# Can I have a beer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522 "2008-06-19T22:19:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/1 "2008-06-19T22:19:43Z")
I rarely drink (recent trip to New Orleans excepted), but on our afternoon walk we walked by a couple of pubs and I thought (and croaked to my coworker), ‘You know? I’d like a beer.’ I’ve had laryngitis since the afternoon of the 6th and have been taking doxycycline since the 13th. Will a beer adversely affect my vocal cords, or diminish the effectiveness of the antibiotics? Just wondering. ---
**Author:** ![AmunRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AmunRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmunRa)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/2 "2008-06-19T22:23:09Z")
A beer won’t affect the doxycycline, however you shouldn’t mix them if you have any kind of liver damage. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/3 "2008-06-19T22:25:04Z")
[QUOTE=AmunRa] you shouldn’t mix them if you have any kind of liver damage. [/QUOTE] None that I know of. I had a blood test for Lamisil (?) about nine or ten years ago and it came up clean. Thanks. That’s what I though, since the pill label didn’t say anything about it, nor did the doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/4 "2008-06-19T23:32:39Z")
best way to find out? ask your pharmacist. they know way more than any doctor about potential interactions. i rarely have to take penicillin, but when i do, it’s my first question to the guy that fills my scrips: can i drink? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/5 "2008-06-20T05:08:13Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Will a beer adversely affect my vocal cords… [/QUOTE] There won’t be any direct effect (your vocal cords are in your trachea, and beer (hopefully) goes down your esophagus), but alcohol is a diuretic, so it’ll dry you out a bit, which is not ideal for inflamed cords. One beer, though, wouldn’t hurt you much, especially if you replace any potential fluid loss with water. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/6 "2008-06-20T05:10:41Z")
As usual, I didn’t get around to having a beer. Maybe tomorrow. Or on the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/7 "2008-06-20T12:59:23Z")
Over several years and a handful of different doctors, I’ve taken an assortment of antibiotics. None of the docs said, “No alcohol with this.” I usually read the whole “fear sheet” of each new drug I’m prescribed, and no antibiotic I’ve taken had any warnings about alcohol. Can you have a beer with your pill? Sure. Prosit! ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/8 "2008-06-20T13:35:54Z")
Hmmm. Could I have one as well? No current medications. Liver healthy. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/9 "2008-06-20T13:42:44Z")
Have the beer already. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/10 "2008-06-20T13:46:30Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] Have the beer already. [/QUOTE] It’s 0645 here. Wait. The sun’s up over the yardarm _somewhere!_😃 No, I’m on the coffee. Only I put some milk in it and the label on the pills said not to have products with calcium/iron/zinc. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/11 "2008-06-20T14:18:26Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] It’s 0645 here. [/QUOTE] In Jamaica, a waitress once asked me if I’d like a beer to “settle my breakfast”. I loved that concept and have introduced it to others. On vacation, my gf and I usually have a cold one after breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-have-a-beer/453522/12 "2008-06-20T14:22:11Z")
People take doxy for years on end as a malaria prophylaxis and they have no problem drinking.