It’s the season again–football games, tailgate parties, autumn BBQs, and Labor Day cookouts. Often, included in these social activities is alcohol.

It’s okay to drink with friends and have a good time, but here’s something, as your pharmacists, that we worry about: drug interactions with alcohol.

Many of the medicines that you take daily may interact with alcoholic drinks and make your medicine more or less effective. If the medicines are less effective, then your symptoms are not controlled. However, if the medicines become more effective, then you might experience unwanted side effects.

Thus, it is important to know how to manage alcohol with your medicines.

Here are the tips:

1. Avoid Flagyl (metronidazole) and alcohol. This is the most common interaction that we see in the pharmacy.  Some people who take Flagyl (metronidazole–a commonly used antibiotic) with alcohol have increased heartbeats, nausea, and shortness of breath. More studies are being conducted on this, but until then, it is best to just be safe and avoid alcohol while you are taking Flagyl. You should wait at least three days after finishing Flagyl before drinking alcohol.
2. Avoid binge drinking. Anything excessive is bad and massive amounts of alcohol will interfere with your medicines. The dietary guidelines suggest up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women is appropriate (1 drink = 12 oz beer, 5 oz wine, or 1.5 oz liquor).
3. Take your medicines and your drinks separately. The best way to avoid any drug interactions is to avoid alcohol after taking your medicines.  Thus, try to take your medicines and drinks at least four (4) hours apart to reduce the interactions.
4. Talk to your pharmacists. If you are not sure if you should be drinking, talk to your pharmacists. Here at Plain City Druggist, we have the best team to answer your questions. Just simply call us and we’ll let you know.

Finally, drink carefully. Drink responsibly. And remember, you don’t have to drink to have a good time!

Cheers!