Health Information
Medicines That Interact With Alcohol
Topic Overview
Many prescription and Reference over-the-counter Opens New Window medicines interact with alcohol. For example, drinking while taking a Reference diabetes Opens New Window medicine such as metformin (Glucophage) could result in very low blood sugar levels. Drinking while taking medicine for Reference heartburn Opens New Window such as cimetidine (Tagamet) or ranitidine (Zantac) could result in a fast heartbeat.
Common medicines that interact with alcohol include:
- Acetaminophen (such as Tylenol).
- Antibiotics.
- Antihistamines.
- Tranquilizers.
- Aspirin and other medicines to prevent clotting of blood (anticoagulants).
- Some medicines to treat depression (antidepressants).
- Medicines to treat diabetes (hypoglycemics).
If you are taking any over-the-counter or prescription medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist whether you can safely drink alcohol.
| By: | Reference Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: Reference January 18, 2012 |
| Medical Review: | Reference E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Reference Peter Monti, PhD - Alcohol and Addiction |
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