# Don't mix Ibuprophen + Alcohol... How long? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273 "2015-03-29T14:37:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SJL4041](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@SJL4041](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SJL4041)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/21 "2015-03-29T23:10:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **buddy** also covered the acetaminophen angle quite nicely. Quite right. Sorry, **buddy431**! What I took from your post is to not stop drinking when I get the flu! Just kidding. But re-reading Buddy’s post got me thinking about my usual go-to cold syrup. It has 650mg of acetaminophen and 3ml of alcohol in it. At a maximum of 4 doses per day, that’s 2.6g of acetaminophen and 12 ml of alcohol. Is that really a good idea? Or is it harmless enough for healthy adults? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/22 "2015-03-29T23:21:01Z")
> [@SJL4041](#): > > But re-reading Buddy’s post got me thinking about my usual go-to cold syrup. It has 650mg of acetaminophen and 3ml of alcohol in it. At a maximum of 4 doses per day, that’s 2.6g of acetaminophen and 12 ml of alcohol. Is that really a good idea? Or is it harmless enough for healthy adults? Harmless for most circumstances in and of itself, unless one has liver dysfunction to begin with. But it’s emblematic of the problem that acetaminophen gets put in everything these days. I’ve had patients who thought they were staying at or below the 4 gm/day limit, because they were taking two 500 mg tabs of the stuff 3 or 4 times a day. But they didn’t notice it was in their cough medicine, their decongestant, their excedrine migraine, their alka-seltzer, and their butalbital. Some folks were getting 6 or more grams a day, unknowingly. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/23 "2015-03-30T00:08:07Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I hate to fight the hypothetical, but if you’ve got something injured such that you need to take ibuprofen for it, the alcohol’s probably going to mess you up whether you’ve taken ibuprofen or not… if you give your body a choice between repairing muscle damage or eliminating toxins from your bloodstream, it’s going to go with clearing out the toxins and you’ll still be hurt in the morning. That kind of sucks for those of us with, say, arthritis for which we take OTC pain medication - it will _never_ go away, just hurt less some days than others. It’s not a matter of “repairing” anything or “toxins” being cleaned out, it’s permanent joint damage. And frankly, a single drink can ease aching joints just as a single pill can. And really, your body is ALWAYS “clearing out toxins”, 24/7, and that’s why you have a liver and kidneys, it’s their primary job. Yes, even when you’re hurt or sick and busy healing the clean up crew is still at work. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/24 "2015-03-30T00:54:50Z")
> [@SJL4041](#): > > Thanks to both **WhyNot** and **Qadgop**. I guess I was right to be leery of mixing acetaminophen and alcohol. Just a random data point. A close old friend of mine did the drink a bit more than he should, ached too much from work, took a bit too much pain killer and died quickly from it. I won’t take something where the useful dose is half the dangerous level dose unless I REALLY need to and there is no alternative. ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/25 "2015-03-30T01:59:25Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Just a random data point. A close old friend of mine did the drink a bit more than he should, ached too much from work, took a bit too much pain killer and died quickly from it. > > I won’t take something where the useful dose is half the dangerous level dose unless I REALLY need to and there is no alternative. Well, there is a reason that paracetamol is used so much. When taken in safe amounts, even for long periods, it generally is quite safe and without side effect. NSAIDs have their own problems (mostly the gastric issues). Opiates are habit-forming. There is no perfect analgesic, and paracetamol is probably the best choice in many situations. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/26 "2015-03-30T03:40:18Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Ethanol is medically necessary in only very rare circumstances, such as; a significant complication in premature labor, with no access to modern medical care or better tocolytics (labor-halting meds); methanol or ethylene glycol poisoning, without access to better antidotes; and a need to prevent/abort acute alcohol withdrawal and its potentially fatal seizures, where once again there is lack of access to more appropriate medications. > > I can’t immediately think of any other circumstances where ethanol would be medically necessary. Other than as a topical disinfectant for a wound where there’s no better agent. > > So, the prescribing of alcohol as a true pharmacologic agent is vanishingly rare, and any medical professional doing so _in their capacity as a medical professional_ should set off a few alarm bells. > > If they’re saying, ‘yeah, go ahead, take some motrin and a nice glass of white wine to help you relax’, that’s a different story, and not automatically terrible advice. But the alcohol part is almost always optional. > > Heck, so’s the motrin part. Well, really, the doctor said "do you have any muscle relaxants lying around? And when I said “no”, he said, “well, you could have a glass of whiskey before you go to bed, that would help prevent the muscles from cramping up overnight”. I was surprised by the advice, so I asked the nurse, who had previous suggested NSAIDs before bed. He said, “that sounds like a good idea. No, that shouldn’t be dangerous.” > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Harmless for most circumstances in and of itself, unless one has liver dysfunction to begin with. But it’s emblematic of the problem that acetaminophen gets put in everything these days. I’ve had patients who thought they were staying at or below the 4 gm/day limit, because they were taking two 500 mg tabs of the stuff 3 or 4 times a day. But they didn’t notice it was in their cough medicine, their decongestant, their excedrine migraine, their alka-seltzer, and their butalbital. Some folks were getting 6 or more grams a day, unknowingly. Yeah, this is why I only take single-drug stuff when I can. You can’t get codeine that hasn’t been mixed with something, but most of my OTC stuff is just one drug. If I want to take a pain killer and a decongestant, I take two pills. But at least I’m aware what I’m taking. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/27 "2015-03-30T22:30:08Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yeah, this is why I only take single-drug stuff when I can. You can’t get codeine that hasn’t been mixed with something, but most of my OTC stuff is just one drug. You can get codeine without acetaminophen, but then it’s a schedule II prescription, with all the extra hoops to jump through, just like morphine and oxycodone and hydrocodone. But I’m with you. I prefer single-ingredient pills rather than combo pills for _most_ situations. Makes sense to put amoxicillin with clavulinate, etc. since they’re meant to work together to expand the spectrum, but I hate shotgun meds with a 'little bit of everything, just in case". ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/28 "2015-03-31T02:14:30Z")
My codeine doesn’t have acetaminophen, it has gueifenesin (sp?) But I avoid taking too much of it because it’s codeine. 🙂 Yeah, I’m fine with augmentin, or whatever that antibiotic mix is. That seems like a different category. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/29 "2015-03-31T12:59:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > _snip_ > > So, the prescribing of alcohol as a true pharmacologic agent is vanishingly rare, and any medical professional doing so _in their capacity as a medical professional_ should set off a few alarm bells. _snip_ My father was prescribed two beers a day while in the hospital following a knee replacement surgery. He told the doctor he drank beers every day. I was told the doctor didn’t want to risk any alcohol withdrawal complications during recovery. So every day, the nurse would bring in two Budweisers, prescription labels attached, to his room. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/30 "2015-03-31T13:51:19Z")
Lol, but maybe a good precaution. My father was seriously ill following gut surgery, and it turned out to be caffeine withdrawal. They hadn’t added any to his iv. My mom spent some time in a maternity ward, and some of the women there were on iv alcohol to stop premature labor, but that was a very long time ago, and there are better drugs now. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/31 "2015-03-31T18:49:38Z")
Just so all the OTC popular pain relievers are covered, what’s the word on taking aspirin while drinking? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/32 "2015-03-31T19:00:16Z")
> [@Purd\_Werfect](#): > > Just so all the OTC popular pain relievers are covered, what’s the word on taking aspirin while drinking? Same bleeding risk as ibuprofen, et al. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273/33 "2015-03-31T19:13:53Z")
Yeah, I figured that would be the case. It’s the whole toxic liver thing I’m looking to avoid, but I haven’t heard of aspirin exacerbating that when mixed with alcohol. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-mix-ibuprophen-alcohol-how-long/716273.md?page=1)