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Alcohol is a depressant, and a lot of people, for whatever reason, drink a lot of other medications that suppress the central nervous system or the immune system, along with alcohol, and they do not realize how big a mistake that is until it is too late for anything to be done.
Well, things could be done even then, but that is going to cost a lot of money, time, and effort to the person involved, and that is the reason why I am here to guide you about why you should not be taking one such medicine with alcohol. I am talking about taking prednisone and alcohol together.
Prednisone is a drug that is used to treat a lot of things like arthritis or breathing problems. It is a steroid that is meant to mimic the action of a particular hormone produced in our body by the adrenal glands. It has a lot of different uses, but it does only bad things to you if you take it with alcohol.
A lot of people consume prednisone and alcohol together. They might think that consuming this with a bit of wine or beer while they are having dinner or something similar is completely normal, but they cannot be farther away from the truth.
In this article, I am going to be talking about why it is a very bad idea to consume prednisone and alcohol together, what side effects it can cause, and the proper way to consume prednisone.
I have also included some advice relating to this matter which you will find very helpful if you are a regular consumer of alcohol and you take prednisone as well. You should also keep in mind that all this information is primary and that you should trust the word of your doctor because they know your medical history best.
What Is Prednisone?
Before we find out what prednisone and alcohol can do together, let us understand what this drug is and what it heals, along with all of its side effects. Prednisone is a drug that is used to treat a number of conditions like:
- Arthritis
- Various blood disorders
- Breathing problems
- Some allergies
- Skin diseases
- Cancer
- Eye problems
- Certain immune system disorders, etc.
Prednisone is a class of drugs that are also known as corticosteroids. It is a drug that decreases the immune system’s response to various diseases, which helps in reducing symptoms like swelling and other allergic reactions.
Prednisone has a number of side effects like:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Heartburn, etc.
It also causes trouble sleeping as well as an increase in sweating along with acne. All these symptoms can go away with time, but if they aren’t, then you should consult with your doctor immediately.
Prednisone can also have a number of very severe side effects like:
- Pain in the muscles or cramps
- Irregular heartbeats
- Weakness
- Swelling of hands or ankles or feet
- Sporadic weight gain
- Infection of the throat
- Blurred vision
- Symptoms of stomach bleeding or intestinal bleeding
- Mood swings
- Depression, agitation
- Slow healing of wounds
- Thinning skin
- Pain in the bones
- Changes in the Menstrual cycle
- Puffy face
- Seizures
- Getting bruised easily
- A rise in the blood sugar level
If you have any of these above symptoms, you should go to your doctor as soon as you can. With all of these side effects, I am sure you would understand the potential damage consuming prednisone and alcohol together might do to your body.
Is It Ever Safe To Take Prednisone And Alcohol Together?
Prednisone is a steroid that acts like a hormone produced by adrenal glands, and it has anti-inflammatory properties because of which it is prescribed to treat a lot of conditions. Asthma and bursitis are some of the most common things prednisone is used to treat.
As I mentioned already, prednisone suppresses the immune system and that is why it is good to be used for treating autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.
Consuming prednisone and alcohol together is a bad idea because of a number of things I will tell you about next. Although, sometimes, for some people, it would be okay if a low amount of alcohol is taken with prednisone. This would be okay for people who aren’t taking this drug for long-term use because of rheumatoid arthritis or adrenal insufficiency or other chronic diseases.
Even with all that, before consuming prednisone and alcohol together, you should go consult your doctor because they know your health the best and they would be able to tell you how safe or dangerous consuming them together would be.
But to conclude, consuming prednisone and alcohol together might not always be the best idea regardless of whether you have severe issues or not. Now let me tell you about all the side effects that consuming these simultaneously would cause.
Reasons You Should Not Consume Prednisone And Alcohol Together
As you must know by now, prednisone has a number of side effects that I listed above. Prednisone suppresses the immune system and when that happens, it becomes difficult for your body to fight the infections if they occur. So when you take prednisone and alcohol together, the chances of you catching these infections get higher.
As I mentioned, prednisone also increases the blood sugar level in the body and that is more of a risk for people with type 2 diabetes and for people who have been taking steroids regularly for a while now.
If you consume more than a drink or two of alcohol per day while you are also consuming prednisone, then it will increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and the reason behind that is that alcohol is also known to increase the blood sugar level in the body.
Taking prednisone and alcohol together also causes irritation in the digestive tract and can also result in peptic ulcers. If you already have issues like indigestion or an upset stomach, then consuming these 2 things would end up causing a lot more trouble to you.
As listed in the side effects section, prednisone causes the bones to become thin and brittle and it can cause osteoporosis as well. So if you consume alcohol, you will be more prone to osteoporosis. So the question arises, how should you consume prednisone?
Things To Do While Consuming Prednisone
You might be a drinker or you might not be a drinker but regardless of that, prednisone causes a lot of side effects and drinking just worsens them, so there are a few things which you can do that will help you along the way.
You can start by consuming prednisone only when you have just had a meal because a full stomach will reduce the chances of prednisone causing any digestive system issues. You can also consume antacids along with it as they are helpful as well.
As prednisone affects the blood sugar level, what you can do is eat meals throughout the day in small portions to maintain the blood sugar. It would be best if you ate according to a diabetic meal plan as that would help you in preventing any diabetes issues arising from steroids. Whenever you are eating meals, make sure that you do not eat any more than you normally do.
It might sometimes happen that steroids would make you feel like your stomach is not full yet and that is the reason why you will often find people who are on steroids, gaining weight. You could also try to lower your salt intake as that will prevent water retention.
Prednisone is known to affect your taste buds and that is why you might feel food to be bland, but make sure to not add salt unnecessarily to it. Avoiding caffeine or nicotine intake will also help you sleep better because taking them along with prednisone and alcohol would just result in you losing a lot of sleep.
Summary
So to sum it all up, consuming prednisone and alcohol would be a bad idea for you and for a number of reasons as well. If you already have a health issue, consuming them together can just increase the risk of symptoms or make them worse.
It is true that for a lot of people, taking prednisone and alcohol together would not affect them if they only consume a very small amount of alcohol but it would be best if you consult your doctor about it because they can tell you all about the complications you might face with any of the health issues that you have.
If you take small amounts of alcohol, then it would be best if you quit drinking for the time being until your treatment is finished and you are no longer consuming prednisone. Although, if you are a heavy drinker, talk to your doctor before quitting drinking completely because you might experience severe withdrawal symptoms.
Talking to your doctor would be helpful for you because of a lot of reasons. They will not only tell you all the methods to counter any side effects, but they will also inform you of all the good you would be doing yourself by not consuming alcohol along with this steroid. Make sure to not lie to your doctor and tell them everything.
