Alcohol has firmly taken its place in the culture. Not a single movie, not a single book can do without scenes of drinking alcohol. And only doctors observe the consequences of drinking alcohol. The most common problem is alcohol abuse. If a person is able to dispense with one glass of champagne for a holiday, most likely there will be no health consequences. But if there is a desire to get drunk, get euphoria and oblivion - we are talking about the narcological diagnosis of "alcoholism". The compatibility of alcohol and drugs is a separate complex topic, which this article is devoted to.
Alcohol during treatment with pharmacological drugs
Ethyl alcohol is the name of a substance that gives a person a state of intoxication and euphoria. In fact, at this moment processes are monstrous in the degree of negative impact. Intoxication, loss of coordination, imaginary euphoria are the consequences of paralysis of the nervous system. If a person does not stop and continues to drink, an alcoholic coma occurs. At this moment, vomiting may open (a natural consequence of intoxication), a person will not wake up and death from mechanical asphyxiation occurs. This is one of the common options for death from alcohol abuse.
A separate topic is the combination of alcohol with drugs. Most drugs are decomposed by the liver and organs of the gastrointestinal tract to the simplest metabolites that are carried by the bloodstream to all parts of the body. Alcohol is also absorbed in the same way. When drinking alcohol, there is not a single cell of the body that would remain unused poisoning by harmful metabolites. What medications should not be taken with alcohol?
Depending on the type of drug, the liver, nervous system (neurons), pancreas, brain, heart can get a toxic hit. Alas, most often strokes, heart attacks and thromboembolism when intoxicated, affect precisely those who mix toxic drugs with alcohol. Accurate statistics on this subject do not exist, as most people with alcohol addiction hide their shameful habits. Most often they conceal the fact of taking sleeping pills, antidepressants, drugs, painkillers or anesthetics against the background of alcohol abuse.
Alcohol poisoning and heart failure: causes and symptoms
The prescribed treatment, recovery period and the advice of a cardiologist should be strictly observed. At first, it usually takes place to have a microstroke or a microinfarction: after that, alcoholic beverages should be excluded from your life once and for all. However, people with alcohol addiction continue to drink, and in the end this leads to disastrous consequences.
If at least once in your life there have been cardiological problems due to alcohol abuse during treatment with pharmacological agents, you should lead a completely sober lifestyle.
The main differences between pain with myocardial infarction from angina are:
- severe intensity of pain;
- duration more than 15 minutes;
- pain does not stop after taking nitroglycerin.
An ambulance should be called immediately at the slightest suspicion of heart rhythm problems.
Antibiotics and alcohol: consequences
Most general practitioners advise completely eliminating alcohol when taking drugs with an antibacterial effect.
Ethyl alcohol in itself provokes severe dehydration and intoxication of all body systems. The liver works "to wear", processing metabolites of alcohol. Plus an additional load is the breakdown of antibacterial substances. The logical conclusion is the compatibility of alcohol and drugs with an antibacterial effect, or rather, its absence, leads to an extra load on the liver, which can contribute to the appearance of toxic hepatitis.
All the more surprising is the fact that modern laboratory studies have shown that the pharmacological effect of most antibiotics under the influence of alcohol does not worsen, and the load on the liver does not increase. Alas, these studies did not take into account an important fact: how much alcohol was drunk. In our country, people, as a rule, very peculiarly understand the concept of "drinking culture". As a result, it comes down to banal abuse; as a result, the liver nevertheless receives a large load.
Sedatives, sleeping pills and alcohol
The combination of benzidiazepine tranquilizers with alcoholic beverages leads to a coma - a person goes into deep sleep for ten to twelve hours. It is difficult to wake him up, and if vomiting begins, mechanical asphyxiation (suffocation) may occur.
Normotimics (anticonvulsants) are not recommended to be combined with alcoholic drinks, so as not to double the toxic load on the liver. In addition, with constant abuse of alcohol while taking normotimics, episodes of alcoholic epilepsy can occur (often a phenomenon in people with addiction in the second or third stage).
Weak sedatives, which can be purchased without a prescription (Valerian, Tenoten, Afobazole), most often do not bring any visible consequences. Alcohol with a mild sedative medication can contribute to sleep, weakness, and asthenia.
Antidepressants and spirits
The compatibility of alcohol and drugs with an antidepressant effect is an interesting and not fully understood topic in psychiatry. Today, most commonly used modern drugs with the effect of reuptake of serotonin. These are Prozac, Fluoxetine, Sertraline and many others. They have a common principle of action - they prevent the destruction of serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine.
But ethyl alcohol also causes a temporary increase in the concentration of dopamine and serotonin. True, after the removal of ethanol metabolites from the body, a deficiency of these neurotransmitters and hormones occurs. Therefore, in the medical world, alcohol is considered the strongest depressant. And if, against its background, the drug takes SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), then there is not such a sharp drop in the level of neurotransmitters. Consequently, a parallel intake makes intoxication much stronger, and a hangover - soft.
With the parallel use of antidepressants with alcohol, a strong dependence is developed. It is not recommended to conduct such experiments on oneself, since polydrug abuse (dependence on tablets and alcohol at the same time) is practically not amenable to therapy.
Antihistamines and alcohol
Under no circumstances are drugs incompatible with alcohol an antihistamine. "Diphenhydramine", "Suprastin" and even modern drugs that do not cause drowsiness. This is a direct route to the alcoholic coma. And the consequences can be the most deplorable.
Of course, depending on the individual state of health of the patient, the consequences may be different. In some cases, especially with moderate drinking, there may not be any effects other than drowsiness.
Diuretics and alcohol
Alcohol-incompatible drugs are also all diuretics. "Diacarb", "Furosemide" and even homeopathic medicines (the same "Kanefron") contribute to the outflow of urine and fluid from all body tissues.
Ethyl alcohol has the same effect. Low alcohol drinks - beer, cocktails, light wines - are especially insidious in this regard. As a result, such a double dehydrating effect has an extremely negative effect on the whole organism. But the kidneys are especially affected. With constant use of diuretics against the background of abuse of alcoholic beverages, vascular fragility can also develop, the blood will thicken, and the accompanying health problems will begin.
Vitamin and mineral complexes and spirits
The intake of vitamins while drinking alcoholic drinks is meaningless. In the period of a hangover and withdrawal syndrome, it is necessary to replenish the reserves of trace elements in order to maintain a tired body. And at the same time, all the beneficial substances will simply be washed out of the tissues.
It has already been said above that alcohol acts in such a way that severe dehydration occurs. Along with getting rid of the liquid, the body removes calcium, iron, and B vitamins. Therefore, after a fun party, it is quite natural to restore the balance of trace elements in tissues.
Analgesics combined with alcohol
Analgesics and anesthetics can also not be combined with alcohol. What medicines are on this list:
- Ketorol
- Ketanov
- "Ketorolac";
- "Analgin";
- "Paracetamol";
- Diclofenac.
These are the most common drugs with an analgesic effect that our compatriots love to take after alcohol intoxication. As a result, the liver receives a double load, especially if the metabolites of ethyl alcohol have not yet been eliminated from the blood. The consequences are toxic hepatitis, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), cholecystitis (impaired outflow of bile).
Anti-inflammatory drugs and alcohol
The compatibility of alcohol and drugs with anti-inflammatory effect is average. If there has been severe abuse and there is a history of chronic diseases of the peritoneal organs (gastritis, erosion, ulcers, polyps), then in some cases internal bleeding, exacerbation of peptic ulcer, complication of existing diseases is possible.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can not be combined with alcohol - this leads to severe intoxication. In some cases, it provokes the onset of ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity). If the patient already has chronic liver disease, such a combination can provoke the development of cirrhosis.
List of drugs incompatible with alcohol
Of course, in each case, the outcome will be different. Depending on the initial state of the patient’s health, its characteristics, the quantity and quality of the alcohol consumed, the consequences are different. And yet, you can create a list of drugs by the principle of their action, which is extremely undesirable to combine with alcohol:
- Sleeping pills.
- Antibiotics.
- Tranquilizers.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Painkillers.
- Sedative.
Stages of alcoholism and drug treatment advice
If a person on the background of treatment with serious pharmacological drugs can not deny himself the use of alcohol, most likely he is sick with alcoholism. Here are some simple tips you should take with your relatives:
- such a person cannot be left alone: deaths are frequent after combining drugs and alcohol;
- attend meetings of anonymous alcoholics (if the patient is aware of the severity of the problem);
- you should attend conversation sessions with a psychotherapist (it is advisable to choose one that specializes in the problem of addictions);
- if the patient lost consciousness, turned pale, foam went out of his mouth, convulsions started - turn him face down and immediately call an ambulance.