Possible side effects of taking acetaminophen and alcohol together include :. According to the U. National Library of Medicine , taking acetaminophen can be dangerous for people who regularly drink alcohol.
Manufacturers currently recommend that people who have more than 3 alcoholic drinks per day should ask their doctor before taking acetaminophen. Acetaminophen by itself can cause toxic damage to the liver, which is called acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity. This toxicity is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the U. Around 30, patients are hospitalized each year in the U. When a person takes acetaminophen, liver enzymes break down most of the drug.
The body then excretes it either in the urine, via the kidneys, or the bile. The liver produces an antioxidant called glutathione, which it holds in limited supply, to remove this toxin. When the body receives more than the recommended dose of acetaminophen, the liver is overwhelmed with more NAPQI toxin than it can break down, which is why an overdose of acetaminophen is dangerous.
Alcohol also includes toxins that the liver must break down, so people combining it with acetaminophen have an increased risk of liver damage. A review highlights that the risk of acetaminophen-induced liver damage is higher for individuals who have AUD and also overdose on acetaminophen. However, there is no scientific evidence that people with AUD who take the recommended dose of acetaminophen increase their risk of liver damage. Damage to the liver can impair its ability to carry out vital functions.
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. There are some common side effects of the medication, usually causing abdominal pain and nausea. Chronic consumption of the drug may result in a decrease in the hemoglobin level of an individual. In a few cases, this can lead to abnormal liver function tests and gastrointestinal bleeding. Taking very high doses of the drug may result in a few problems such as increased mortality rate and adverse side effects on the renal and cardiovascular parts of the body.
Overconsumption of the drug might also result in an increased risk of hypertension. Pregnant women are not advised to take paracetamol during the pregnancy period, leading to asthma and reproductive disorders in the offspring.
It is advised not to drink alcohol immediately after taking paracetamol. Medical experts recommend not drinking alcohol for a minimum of four hours after taking the regular dose of Paracetamol.
However, if a person feels severe pain in the body and carries a high amount of the medicine, it is advised not to consume alcohol for at least eight hours after taking the drug. Negligence towards this can be very harmful and can even lead to organ failure. There are a few reasons why people take them together. Given below are 4 major reasons: Ignorance: Some people simply assume that taking paracetamol and alcohol which are both pain relievers together will have a combining effect and help reduce even more pain.
This is a completely wrong assumption. They will take as much alcohol or paracetamol as they want. Curing a hangover: After partying all night, they wake up the next day with a terrible hangover and the first thing they do is take some paracetamol to reduce the pain.
Lack of knowledge on drugs: There are simply too many drugs that contain acetaminophen and many people buy these drugs without knowing what ingredients are in them, thereby unknowingly consuming acetaminophen. Is it Dangerous to mix them? Why is it dangerous to overdose on either substance? Overdosing on acetaminophen When you take paracetamol, it is absorbed into your bloodstream through the small intestine and the stomach and then passed into the liver.
Overdosing on alcohol Just like paracetamol, alcohol is a substance that is acted upon by the liver. The result of combining both substances We know the effects of taking large amounts of either substance, so we can infer from that what happens when you combine them. Most commonly used medications that contain acetaminophen in the US Acetaminophen is the most widely used drug ingredient in America and there are so many drugs that use it.
Glutathione helps to protect us from the negative side effects of using too much of either alcohol or paracetamol. When this substance is depleted the liver becomes unprotected and the toxic substances from both alcohol and paracetamol start to damage the liver.
Hepatotoxicity: This is also commonly referred to as paracetamol poisoning. This is caused by excessive use of paracetamol, but in this case, alcohol has weakened the resistance to paracetamol thereby making the body much more sensitive to the toxic substance in alcohol.
Article updated on April 6, References Garry G. It causes hepatoxicity. The people who drink at daily basis should be careful while taking paracetamol. When you consume paracetamol and if you drink rarely and start having headache, then you may take the normal dose of paracetamol.
There should be minimum 6 hours gap between consuming and alcohol. Never take them together. You may take paracetamol if you had consumed small amount of alcohol. Never consume excessive amount of alcohol if you have to take paracetamol.
Consult to the doctor take their advice. There are also few popular antidotes which are alternatives to paracetamol for example — Aspirin, ibuprofen.
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