Can I Drink Beer While Taking Aspirin?

Update Date: 2024-06-06 Source: Network

It is recommended that patients who have taken aspirin should avoid drinking alcohol. Aspirin is an enteric-coated drug, which means it does not dissolve in the stomach but dissolves in the intestine. Many patients may experience gastric discomfort and gastric mucosal damage after taking aspirin. Therefore, it is best to avoid drinking alcohol after taking aspirin. Alcohol can irritate the gastric mucosa, and in severe cases, it may lead to gastric bleeding or even endanger life. Therefore, it is best to avoid drinking alcohol after taking aspirin.

Mixing cephalosporin antibiotics with alcohol is poisonous because alcohol's main component is ethanol, which is converted into acetaldehyde in the body and then metabolized into water and carbon dioxide for excretion. However, cephalosporin antibiotics can inhibit the continued metabolism and excretion of acetaldehyde, leading to symptoms such as facial and body flushing, nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, chest tightness, palpitations, blurred vision, abdominal pain, diarrhea, shortness of breath, and sweating. These symptoms can occur within 5 to 10 minutes after drinking alcohol and may persist for 30 minutes to several hours, with severe cases being fatal. People who have consumed alcohol within 5 days may experience a disulfiram-like reaction (acetaldehyde accumulation toxicity) when taking cephalosporin antibiotics. It is safe to take cephalosporin antibiotics 6 days after drinking alcohol. However, the specific situation may vary depending on individual physical conditions.

Analgesic and antipyretic drugs such as aspirin and paracetamol can irritate and damage the gastric mucosa. When combined with alcohol, which also irritates the stomach, they can lead to gastritis, gastric ulcer, and gastric bleeding. Drinking alcohol while taking antihypertensive drugs such as reserpine, captopril, nifedipine, hydralazine, and dibazole can cause vasodilation, leading to hypotensive shock and potentially life-threatening situations. This is because alcohol dilates blood vessels, inhibits the sympathetic nervous system and myocardial contractility, thereby enhancing the effect of antihypertensive drugs, which can cause headaches or even shock. Some antihypertensive drugs, such as compound antihypertensive tablets and compound dihydrazine, may also cause a sudden increase in blood pressure when combined with alcohol.

Both antidepressants and alcohol can slow down the central nervous system, affecting brain function and thinking ability, and reducing alertness. Combining these two can cause drowsiness, reduce judgment, physical coordination, and reaction time, and may even exacerbate symptoms of depression. For patients with depression who are taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors, alcohol can interact with these drugs, leading to an increase in blood pressure, which can be dangerous.

Most cold medications contain paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen), which is used to treat fever, colds, and relieve pain. However, during its biological transformation in the body, paracetamol produces a toxic metabolite that needs to be bound to protective factors such as reduced glutathione to reduce its toxicity. Excessive alcohol consumption depletes glutathione in the body, preventing the binding of paracetamol metabolites to glutathione, which increases the risk of liver failure.