Benadryl is a well-known medicine used for curing symptoms of allergy, however, if you mix Benadryl and alcohol, the effects could be lethal.

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What is Benadryl?

Benadryl is the leading brand for the antihistamine known as diphenhydramine. This specific drug addresses allergies by reducing its symptoms like coughs, eye irritation, rashes, throat irritation, and also nose irritation.

Though this drug doesn’t have any adverse impact on our livers, Benadryl is similar to alcohol in being a central nervous system (CNS) depressant. If you take it with alcohol, the doubled impact on the central nervous system can produce very dangerous side effects.

What to Know About Diphenhydramine and Alcohol

These are the things that you need to know will happen when you mix Benadryl and alcohol.

1. Lethargy and Drowsiness

Among the side effects of Benadryl are drowsiness, lethargy, and sedation. All these conditions adversely affect our reaction speed and body coordination.

When you mix Benadryl with alcohol, these side effects are being aggravated and can lead to impairment of the individual’s daily functioning. These impairments and side effects can become life-threatening if it happens while operating a heavy equipment or while driving.

2. Become Unconscious

When sedated, some people are more likely to lose consciousness. For these people, mixing alcohol with Benadryl is the perfect recipe to become unconscious. This situation can also be dangerous due to the possibility of falling from higher places and other dangerous accidents.

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3. Extreme Thirst and Dehydration

According to a study conducted by the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, Benadryl, like alcohol, is known to dehydrate the body. The effects and risks of dehydration are thus doubled when you mix these two substances. Dehydration can be a major discomfort and, at times, may make a hangover worse than it already is.

4. Problems and Complications in Older People

As you already know, aging slackens the body’s capacity to process and break down alcohol, meaning, it will stay in the person’s body a bit longer than a younger person. As a result, older people are more susceptible to the effects of the harmful interaction between alcohol and Benadryl.

5. Learning Impairment and Memory Loss

According to Harvard Health Publishing, Benadryl impedes the movement and action of the brain neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. This particular neurotransmitter is essential for the learning process and memory retention, so obstructing its movement and actions may provisionally damage these processes.

On the other hand, according to a study conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol is also known to impede one’s learning process and memory retention momentarily. Therefore, mixing Benadryl with alcohol will most likely double these effects and lead to a more visible impact on learning and memory processes.

6. Interactions of Benadryl with other medicines

• Benadryl may interact with any of the cold and cough medicines.

• Benadryl may also interact with other types of medication, and these interactions can lead to heightened side effects.

If you take these medicines together with alcohol, the side effects could double.

These are a few medications that may interact with Benadryl:

• All types of sedatives

• Antidepressants

• Any medicine used to treat a cough and cold

• Diazepam or Valium

• Medicines used to cure stomach ulcers

• Other kinds and types of antihistamines

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7. Other forms and sources of alcohol

There are some types of medicines that contain alcohol. Examples of these types are laxatives and cough syrup. Both medicines may contain 10 percent alcohol and may interact with Benadryl.

As a result, if Benadryl is taken with any of these medications, even if taken in small quantities, may still show an increased risk of side effects.

8. Gender 

Generally, females are more prone to experience alcohol-related side effects. The reason for this is that their bodies have less water to mix with alcohol. Meaning to say, if both a male and a female drink the same amount of alcohol, the amount of alcohol is more concentrated in females compared to males.

Therefore, mixing Benadryl and alcohol is more hazardous to females since taking even smaller quantities can lead to negative interaction effects.

9. Mismanagement 

Since Benadryl and alcohol can make you drowsy and sedated, it is very tempting to exploit these substances and use it as a sleeping aid. Unfortunately, even if you get drowsy taking it, other side effects like dizziness and nausea can interfere with sleep.

10. Benadryl and Alcohol can result in dementia

A study published by the Harvard Medical School found that individuals who take one anticholinergic med daily for a period of 3 years have a higher chance of having dementia.

In another very recent study published in Time magazine, it was found that too much alcohol intake is also associated with an increased chance of dementia. It is highly possible that an individual who consumes large quantities of alcohol and Benadryl for an extended period of time will also have an enhanced chance of dementia.

Can Alcohol and Benadryl Kill You?

The answer to this question is a yes. Though the adverse effects and health conditions associated with combining Benadryl and alcohol does not apply to everyone. It is still highly possible that taking small and limited quantities of alcohol while under Benadryl medication in a supervised and safe environment will pose no danger. However, the best and the safest choice is to refrain from drinking alcohol while under Benadryl medication.

Also, it’s very important to note that before starting any activity that needs mental alertness, such as driving and lifting heavy equipment, refrain from taking alcohol and Benadryl.

If you are in doubt, it’s best to consult a doctor to be certain when it would be safe to consume alcohol after taking Benadryl.

Want more information about how Chapters Capistrano can help? Feel free to call 949-276-2886 and one of our addiction specialists will help get the information and help you need.