What happens if you take dxm with alcohol

Some, but not all, of their products contain DXM. DXM is commonly misused with alcohol. A report found 1 in 30 teens misuse DXM, and 6 in 10 teens misuse alcohol. Seventeen percent of 12th graders reported binge drinking in DXM is a common cough suppressant. More than different cough and cold products have it, including some from Robitussin. DXM works by curbing the cough reflex in the brain to reduce coughing.

The maximum daily recommended dose of DXM is milligrams mg taken in divided doses. At recommended doses, DXM is safe with few side effects. But a lot of these cough and cold products have other ingredients in them, like acetaminophen , antihistamine , and guaifenesin. These can cause a buildup of side effects, which can be dangerous. The effects of an overdose are similar to ketamine or phencyclidine PCP , causing a floating or out-of-body sensation.

Higher doses gradually increase health risks. Depending on the dose taken, the effects may last for 6 hours. When used with alcohol, the effects last longer. The drug is sometimes mixed with soda or candy to mask the unpleasant taste of cough syrup.

Long-term heavy use of DXM can cause toxicity and tolerance to the drug. Tolerance means you need more of a substance to feel its effects. In some cases, DXM overdose can result in death. If you or someone you know has taken DXM and is experiencing any of the above symptoms, call immediately.

But binge drinking , which means having too many drinks in one sitting, can harm your body in many ways. Immediate reactions can include problems with balance, movement, and judgment. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism , excess alcohol consumption can cause problems with many of our biggest organs, like the:. Both DXM and alcohol have depressant effects on the brain.

That means taken together, they have a more powerful impact. They both dull your senses and slow down your coordination and judgment. Mixing the two can also cause severe nausea and vomiting, sometimes lasting for hours. Side effects of DXM and alcohol can last for several days, depending on the person and the drug mix. Both can affect your breathing. In severe overdose, it can lead to death from respiratory failure, which means you stop breathing.

If you are taking an OTC painkiller, be sure to read the label carefully. Some OTC pain relievers do not generally pose a major risk when small amounts are combined with occasional alcohol use.

However, serious interactions can occur between alcohol and other pain relievers—particularly if people have underlying medical conditions that change how their body metabolizes drugs and alcohol. Be especially careful with any drug or multi-symptom remedy containing acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

If you had an alcoholic beverage and are not sure if you should take an OTC pain reliever, you can ask your local pharmacist or primary care provider if it is safe to do so. Medications used to treat insomnia or help you fall and stay asleep should never be mixed with alcohol. The sedating effect of these drugs can be increased by alcohol, leading to slowed or impaired breathing, impaired motor control, abnormal behavior, memory loss, and fainting.

Do not consume alcohol if you are taking any of these medications to help you sleep:. There are hundreds of prescription and over-the-counter medications that are not safe to mix with alcohol. The dangers of mixing alcohol with medications can range from increased side effects to potentially life-threatening symptoms, overdose, and even death. Always read the label and package insert of any medication you are taking, whether it has been prescribed by your doctor or purchased over-the-counter.

If you are not sure if it is safe to drink alcohol while you are taking medication, call your local pharmacy or talk to your doctor about the potential interactions. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Harmful Interactions: Mixing Alcohol and Medications. Updated Weathermon R, Crabb DW. Alcohol and medication interactions. Alcohol Res Health. Adult Psychopathology and Diagnosis. University of Rochester Medical Center.

Alcohol and Older Adults. Updated January Finnell J. Elsevier Health Sciences; Fact versus fiction: A review of the evidence behind alcohol and antibiotic interactions.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. National Library of Medicine. Metronidazole: MedlinePlus Drug Information. Updated December 15, Jones A. Handbook of Drug Interactions. Mozayani A, Raymon L, eds. Totowa, N. Shapiro M. Updated December Updated September 30, Harvard Health Publishing. On call: Do alcohol and statins mix? Updated August 6, Moderate alcohol consumption and safety of lovastatin and warfarin among men: The post-coronary artery bypass graft trial. Am J Med.

Updated August Johns Hopkins University. Mixing Alcohol with Your Diabetes. Updated May American College of Cardiology. Acetaminophen: Avoiding Liver Injury. Updated June Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellMind. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. How Alcohol Metabolism Works. Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol. Was this page helpful? Cold medicines with DXM also have other ingredients that can be harmful in large amounts. These include acetaminophen or decongestants.

Combining high doses of DXM with alcohol is very unsafe, too. It can lead to death. Cough syrup abuse has been a problem for decades. But the concern in the past had been about the alcohol and codeine in cough and cold products. Because of that, the alcohol has been removed from most OTC cough and cold remedies. State laws also restrict the sale of products that have codeine.

DXM seemed a good substitute to codeine and alcohol. It had few, if any, side effects, when used as directed. And a larger amount of DXM such as drinking several bottles of cough syrup at one time would cause vomiting.

But today, teens have options to drinking the syrup. DXM is available in powder, capsule, and pill forms. You can find it online. These forms can be swallowed or snorted. Some websites even tell users how to extract DXM from cough syrup.