Codeine is part of the opioid/narcotic pain medication family. It is often used to treat mild to moderately severe pain. However, keep in mind that codeine can be addictive if taken in large doses.
Alcohol and codeine interaction
If you are using codeine, do not consume alcohol as this combination may increase side effects on your nervous system such as sleepiness, dizziness, absentmindedness, difficulty concentration and impaired thinking and judgment. In more severe cases, mixing alcohol and codeine can lead to low blood pressure, respiratory distress, fainting, coma, or even death.
Because codeine is an addictive drug, talk to your doctor about how to take this medicine. Using more of the recommended dosage prevents you from thinking logically. After taking the drug, it is beast that you stay away from activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating large machinery until you know how the medication affects you.
If you are using any other medications or supplements, please tell your doctor to avoid drug interaction. Don’t stop or start using any medicine without telling your doctor.
Signs and symptoms of alcohol reacting with codeine
There are several signs of alcohol and codeine interaction. People with alcohol and codeine usually have:
- Stutter, mumbling speech
- Blurry eyesight
- Slower response time
- Reduced critical thinking ability and coordination skills
- Slowed heart rate
- Weakened pulse
- Seizures
- Urination problems
- Hallucinations
- Dizziness
What else?
Besides treating pain, codeine at a smaller dose is also used to treat coughing. The most concerning effect of codeine is addiction. For some users, it can take from a few weeks to be addicted to codeine for one, while for other, it’s longer.
If you have one of these conditions, you must tell your doctor to see if you are clear to take codeine or not:
- Liver disease
- Asthma, COPD, sleep apnea, or other breathing disorders
- Abnormal curvature of the spine that affects breathing
- Kidney disease
- A history of head injury or brain tumor
- Low blood pressure
- Blockage in your digestive tract (stomach or intestines)
- A gallbladder or pancreas disorder
- Underactive thyroid
- Addison’s disease or other adrenal gland disorder
- Enlarged prostate, urination problems
- Mental illness
- A history of drug or alcohol addiction
Codeine can interact with medicines used to treat depression, mental illness, Parkinson’s disease, migraine headaches, serious infections, or prevention of nausea and vomiting. If you taking these medicine, please tell your doctor.
Codeine is break down in the liver and move with the blood flow to reach other parts of your body. A deathly side effect of codeine is that it can cause dangerously slow breathing and even death. For this reason, you must never give codeine to a child. If you are breastfeeding, avoid codeine as it can pass from the mother milk and harm the child.
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