Mixing Benadryl and Alcohol can be potent as both of them slows down the CNS(central nervous system). Due to which you might feel drowsiness, sedation and cause trouble doing both mental and physical task.
Benadryl is a brand name of the drug used for treating allergies, hay fever, common cold or a cough. It is an over the counter medication (OTC) used for allergies.
You can get it without any prescription from a doctor or pharmacist. Benadryl has antihistamine which blocks the occurring natural histamine in your body.
Histamine is a chemical your immune system produce. It protects your body from foreign particles. It can make you sneeze, tear up, or itch, whatever it takes to get the foreign particle out of your body.
Its overreaction can cause you restlessness and confusion. To suppress the effects of histamine, you need the antihistamine, i.e., Benadryl.
Benadryl is a water-soluble drug and absorbed by the body quickly and reach to the peak level within an hour. It processed by the liver and can remain in the body for approx 24 hours. It can be lethal if used more than 300 milligrams daily. The 300 milligram should also divide into 25-50 milligram doses.
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Benadryl For Children
Benadryl shouldn’t use for infants below two years. Infants don’t produce histamine in much quantity, and it can affect their brain. Children of 4years or older can take Benadryl but in very less amount. Doses recommend for Children should not be more than 2times in 24 hours.
Uses Of Benadryl
- relieve allergy
- hay fever
- the common cold
- rash
- itching
- watery eyes
- itchy eyes/nose/throat
- A cough
- A runny nose
Benadryl is an over the counter treatment for allergies and running nose. You can buy it without any prescription from any local shops. It can make you drowsy and help you to sleep better. There are some common side effects of it.
Common Side Effects Of Benadryl
- Sedation,
- tiredness,
- sleepiness,
- dizziness,
- disturbed coordination,
- constipation,
- dry mouth/nose/throat,
- difficulty urinating,
- Upset stomach.
- Blurred vision
- double vision
- loss of appetite or
- nausea
What Is Alcohol?
Alcohol is a legal but sedative drug contains no nutrients for the body. It reduces a person’s ability to think rationally and distorts his or her judgment. There are some benefits of alcohol, especially red wine. It is also a depressant which slows down the functioning of the Central Nervous system.
Most of the people drink alcohol to calm themselves. It is found in most of the social gatherings. It has anxiety-reducing property. The human body has a limit for everything. If you drink alcohol more than your body can handle you will experience sedative effects.
It can create the social and physical complication for you. The amount of alcohol drunk determines the type of effect a personal experience.
Drinking alcohol in excess can lead to addiction, cirrhosis of the liver or liver failure. An adult person should not take alcohol more than 75g at a time.
The lethal amount of alcohol for 60 kg person is 300g. It can kill the person. It can stay in your body’s system for 24-48 hours. Also, can be detected by urine, saliva or breath test.
Ethanol Alcohol is only alcohol used in beverages. It produced by fermentation of grains and fruits. It is available in many beverages like beer, wine to the more potent distilled spirits like whiskey.
Side Effect Of Alcohol
- Lose body’s coordination and control.
- Inability to feel pain,
- toxicity where the body vomits the poison
- unconsciousness worse
- coma
- death from severe toxic overdose
- Potential respiratory depression
- Urinary incontinence
- Lethargy
- Confusion
- Slower reflexes
- Decreased heart rate
- Blurred vision
- Increase hurt rate.
Benadryl and Alcohol are potent drugs and should be taken with care. Apart from common side effects, taking alcohol with Benadryl can cause severe harm.
Risks Of Mixing Benadryl And Alcohol
Benadryl and alcohol both are depressant for Central Nervous system of human body. Mixing of both can depress your central Nervous System too much.
1. Sleeping Problem
Benadryl approve as sleeping aid and alcohol also make you drowsy. When Benadryl mixed with alcohol instead of giving you a good sleep it can act as a stimulant. It can make you dizzy and restless.
The Benadryl and alcohol overdose can sedation and drowsiness which can further impair your coordination and reaction. The mixture can be dangerous and impairs the daily functioning. If done on a daily basis can be life-threatening and disrupt your daily activities.
2. Driving Warning
One of the driving rules is “don’t drink and drive.” When Benadryl added to the alcohol, it enhances the effects of alcohol for a more extended period.
A mixture of Benadryl and alcohol can have the greater impact on your ability to stay alert. You can meet with an accident or injuries. So, this is another side-effect that you cannot drive after drinking the mixture of Benadryl and alcohol.
3. Addiction Of The Combination
Alcohol and Benadryl both are easy to available products at a normal range of price. Many alcoholic find the effect of the combination desirable, but it is harmful to health.
Experts say the combination is quite addictive. Daily use of this mixture can soon turn in to a habit and give your long-term health issues.
4. Cause Cardiovascular Issues For Senior Age
The combination of alcohol and Benadryl can cause much more danger for senior age people. It can be impaired the motor activity of older people and create the cardiac attack in many.
it is because the heart functioning of the old age people is not that strong as compared to young adults. Moreover, the heart of old age people is insignificant to handle the high dose of this mixture.
5. Loss Of Consciousness
For some individuals its easy to lose their state of mind or consciousness. For them, the mixture of Benadryl and alcohol can easily make them uncontrollable and unconscious about their own state.
This can cause further issues like quarrel, fall, or accidents.
6.Dehydration
Benadryl and alcohol are both known to dehydrate your body to a great extent. When mixed together, they can further increase the rate of dehydration.
Dehydration can make you feel weak, make your body shiver, and can even worsen your hangover.
7. Impairs Learning And Memory
Benadryl can stop the action of a very important brain neurotransmitter called Acetylcholine. The Acetylcholine is an important brain neurotransmitter that is linked to memory and learning. A block in its action can impair its functioning significantly.
On the other hand, alcohol is known to block your learning and memory process temporarily. So, when you combine Benadryl and alcohol together it can give a noticeable effect on your learning and memory and in the long term can even disrupt it.
8. Interact With Other Medications
Benadryl can interact with other types of medication causing a range of side-effects. Same is with alcohol. when both of them are combined together it can heighten the side-effects and cause a range of health issues. So, it’s always better to avoid when taking medical drugs.
The medical drugs that can interact with Benadryl and alcohol are as follows:
- Antihistamines
- cough medication
- stomach ulcer medication
- Sedatives
- Diazepam
9. For Female The Mixture Is More Harmful
The females are more susceptible to the side-effects of alcohol. It is because their body contains less water for alcohol to mix with. It means the same amount of alcohol can be more concentrated in the female body than the male body.
Mixing Benedryl with alcohol can cause a series of hazardous effects. even when consumed in small doses the levels can cause adverse side-effects.
10. Dementia
Studies suggest people who take Benadryl and alcohol daily for 3 years can have a risk of dementia. Not only this alcohol when mixed with any anticholinergic drugs, not just Benadryl can cause a higher risk of dementia.
However, the research holds valid reasons for only very high doses of benadryl and alcohol. Occasional small doses cannot cause such issues.
The tolerability of the combination depends from person to person. Some people may don’t have an effect of the mixture while some develop effect immediately. The combination may have serious consequence on your health.
For the mid effect, you may include nausea and vomiting. The combination may have serious consequence on your health.
For the mid effect, you may include nausea and vomiting. The life-threatening situation can occur if you drink a mixture of alcohol and Benadryl. It can cause internal bleeding and cardiac arrest.
The patients with asthma or COPD are at the high risk of respiratory suppression or failure.
Precautions
Always avoid having alcohol after Benadryl or vice versa. If you have to drink alcohol wait for few hours until body suppresses the effects of Benadryl.
If you take Benadryl, ask your doctor how long you need to wait before having a glass of alcohol. Never take a combination of alcohol and Benadryl to avoid side effects or consequences.
Some OTC or prescribed medication may contain alcohol up to 10%. Drugs like laxatives and cough syrup have a right amount of alcohol.
These drugs can interact with Benadryl and cause harm to you. To avoid any interaction of alcohol and Benadryl, always read the label before using any medication.
Can Combination Of Benadryl And Alcohol Kill You?
Yes, it is strong enough to kill you. Excess of any of them is dangerous. Both are Central Nervous system depressant.The combination gives profound dizziness and drowsiness.The person loses control over the mind and the body.When combined the depressant effect increase much. It can shut down of Central Nervous system.
What To Do If Someone Had Taken Benadryl And Alcohol Combination?
Effect of Benadryl and alcohol differ from person to person. You can treat the dry mouth caused by Benadryl and alcohol mixture.
Give the patient sugarless hard candy or gum, use ice chips or any juice. Avoid giving any other drugs to the patient.
If a person is feeling sleepy without any problem, let him sleeps. Effect of the combination will suppress by its own.If vomit or breathing problem occurs, you need to take him to a hospital or consult the doctor immediately.
