Alcohol and medication: a dangerous cocktail
My roommate suffers from atrocious allergies. Her immune system is generally shot, which I attribute to the ludicrous amounts of work she does, and she is likely to contract a semi-lethal strain of streptococcus and be down for the count for the next eight weeks if anyone within a radius of seven kilometers sniffles.
As such, my friend uses copious amounts of pain relievers for her Hopkins-induced migraines, gargantuan antihistamines for her allergies to her feline house slugs and constant antibiotics for the frequent death syndromes she contracts.
But alas! She loves to drink. She is generally afflicted with more than one atrocity at a time, and we know that mixing drugs with alcohol is a bad thing. What should she avoid?
It seems that over the counter pain relievers are the most common drugs present in every medicine cabinet. Aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin and Advil), acetaminophen (Excedrin and Tylenol), and naproxen sodium (Aleve) are just a few of the drugs used by athletes, bleeding females, cranky News-Letter editors and klutzes worldwide.
Aspirin works as a pain reliever by suppressing the body's production of thromboxanes and prostaglandins. Thromboxanes facilitate blood clotting and prostaglandins are hormones involved in inflammation and transmitting pain signals to the brain.
By inhibiting thromboxane and prostaglandin assembly, aspirin works as both anticoagulant and pain reliever. Ibuprofen also suppresses the production of prostaglandin and helps to suppress pain and inflammation.
Because both aspirin and ibuprofen inhibit prostaglandins, pain transmission is reduced. But alas, another function of prostaglandins is also inhibited. Certain prostaglandins are important in maintaining a healthy stomach lining by protecting against stomach acid. By inhibiting production of prostaglandins, aspirin and ibuprofen increase the risk of stomach lining inflammation and stomach ulcers.
At the same time, both aspirin and ibuprofen function as blood thinners (their anticoagulant property), as does alcohol. Increased blood thinness could potentially cause internal bleeding.
As such, my friend uses copious amounts of pain relievers for her Hopkins-induced migraines, gargantuan antihistamines for her allergies to her feline house slugs and constant antibiotics for the frequent death syndromes she contracts.
But alas! She loves to drink. She is generally afflicted with more than one atrocity at a time, and we know that mixing drugs with alcohol is a bad thing. What should she avoid?
It seems that over the counter pain relievers are the most common drugs present in every medicine cabinet. Aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin and Advil), acetaminophen (Excedrin and Tylenol), and naproxen sodium (Aleve) are just a few of the drugs used by athletes, bleeding females, cranky News-Letter editors and klutzes worldwide.
Aspirin works as a pain reliever by suppressing the body's production of thromboxanes and prostaglandins. Thromboxanes facilitate blood clotting and prostaglandins are hormones involved in inflammation and transmitting pain signals to the brain.
By inhibiting thromboxane and prostaglandin assembly, aspirin works as both anticoagulant and pain reliever. Ibuprofen also suppresses the production of prostaglandin and helps to suppress pain and inflammation.
Because both aspirin and ibuprofen inhibit prostaglandins, pain transmission is reduced. But alas, another function of prostaglandins is also inhibited. Certain prostaglandins are important in maintaining a healthy stomach lining by protecting against stomach acid. By inhibiting production of prostaglandins, aspirin and ibuprofen increase the risk of stomach lining inflammation and stomach ulcers.
At the same time, both aspirin and ibuprofen function as blood thinners (their anticoagulant property), as does alcohol. Increased blood thinness could potentially cause internal bleeding.
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