These drugs and drinks make a dangerous mix

You’re having a fun dinner out with family and friends when all of a sudden you feel like you’re on a merry-go-round.

You had a glass of wine, but it’s never hit you like this before.

Certainly, having a dizzy spell is frightening, especially out in public. But that could be the least of your worries if you mix drinking with a long list of prescription and OTC meds.

We all know that certain drugs and even an occasional glass of beer or wine don’t mix.

But you may be shocked to find out just how many meds — both Rx and OTC — that’s true for.

And there’s one big-selling type of drug that should never, ever be taken with any kind of alcoholic beverage.

A potentially lethal cocktail

We’ve all seen those labels the pharmacist sticks on certain pill bottles that say the drug can cause drowsiness and alcohol “may intensify that effect.”

But it’s not just getting sleepy that can be intensified by that after-dinner drink.

Something that seems as benign as taking an allergy drug and then some beer with the gang could increase the effect of the med to a critical point — especially if you’re a woman.

Studies have found again and again that alcohol affects women differently than it does guys. And what that means is that your blood level will be higher even if you’re drinking the exact same amount that a man is.

And regardless of your sex, the older you get the longer it takes for your body to metabolize alcohol.

But while we’ve been warned not to operate that heavy machinery, here are some other important things to know when you’re taking certain drugs:

• Drinking while taking blood thinners Coumadin or warfarin can intensify the effect of the drug and cause internal bleeding.
• Mixing alcohol with antidepressants can up your risk of an overdose, increase depression, and cause dangerously high blood pressure, as well as serious heart problems.
• Meds for an enlarged prostate, such as Flomax, can cause dizziness and even fainting when taken along with alcoholic beverages.
• Benzo and opiate drugs (such as Valium and Percocet) combined with alcohol can kill. These meds relax muscles and depress the central nervous system, slowing down breathing. They’re bad enough on their own — but mix them with drinks and they can easily turn deadly.

And these drugs don’t have to be taken at the same time as an alcoholic beverage to cause problems. Experts warn that you can still have side effects even if you’re not washing that pill down with a beer or glass of wine.

Now, while some Rx drugs may come with alcohol warnings, you can still get into trouble with a whole host of OTC ones.

Here are three examples:

1. Cold and allergy drugs such as Benadryl, Claritin and Zyrtec, can cause dizziness and liver damage when combined with liquor.
2. Cough meds such as Robitussin mixed with alcohol can also make you dizzy as well as upping the risk of an overdose.
3. Drugs for stomach acid, such as Zantac and Tagamet, can give you a rapid heartbeat and cause a sudden change in your blood pressure if you’re drinking.

And then there’s acetaminophen.

As I’ve been warning you for years now, acetaminophen (as in Tylenol), is the number one reason for acute liver failure in the U.S. It sends 78,000 people to the ER every year and has killed thousands.

But when you add some alcoholic drinks to the mix, you’ve moved yourself a whole lot closer to becoming another acetaminophen statistic.

For a full listing of drugs that can have dangerous interactions with alcohol, check out this report.

Sources:
“8 medicines that don’t mix with alcohol” Lynn Allison, September 8, 2016, NewsMax, newsmax.com