Harmful Interactions National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

Considering its availability as an OTC medication, the risk of someone mixing it with alcohol is much higher. You already know that drinking alcohol and driving is dangerous. Add Benadryl to the mix, eco sober house cost and the behavior becomes even riskier. Benadryl may also interact negatively with sleep aids and other medications. So, to be safe, you should only use Benadryl to treat your allergy symptoms.

When people become allergic to something, they sneeze, get stuffy or runny noses, and develop itchy, watery eyes, among other conditions. These bodily responses are governed by histamines, chemicals that are created by your immune system. In fact, the two are frequently used together – there is actually a medicine called Advil PM that is the exact combination of Benadryl and Ibuprofen. Among the side effects of Benadryl are drowsiness, lethargy, and sedation.

It’s especially important to tell them if the condition causes you trouble with urinating. Benadryl may make it more difficult than usual for you to urinate. Your doctor can tell you whether the medication is a safe treatment option for you.

benadryl and alchol

Since Benadryl and alcohol can make you drowsy and sedated, it is very tempting to exploit these substances and use it as a sleeping aid. Unfortunately, even if you get drowsy taking it, other side effects like dizziness and nausea can interfere with sleep. As you already know, aging slackens the body’s capacity to process and break down alcohol, meaning, it will stay in the person’s body a bit longer than a younger person. As a result, older people are more susceptible to the effects of the harmful interaction between alcohol and Benadryl.

Some of the side effects of diphenhydramine include drowsiness, dry mouth, headache or urination problems. For some people, the level of drowsiness they experience may be significant. Benadryl may rarely cause some to feel the opposite effect of excitability, but this is more common in children.

Driving warning

If you overdose on alcohol and diphenhydramine the answer is yes. Although it seems innocent, taking excessive Benadryl and alcohol mixture causes to lose consciousness, this condition is one of the deadly risks. Grapefruit juice can affect how some medications work, and antihistamines are among the types of drugs that may interact with it negatively. Enzymes help metabolize many drugs, and grapefruit juice tends to block their function. The juice’s composition can affect transporters or body proteins found on the surface of cells in the body – which play an important role in the absorption of medications.

For those seeking addiction treatment for themselves or a loved one, the Addiction Group helpline is a private and convenient solution. Calls to any general helpline (non-facility specific 1-8XX numbers) for your visit will be answered by American Addiction Centers . If you’re starting to lose control over your drinking habits or can’t cope without a drink, then you have an alcohol problem. Benadryl can cause both mild and severe side effects, depending on the person.

benadryl and alchol

Generally, the maximum dosage of oral Benadryl products should only cap at six times a day. So for adults and children beyond 12-years-old, that translates to 300 mg each day and 150 mg for children ages between 6-12-years-old. When it comes to topical forms of Benadryl products, both adults and children should only apply the cream, gel, or spray four times per day only. In general, females are more susceptible to alcohol-related harm. This is because their bodies typically contain less water for alcohol to mix with, meaning that the same amount of alcohol would be more concentrated in a female than in a male.

What is Benadryl?

In these people, combining Benadryl and alcohol is more likely to cause a loss of consciousness. This can be harmful due to the likelihood of falls and other accidents. Mixing Benadryl with alcohol can intensify these side effects and will impair a person’s daily functioning. I discuss the potential side effects of combining alcohol and Benadryl in more detail below.

Taking Xanax with Diphenhydramine increases the risk of Diphenhydramine interactions and adverse effects. Therefore, it is not recommended unless instructed by a doctor or medical professional. They are both central nervous system depressants, so both of them can slow down heart rates and prolong CNS and respiratory depressant effects significantly. Ask your doctor before using diphenhydrAMINE together with ethanol. Alcohol may increase drowsiness and dizziness while you are taking diphenhydrAMINE.

Thus, diphenhydramine medications relieve sneezing, red, itchy or watery eyes, and the common cold. It also provides relief for a runny nose caused by hay fever. To fathom how this medication functions, you would have to understand the nature in which humans respond to allergies.

However, it’s best to refrain from drinking alcohol while taking Benadryl. If you take Zoloft, you may wonder if you can drink alcohol. Impaired motor ability, combined with the dizziness and sedation from Benadryl, can cause particular problems for older adults. For instance, the combination may increase the risk of falls in seniors.

  • For instance, the combination may increase the risk of falls in seniors.
  • Unfortunately, this is the kind of euphoric journey that can quickly plummet to fatal issues.
  • To learn more about a medicine and whether it will interact with alcohol, talk to your pharmacist or other health care provider.
  • Measure liquid medicine with the dosing syringe provided, or with a special dose-measuring spoon or medicine cup.
  • So, to be safe, you should only use Benadryl to treat your allergy symptoms.
  • Anxiety and depression may develop from dependency on this cocktail.

Benadryl may interact with other types of medication, which can heighten the side effects. So, unless otherwise directed, you shouldn’t combine the use of alcohol and Benadryl, especially to help sleep. Alcohol and Benadryl likely aren’t even a good combination if you are looking for added help to assist you in falling asleep. In general, it is recommended to avoid consumption of alcohol if you are going to be taking Benadryl . Neither Addiction Group nor AAC receives any commission or other fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a visitor may ultimately choose.

Other common drugs including Tylenol , Mucinex , Apoquel , Sudafed , and Allegra have no known drug interactions with Benadryl. Using both Melatonin and Benadryl at the same time is not recommended. While the two have different mechanisms of action and work quite differently, they have a similar effect. Both of them cause sedation and combining them essentially means intensified sedative effects.

In this way, you can overcome your uncomfortable conditions. People often feel anxious about there are potential side effects or adverse outcomes that can stem from the mixture of alcohol and diphenhydramine. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms are dangerous in their own right, which is why someone with an alcohol use disorder should never attempt to quit on their own.

Benadryl and health-related interactions

However, symptoms can appear days later, usually peaking in 24 hours to 72 hours. They spend the majority of their time drinking or recovering from drinking. Someone drinks even though they might drive, boat, or participate in some other activity that becomes dangerous when alcohol is consumed. Despite being legal, alcohol is a debilitating substance of abuse. Parke-Davis, the largest drugmaker at the time, bought the rights to Benadryl and marketed the drug in 1946. According to the Times, Rieveschl received a 5 percent royalty for the duration of the medication’s 17-year patent.

benadryl and alchol

Seasonal allergies are also called hayfever or allergic rhinitis. A person may use medications to relieve seasonal allergy symptoms. In fact, Benadryl is often available in combination products that contain Tylenol or Advil. These products are used to treat symptoms of allergies and colds. Examples of these symptoms include body aches, sneezing, and a runny nose.

In case of treatment with other groups of medications, it is best to consult with a physician about possible dangerous DPH drug-to-drug interactions. In a combined report by the National Center for Health Statistics and U.S. According to the same report, Diphenhydramine is one of the most common drugs of choice in people who committed suicide by drug overdose during the same period. That includes accidental deaths related to Diphenhydramine addiction or misuse.

What Food and Substances Should Be Avoided When Using Diphenhydramine?

Alcohol and medicines can interact harmfully even if they are not taken at the same time. Cough syrup and laxatives may have some of the highest alcohol concentrations. Benadryl may cause blurred vision and may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert and able to see clearly.

Someone drinks when it makes health complications or mental health issues worse. Whether it is whiskey, wine, beer, or rum, alcohol remains the most commonly abused, addictive substance in the world. Acute diphenhydramine poisoning can https://sober-home.org/ lead to cardiovascular collapse and death, two to 18 hours after use. It also is capable of producing life-threatening overdose symptoms that can impact the heart, nervous system, bladder, kidneys, and stomach, among other organs.

Can you take Benadryl and cetirizine together?

Mixing Benadryl with alcohol may be particularly hazardous for females, as consuming smaller amounts of alcohol could trigger adverse interaction effects. Some types of medication, including cough syrup and laxatives, also contain alcohol. They can include up to 10 percent alcohol, which may interact with Benadryl.