adminAlcohol interacts with many drugs, including prescribed over the counter medicines, herbal medicines and illegal drugs.
Alcohol can react with different medicines and drugs in different ways, such as increasing the sedating effect of sleeping tablets and opiate-based pain relief, increasing the potential for aspirin to irritate the stomach or increasing the potential of paracetamol to damage the liver. Also, chronic and or heavy episodic drinking activates the liver enzymes that are involved in breaking down prescription medicines, which can lead to these medicines being metabolised faster than usual and being less effective.
Prescription drugs that interact with alcohol include benzodiazepines, opiates, paracetamol, antidepressants, antibiotics, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory drugs, hypoglycaemic agents (these decrease the level of glucose in the blood and are used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus), warfarin, barbiturates and some heart medicines.
Anyone starting or using one of these medicines should seek advice from their health professional about how alcohol may interact with the drug and whether reduction or temporary stopping of alcohol is necessary. People who are driving a motor vehicle or operating heavy machinery must take particular care when starting a new medicine that has a potential interaction with alcohol.
When combined with illegal drugs, alcohol can have various effects depending on the type of illegal drug.
It may increase the risk of sedation when mixed with other sedating drugs, or counteract the effect of stimulant drugs. When alcohol is taken with cannabis, driving ability is significantly impaired, even more than when alcohol is drunk alone.
The mixture of alcohol with other drugs is a common trend among our society these days. Headlines of youths dying or been resuscitated at hospitals having mixed alcohol with either downers or uppers as they call them have become common. We have also noticed the trend of mixing alcohol with energy drinks which already have a high content of caffeine, making it very fatal for the heart and the other body organs.
Common also these days among the adult group and the young is the mixture of alcohol with the cough mixture branded as broncleer or its street name a�?ngomaa�?.
Heavy abuse of this has led to the common street description of the after effect called (ukusticker /kusticker) this is when one is in a state of wanting to go forward but has been put into a pause mode physically and psychologically.
This is because alcohol on its own, in a few doses, is a stimulant. That is why we find people jovial, more is a depressant people become slow and even lose their balance, too much poison that can kill you. Now when you mix it with other drugs that have other different effects or varied rate of getting the high so the receptors and body functions then get into a conflict whether to go or stop the mind can be 10 steps away from physical reaction of the body making one immobile and also prone to accidents.
Mthandazo Ndlovu is drug prevention and rehabilitation specialist.For help call or whatsapp 00263772399734 or email [email protected]
Online Reporter