Mixing Alcohol With Dextromethorphan: What Are The Dangers?

Since DXM also acts as a stimulant to certain areas of the brain (which is what produces hallucinations), it is also dangerous to mix with stimulants like caffeine and ADHD medications. Misuse typically involves consuming alcohol and dextromethorphan DXM in quantities far exceeding the recommended therapeutic dose for cough suppression, seeking a psychoactive experience. Regular dextromethorphan or alcohol abuse can weaken the body’s ability to function without them.

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Drinking alcohol with dextromethorphan (DXM), a common ingredient in Robitussin cough syrups, increases the chance of toxicity and can cause serious health problems. There are several interactions, particularly at high doses, and they do not produce complementary psychoactive effects. In fact, when used together — even at low doses — they put you at risk for extreme drowsiness and dangerously slowed breathing. Perhaps the most alarming acute effect of DXM is the risk of respiratory depression.

• It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs.
• Because alcohol is an immunosuppressant, to avoid worsening your illness, you should avoid alcohol entirely while you recover from your cough or cold.
• Our daily research-backed readings teach you the neuroscience of alcohol, and our in-app Toolkit provides the resources and activities you need to navigate each challenge.
• But binge drinking, which means having too many drinks in one sitting, can harm your body in many ways.
• Any sort of substance misuse has serious implications for our health, and dextromethorphan is no different.

How Long Should You Wait To Drink After Taking Cough Medicine?

You’ll also have the opportunity to connect with our licensed Reframe coaches for more personalized guidance. Hallucinations can be dangerous because they can cause a person to act impulsively and irrationally. For example, a person who is hallucinating may become agitated and hostile, or they may attempt to harm themselves or others.

Being well-informed about potential health risks and exercising caution is key to safely using cough drops with alcohol. When in doubt, it is best to abstain from drinking when taking any kind of medication. For most cough drops containing active ingredients like menthol, eucalyptus, honey, or benzocaine, moderate alcohol consumption is unlikely to cause adverse effects. Consuming excessive amounts of alcohol could also potentially make some cough drop side effects worse, like drying out the mouth and throat. These harmful side effects can occur at lower doses of DXM when it is mixed with alcohol.

The Dangers of Mixing Dextromethorphan and Alcohol

Read to learn how DXM and alcohol can affect the body and why you should avoid mixing them. No, there are many other cough medicines that do not contain DXM. However, it is never a good idea to mix cough medicine and alcohol. Clearly, mixing DXM and alcohol comes with a host of risks, most of them serious.

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The most common effect from this interaction is drowsiness as alcohol is a depressant with these effects multiplied as it’s mixed with DayQuil. Here are other ways these substances interact when mixed with alcohol and how they ultimately affect the body. One of the main safety concerns with taking cough drops while drinking alcohol is the risk of interactions with dextromethorphan (DXM).

Initially approved by the FDA in 1958, the drug is one of the most common ingredients in over-the-counter medications for cough. Experts think the drug acts on the brain to suppress the cough reflex but are unsure exactly how it works. Although DXM is structurally similar to opioids, it works on different receptors in the brain than opioids. Nonetheless, about 1.5 million Americans misuse DXM and other cough medications to get high. Taking DayQuil with alcohol can cause liver damage and even liver failure when taken together because both substances are metabolized in the liver.

Drug Interaction Classification

• Let’s look at how these two drugs work in the body and talk about why mixing DXM and alcohol makes for a particularly dangerous cocktail.
• We work with individuals that suffer from all types of substance use disorders and mental health conditions.
• Some people intentionally mix dextromethorphan and alcohol to get high.
• Because it takes five half-lives for a drug to be removed entirely from your system, DXM may sometimes stay in your body for almost four days.
• The concomitant use of DXM and alcohol causes easy dissociation and high‐dose usage of DXM and alcohol withdrawal symptoms are difficult to distinguish.
• After 6 months, he visited a hospital to present tremors in interval periods, and insomnia.
• There is 1 alcohol/food/lifestyle interaction with dextromethorphan.

These receptors are involved in pain perception, learning, and memory. Dextromethorphan (DXM) inhibits the function of these receptors and prevents them from sending signals to the brain. Dave Cundiff, MD, MPH is an experienced leader in the field of Substance Use Disorder treatment. He works with patients suffering from Substance Use Disorder to evaluate their medication needs and prescribe treatments accordingly. In addition, he regularly participates in all-staff debriefing sessions involving peers, nurses, and other prescribers. He also reviews and advises on policies, procedures, and techniques for treating substance use disorder.

Furthermore, mixing DayQuil or other cough medicine with alcohol can have dangerous interactions that affect the central nervous system, respiratory system, and liver function. These interactions can intensify the effects of each substance and increase the risk of overdose, seizures, or organ damage. The active ingredients in DayQuil (dextromethorphan, phenylephrine, and acetaminophen) can cause complications when mixed with alcohol.

Always tell your healthcare provider about any prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, vitamins/minerals, herbal products, and other supplements you are using. There are no known interactions between dextromethorphan and foods or drinks. A drug’s half-life is how long it takes half a dose to be eliminated from your body.