It is usually safe to drink a moderate amount of alcohol (no more than the daily guideline of alcohol units) if you are taking a painkiller that can be bought over the counter such as paracetamol or ibuprofen; providing you get relevant advice.
Can I drink alcohol while taking paracetamol? Drinking a small amount of alcohol while taking paracetamol is usually safe. Try to keep to the recommended guidelines of no more than 14 units of alcohol a week.
Combining ibuprofen and alcohol can raise your risk for serious side effects, such as gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and kidney or liver problems. It's best to wait at least 10 hours after taking a dose of ibuprofen to drink alcohol.
In healthy subjects 85 to 95% of a therapeutic dose is excreted in the urine within 24 hours with about 4, 55, 30, 4 and 4% appearing as unchanged paracetamol and its glucuronide, sulphate, mercapturic acid and cysteine conjugates, respectively.
It is not safe to mix acetaminophen and alcohol. Together they can irritate the stomach and, in severe cases, cause ulcers, internal bleeding, and liver damage.
Paracetamol overdose is one of the leading causes of acute liver failure. Adults can usually take one or two 500mg tablets every 4-6 hours, but shouldn't take more than 4g (eight 500mg tablets) in the space of 24 hours.
Prescription painkillers
Alcohol must be avoided while on a course of prescription-only painkillers, such as tramadol, gabapentin and codeine and other morphine-like drugs. Consuming alcohol alongside these medications can be dangerous - leading to severe drowsiness and other side effects, such as nausea.
Ask a healthcare provider when it's okay to start drinking again. Sometimes you may need to wait 48 to 72 hours after your last dose before it's safe to have an alcoholic beverage. Remember, you'll be taking the antibiotic or antifungal medication only for a matter of days or weeks.
After a night of drinking, make sure you don't take Tylenol, Excedrin, or other pain relievers with acetaminophen. The combination of alcohol and acetaminophen can seriously hurt your liver. If you want some pain relief, take aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve).
Mixing paracetamol with ethanol may lead to nausea, vomiting, headaches, fainting, or loss of coordination. Popping paracetamol after a night of heavy drinking to get rid of a hangover may put you in grave danger. The combination of the two can increase the risk of liver toxicity, which can be fatal.
Ibuprofen taken with alcohol can increase the risk of stomach irritation and discomfort. Ibuprofen can alter the effects of some blood pressure medicines and may increase the risk of bleeding if taken with medicines such as warfarin.
If you take too much
Taking 1 or 2 extra tablets is unlikely to harm you. Do not take more than 8 tablets in 24 hours. Taking too much paracetamol can be dangerous and you may need treatment. Too much paracetamol can cause liver damage.
Mixing alcohol and pain medicines can be harmful
Alcohol increases analgesic, reinforcing, and sedative effects of opiates, elevating risk for combined misuse of alcohol and opiates as well as overdose.
Suggestions to treat fever include: Take paracetamol or ibuprofen in appropriate doses to help bring your temperature down. Drink plenty of fluids, particularly water. Avoid alcohol, tea and coffee as these drinks can cause slight dehydration.
Mixing alcohol and medicines can be harmful. Alcohol, like some medi- cines, can make you sleepy, drowsy, or lightheaded. Drinking alcohol while taking medicines can intensify these effects. You may have trouble concentrating or performing me- chanical skills.
Numerous classes of prescription medications can interact with alcohol, including antibiotics, antidepressants, antihistamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, histamine H2 receptor antagonists, muscle relaxants, nonnarcotic pain medications and anti-inflammatory agents, opioids, and warfarin.
If you need to take Tylenol®, it's best to wait at least 24 hours from the most recent dose of Tylenol® before having a drink. Waiting longer is generally better.
Just a few paracetamol tablets over the recommended dose can potentially cause fatal liver damage, and there may be no symptoms until it is too late for treatment to help. There is an antidote for paracetamol poisoning and it is most effective within eight hours of the overdose, so getting help early is essential.
If you develop any of the following symptoms, you must seek medical advice immediately. Abdominal (stomach) pain, nausea, vomiting (sickness). Yellow discoloration of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice). Severe headache, confusion or drowsiness.
HEPATOTOXICITY RISK FACTORS
While acute liver injury can occur when used at or below the recommended daily maximum dose (4000 mg)[4], paracetamol toxicity is often the result of ingestion of paracetamol over this maximum dose.
Paracetamol is a common painkiller that is normally safe. If you take more than the recommended amount (an overdose), it can harm the liver, and occasionally the kidneys. The medical team will assess you.
Use of any medicine always carries some chance of unwanted side effects. The most common side effects of paracetamol are: drowsiness and tiredness.
Acetylcysteine IV (N-acetylcysteine, Parvolex®, NAC) is the treatment of choice. It has near 100% efficacy in preventing paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity if given within the first 8 hours from ingestion of overdose.
Consuming a small amount of alcohol while taking ibuprofen is considered to be generally safe. However, it is extremely important to be careful when doing so and avoid it when possible. In fact, it would be wise to avoid drinking alcohol while taking any pain reliever.
This means it would take at least 10 hours for your body to clear ibuprofen. This means you should wait at least 10 hours before drinking alcohol if you have been taking regular or high doses of ibuprofen.