow him on Twitter @drdavehnida
