Xanax and Alcohol: Side Effects and Risks

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They can help you make decisions that reduce your risk for serious side effects. Combining Xanax and alcohol can result in a life threatening overdose. In other words, after taking Xanax and alcohol together, you might not remember what happened. Neither Schaffner nor Rahman could explain why light drinkers have a lower risk of all-cause mortality than nondrinkers. But they agreed that alcohol is a major public health challenge, not only in the U.S. but around the world.

can you overdose on alcohol

Because both fentanyl and alcohol depress the nervous system, using them together can be dangerous. Stokely was responsible for distributing 59.99 grams of cocaine, .2 gram of fentanyl, and 45.3 grams of heroin. If you’re currently using or considering taking Xanax, talk to a healthcare provider about your alcohol use. They can answer additional questions about how Xanax and alcohol interact. Call 911 or visit the emergency room right away if you or someone you know is exhibiting the signs of an overdose. For some people it causes a temporary mood boost, although it’s a depressant.

What happens when you mix cocaine and alcohol?

It’s caused usually by binge drinking and can lead to death or brain damage. If you see signs of alcohol poisoning, such as throwing up, seizures, slow breathing, or severe confusion, don’t hesitate to call 911. Alcohol can irritate a person’s stomach, causing them to vomit–even when they are unconscious. It is dangerous to assume that an unconscious person will be fine by sleeping it off. One potential danger of alcohol overdose is choking on one’s own vomit.

  • If a person does not want to stop drinking or is not yet ready to quit, there are still ways they can stay safe while drinking.
  • One police officer wrote in his report that Irsay was “cool to the touch and had agonal breathing,” so he used naloxone (more commonly known as Narcan) on Irsay.
  • Teens and college-age adults are most likely to engage in binge drinking.

If you experience an alcohol overdose, your outlook will depend on how severe your overdose is and how quickly you seek treatment. People who binge drink (drink more than five drinks in an hour) are also at risk for alcohol overdose. Having a high tolerance for alcohol or drinking quickly (for example, by playing drinking games) can put you at increased risk for an alcohol overdose.

Severe side effects and risks of both

Medications to maintain adequate blood pressure may also be needed. Accurate diagnosis of alcohol poisoning relies on a clinical examination and diagnostic tests. When you have alcohol in your system, you may also experience vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels), which decreases blood pressure. Vasodilation also causes blood to rush to the skin, potentially leading to hypothermia. As a CNS depressant, a high blood concentration of alcohol can also inhibit respiration, usually resulting in a slow, shallow breathing pattern.

  • However, death is not the only consequence of excessive alcohol use.
  • Alcohol and cocaine can each cause dangerous health risks on their own.
  • Everything from your age to what you ate earlier in the day can have an impact.
  • Blood pressure, breathing rate, pupil size, and responsiveness are all considered in the assessment.
  • If you experience an overdose, your doctor will ask you about your drinking habits and health history.

This is particularly important to consider as alcohol weakens the walls of blood vessels and makes them more susceptible to rupture and bleeding. Alcohol is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, which means that it acts to decrease your response time and level of consciousness. This effect decreases the gag reflex, which can make you choke on your own vomit while passed out or sleeping, causing potentially fatal consequences. Alcohol also disrupts a person’s balance due to its effects on the brainstem and cerebellum. Not only does this cause a lack of physical coordination, which can cause falls or other accidents, but it also contributes to alcohol-induced nausea and vomiting. If you drink more than this and your body isn’t able to break it down fast enough, it accumulates in your body.

Harms involving the use of alcohol and other substances can be prevented.

Alcohol at very high levels can hinder signals in the brain that control automatic responses, such as the gag reflex. With no gag reflex, a person who drinks to the point of passing out is in danger of choking on their vomit and dying from a lack of oxygen (i.e., asphyxiation). Even if the person alcohol overdose survives, an alcohol overdose like this can lead to long-lasting brain damage. As blood alcohol concentration (BAC) increases, so does the effect of alcohol—as well as the risk of harm. Even small increases in BAC can decrease motor coordination, make a person feel sick, and cloud judgment.