Often in our life there is a need to combine pain medication and alcohol. For example, taking such medications can cause a headache due to alcohol or pressure surges. Also, pains of various origins occur during the use of alcoholic beverages. Severe cramps can only be eliminated with effective medications. It should be remembered that mixing alcohol and potent tablets is not always safe. It all depends on the type of drug, the ethanol content in the blood and the individual characteristics of your body. In this article, we will tell you which pain medications you can take even when “under the degree”, which combinations should be avoided, and what this can lead to.
General consequences
In most cases, the use of painkillers and alcohol causes depression in a person. This combination leads to a pronounced effect that a person receives under the influence of depressants. This is explained as follows. Both of these drugs have a depressing effect on the central nervous system. A double effect leads to a slowdown of all processes occurring in the body under the control of the central nervous system.
If you mix the pain medication with alcohol, then because of the oppressed central nervous system, there will be a slowdown in breathing, since oxygen will decrease in the blood. Oxygen starvation will occur in the body, which can cause the death of brain cells, increased headache. The consequences of a hangover will be harder if you did not use painkillers and alcohol. In rare, especially severe cases, respiratory arrest may even occur.
In addition, the gastrointestinal tract suffers from the use of alcohol with any medicine. Now it is difficult to meet a person with an absolutely healthy digestive system, so you should not expose it to stress again. Indeed, due to malnutrition and poor ecology, by the age of 25, many people suffer from heartburn, ulcers or gastritis. And in this case, even minor damage to the gastric mucosa due to such a powerful cocktail in a matter of hours can develop into a serious disease that you will be able to cope with for more than one week.
Third, the liver suffers from alcohol and pain medication. The load on this organ in this case will increase significantly. Acceptance of toxic substances forces hepatocytes (liver cells) to begin to work in an enhanced mode. However, most of them are simply not able to cope with their task and die.
Finally, taking pain medication with alcohol leads to problems with the urinary system. A particularly dangerous and inhibitory effect is on the kidneys.
Why it happens?
It is important to understand what consequences may arise from taking drugs with alcohol, which painkillers you can drink with alcohol. After all, any alcoholic drink contains ethyl alcohol, which can enhance the effect of the drug, neutralize it or behave in the most unpredictable way. For example, in medicine, there are cases when taking the Analgin pill with a glass of wine sent a person to a coma.
Often a person first takes alcohol to relieve pain, and when he realizes that the desired effect has not occurred, he begins to drink pills. At the same time, one should not forget that the reaction from such a cocktail will be affected not only by the amount of alcohol that you had time to drink, but also by the time elapsed since drinking the hoppy drink.
In this article, we carefully consider the principle of the interaction of drugs with alcohol.
Ibuprofen
Based on ibuprofen, there are a large number of drugs. First of all, these are Ibufen, Solpafleks, Dolgit, Nurofen. This is a powerful analgesic of the widest spectrum of action, while it is an effective antipyretic, which is often taken at the first sign of a cold or flu.
It is so effective that it has become one of the most popular over-the-counter potent painkillers. But you should know that against the background of drinking alcohol, this drug is strictly prohibited. Of course, you can claim that you have taken ibuprofen or its analogue more than once and nothing bad happened to you. But you need to understand that the negative effect is manifested with the regular intake of such a cocktail. The more often you do this, the more your liver and stomach can suffer. At least toxic liver damage is assured. When taking ibuprofen with alcohol, the antipyretic effect of the drug decreases, since alcohol itself contributes to an increase in body temperature, exerting a vasoconstrictor effect on the body. Ibuprofen, on the contrary, dilates blood vessels, because of this, the effectiveness of the drug while taking alcohol is minimal.
Usually this substance is used as an anti-inflammatory and antipyretic, it helps with arthritis, muscle pain, gout, and all kinds of rheumatic diseases. Available in the form of ointments and tablets. It is when taking the tablets that it should be borne in mind that all the diseases that were mentioned above can worsen.
The combined use of alcohol and ibuprofen-based drugs is strictly contraindicated due to toxic effects on the body. Even a small dosage, coupled with alcohol, can cause severe intoxication. A prolonged joint use of these pills and alcohol leads to renal failure, there is a chance of coma. Severe adverse reactions are manifested, including vomiting and bloody diarrhea, liver damage, ulcer perforation, increased blood pressure, impaired vision, and bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.
Also, ibuprofen is an anti-migraine drug, however, when combining tablets with alcohol, migraine can only intensify.
Reception of "Ibuklin"
As an antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drug, many people prefer Ibuklin. The main active ingredients of this medication are paracetamol and ibuprofen. Therefore, it is easy to guess that Ibuklin and alcohol are incompatible.
The combination of these chemical elements provides an analgesic effect, relieves spasms, while due to the different speed of action of the components, the effect remains for a long time. That is, paracetamol acts within ten minutes, reaching a peak about an hour after it enters the body, and ibuprofen reaches its peak content only after three to four hours.
However, when combined with alcohol, the effectiveness of this drug is close to zero. Drinking completely neutralizes the action of active substances, so that after the complete removal of the decomposition products of alcohol from the blood, you will have to start treatment first. At the same time, business may not be limited to one inaction. With such an irresponsible attitude, the patient risks provoking serious complications, in particular, liver disease, gastric ulcer. It also threatens intoxication of the body, which will be very difficult to eliminate.
Danger of drugs and alcohol for severe pain
Of particular danger is the use of strong painkillers, which pharmacists relate to drugs. For example, we are talking about Promedol. This medicine is prescribed for adults and children with moderate and severe pain, mainly with injuries, in the postoperative or preoperative period, with heart attack, angina attacks, and oncological diseases. Combining such strong drugs with alcohol is very dangerous.
“Promedol” in oncology helps to effectively relieve pain in a patient, but if you exacerbate the situation with alcohol, this is fraught with increased drug action. The most likely consequences are partial respiratory arrest, deterioration, death is possible.
Another strong opiate drug used in medicine to relieve pain is Tramal. It is available in the form of tablets, ampoules or capsules. The action of "Tramal" is very effective in malignant neoplasms, injuries, myocardial infarction, therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, neuralgia.
At the same time, mixing Tramal with alcohol is not recommended. The fact is that this anesthetic is able to lower blood pressure and provoke drowsiness. Alcohol enhances both of these effects. So, if the medicine acts on you in this way, do not mix it with alcohol.
Ketorolac
The group of anti-inflammatory and non-steroidal drugs includes those in which the active substance is ketorolac - “Ketanov”, “Ketorol” or “Ketorolac”. They are derivatives of acetic acid, can effectively anesthetize, since after their use there is a suppression of nerve impulses, that is, a inhibitory effect on the central nervous system occurs.
But in the combination of "Ketanov" with alcohol, the inhibitory effect is enhanced at times. At the same time, the drug does not have an antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effect. With this tool, you generally need to be very careful, because it has many side effects, so it is prescribed only in exceptional cases, when nothing else helps. As a rule, this happens after tooth extraction or treatment, with cancer, after complex and painful operations, with fractures. Side effects include irritation of the gastric mucosa (this is an ulcer, gastritis or heartburn), perforation of the stomach and intestines, excessive inhibition of the central nervous system. Therefore, "Ketanov" with alcohol is strictly contraindicated.
Paracetamol
The most affordable and common anti-inflammatory and antipyretic drug is paracetamol. It is inexpensive, so there is almost every home medicine cabinet. Most likely, nothing dangerous will happen from a single combination of a relatively small dose of alcohol with this drug, but the systematic mixing of paracetamol with alcohol is fraught with problems for the liver.
Therefore, if you need to take pain medication, opt for this affordable drug. Just do not abuse. Paracetamol can become harmful to the liver for the reason that it has a serious toxic effect on the organ, and in combination with alcohol it increases significantly. With the frequent combination of these two components, you are threatened with dizziness, pain in the kidneys and even kidney failure.
"Analgin"
"Analgin" is a universal drug that is drunk not only as an anesthetic, but also to thin the blood. In the latter case, it is used for a rather long course, so many are tempted to combine treatment with alcohol to relax.
As in the case of paracetamol, with a single use of a small amount of alcohol, nothing bad will happen. True, there are exceptions when one Analgin tablet with a small amount of alcohol led to urgent hospitalization, so it’s better not to risk it. As a rule, this is associated with an increase in blood pressure, which occurs against a background of a decrease in the level of leukocytes in the blood.
It is worth remembering that an antispasmodic and alcohol, in addition to toxic effects on the liver and kidneys, can greatly enhance the sedative effect, and then lead to a severe hangover and prolonged sleep. Analgin itself belongs to the group of pyrazolone preparations. This also includes other antispasmodics - "Spazmalgon", "Baralgin." They help to get rid of pains of every possible nature, and also forget about spasms of smooth muscles.
No-shpa
Another popular drug that is found in almost every woman’s handbag and first-aid kit is No-shpa. The main active ingredient in it is drotaverine. Instructions for use with tablets recommend taking them as an anesthetic. For example, it is acceptable in the treatment of a hangover syndrome. This is because its negative effect on the body is minimal. Drotaverin helps to dilate blood vessels, relieves spasms, and also has a myotropic effect.
If you study the instructions for the use of drotaverin tablets, then when combined with alcohol, coordination of movement may be impaired, since ethanol relaxes the muscle system. As a side effect, headaches, insomnia, low blood pressure and nausea can occur.
Combination drugs
There are a lot of drugs in this group - Pentalgin, Citramon, and Streamol. All of them are unsafe in combination with alcohol. For example, the main active ingredient of Pentalgin is paracetamol, which, together with alcohol, can lead to disruption of the central nervous system. And this causes the death of brain cells and even to whom.
Sharing a drink with Citramon is dangerous for those who suffer from high blood pressure, because the drug contains caffeine. Therefore, tinnitus, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, tachycardia, hemorrhage in the gastrointestinal tract are possible.
It is not recommended to drink alcohol with local anesthesia. Even after tooth treatment, it is better to abstain from alcohol for at least a day. The fact is that alcohol can disrupt blood coagulation. So your wound can bleed for a very long time and not heal if you allow yourself a drink.
As a rule, anesthesia with local anesthesia lasts no more than three hours, during which time the pain points manage to fade away. But alcohol speeds up the process of removing the medicine, so after a short time you will feel severe pain, since the effect of anesthesia will pass earlier than it should.