Alcohol and medication interactions

Many medications can interact with alcohol, thereby altering the metabolism or effects of alcohol and/or the medication. Some of these interactions ca n occur even at moderate drinking level and result in adverse health effect s for the drinker. Two types of alcohol-medication interactions exist: (1) pharmacokinetic interactions, in which alcohol interferes with the metaboli sm of the medication, and (2) pharmacodynamic interactions, in which alcoho l enhances the effects of the medication, particularly in the central nervo us system (e.g., sedation). Pharmacokinetic interactions generally occur in the liver, where both alcohol and many medications are metabolized frequen tly by the same enzymes. Numerous classes of prescription medications can i nteract with alcohol, including antibiotics, antidepressants, antihistamine s, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, histamine H-2, receptor antagonists, musc le relaxants, nonnarcotic pain medications and anti-inflammatory agents, op ioids, and warfarin. In addition, many over-the-counter and herbal medicati ons can cause negative effects when taken with alcohol.