Jason Wagner
Drinking alcohol when you're sick is generally not recommended, and this includes drinking beer when you have the flu. Alcohol can weaken your immune system, which needs to be strong to fight off the flu virus. Alcohol can also disrupt your sleep, which is key to recovery. On top of this, many over-the-counter flu medications interact negatively with alcohol, and alcohol can cause dehydration, which can worsen flu symptoms.
What You'll Learn
Alcohol can negatively impact your medication
Drinking alcohol while having the flu is not recommended, especially if you are taking medication. Alcohol can negatively impact your medication in several ways and cause serious health complications. Here are some reasons why it is advisable to avoid alcohol when taking medication for the flu:
Decreased Effectiveness of Medication: Alcohol can interfere with the absorption or metabolism of certain medications, making them less effective or even rendering them useless. This means that your medication may not work as intended, and you might not experience the desired therapeutic effects.
Toxicity and Harmful Side Effects: In some cases, the combination of alcohol and medication can lead to harmful side effects or even toxicity. Alcohol may amplify the negative effects of certain drugs, making them dangerous to your body. This can include internal bleeding, heart problems, breathing difficulties, nausea, vomiting, headaches, drowsiness, fainting, loss of coordination, and increased risk of falls and injuries.
Intensified Medication Side Effects: Even small amounts of alcohol can intensify the side effects of certain medications, such as sleepiness, drowsiness, and light-headedness. This can impair your concentration, coordination, and ability to perform mechanical skills or operate machinery. It also increases the risk of accidents, especially for older adults.
Drug Interactions: Alcohol interacts with hundreds of commonly used prescription and over-the-counter drugs. These include medications for allergies, colds, flu, heart conditions, anxiety, pain, and many others. For example, mixing alcohol with heart medications can cause rapid heartbeat and sudden changes in blood pressure, while combining it with pain relievers like acetaminophen can lead to severe liver damage.
Increased Risk for Older Adults: Older adults are at a particularly high risk for harmful alcohol-medication interactions. Aging slows down the body's ability to metabolize alcohol, so it stays in their system longer and has a greater potential to interact with medications. Additionally, older adults often take multiple medications, which can further magnify the negative effects.
It is important to note that these risks apply even if alcohol and medication are not consumed simultaneously. To ensure your safety, it is always best to avoid alcohol consumption when taking any medication for the flu or other health conditions. Consult your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns about potential interactions.
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Alcohol can cause dehydration
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it causes your body to remove fluids from your blood through your renal system, including the kidneys, ureters, and bladder, at a much quicker rate than other liquids.
When alcohol is processed by enzymes in the liver, it is converted into acetaldehyde, which can become toxic in high doses. Your liver then turns this into acetate. Alcohol also reduces the amount of vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone, in your body. Vasopressin causes the body to hold onto water, which limits how much urine your kidneys make. The action of suppressing this hormone exacerbates the diuretic effect and leads to dehydration.
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach can contribute to dehydration. Without food in the stomach, alcohol goes straight into the bloodstream instead of being absorbed more slowly through the stomach and small intestine.
To prevent dehydration when drinking alcohol, it is recommended to consume alcohol in moderation, drink alcohol slowly, and drink water while drinking alcohol.
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Alcohol can slow down recovery
Drinking alcohol when you're sick can overburden your immune system, which is already working hard to help you heal. This can result in a slower recovery. Your body treats alcohol as a toxin and prioritises metabolising it over all other substances. Even on a healthy day, your body can only metabolise about 1oz of alcohol per hour. Drinking more than this will leave your system fighting both the sickness and the alcohol.
Alcohol can also negatively impact your liver, which may already be affected by your illness. Many bacterial and viral infections cause abnormalities in liver functions, and alcohol can further disrupt these functions.
Additionally, alcohol can dehydrate you. When you're sick, it's important to stay hydrated, and alcohol has the opposite effect. It increases urine production and suppresses the production of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin, causing your body to lose fluids. Dehydration can further weaken your body and slow down your recovery.
Alcohol can also interfere with the effectiveness of antibiotics and over-the-counter medications. It takes priority in your body's metabolism, preventing the proper metabolisation of antibiotics. This can slow down your recovery and make antibiotics less effective. Alcohol can also have harmful interactions with ingredients in cold and flu medications, leading to side effects such as drowsiness and lightheadedness.
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Alcohol can disrupt your sleep
Research has found that alcohol negatively affects sleep quality regardless of consumption level. A 2018 study showed that low alcohol intake reduced sleep quality by 9.3%, moderate intake by 24%, and heavy intake by nearly 40%. These effects were similar for men and women and were more pronounced in younger individuals compared to older adults.
To minimize the impact of alcohol on your sleep, it is recommended to allow at least three hours between your last drink and bedtime. Drinking water along with alcohol and consuming alcohol with meals can also help. However, it is important to avoid combining alcohol with sleeping pills, as the combination can make breathing difficult and potentially dangerous.
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Alcohol can cause drowsiness and lightheadedness
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it increases the passing of urine. This can lead to dehydration, which is the last thing you want when you're sick. Dehydration can make you feel dizzy and lightheaded.
If you're running a fever, your body is already dehydrated. Doctors recommend staying hydrated by drinking lots of fluids, but alcohol doesn't count. It has the opposite effect.
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Frequently asked questions
No, it's not a good idea to mix alcohol with medication. Alcohol can negatively interact with medicines, and may cause side effects such as vomiting, headaches, dizziness, and fainting. Alcoholic drinks can also prevent medicines from working properly, and may cause liver damage or other serious health issues.
Even if you're not taking medication, drinking alcohol when you're sick can slow down your recovery. Alcohol can weaken your immune system, which is already working overtime to help you heal. Alcohol can also cause dehydration, which is the last thing you want when you're unwell.
While it's true that hops, a key ingredient in beer, contains humulone, a chemical compound that can fight off the common cold virus, you would have to drink up to five six-packs of beer to benefit from the virus-fighting effects of humulone.
Yes, drinking beer in moderate amounts when you're healthy can have some health benefits, including supporting the production of good cholesterol, reducing the risk of diabetes, and contributing to building bone mass and strength.
