what is it about alcohol that doesn’t mix well with certain medicines?
In: Chemistry
Several things.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. If it’s a medication that also causes sedation, then they can work together to cause excessive sedation, potentially resulting in accidents.
Secondary to that, if it’s a medication that also causes respiratory depression (suppresses breathing) then you could actually, you know, die.
Additionally, alcohol is metabolized primarily by the liver. Many medications are also metabolized by the liver. The issue here is that overly taxing the liver can damage it. In addition to that, if the liver is overly taxed metabolizing other things, this can result in reduced metabolism of the medication, leading to a higher concentration of the medication in the body than expected.
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