In: Nursing
What are your thoughts on the use of alcohol as a
self-prescribed treatment to aid with anxiety?
Can this affect the general health or interfere with
the prescription drugs of a patient
Basic Pharmacology
Alcohol when used as an anxiety reliever, it may reduce anxiety for sometime but it alters the brain mechanism and increases the anxiety levels later . The person may experience extreme levels of anxiety, anger, memory disturbances and many mental and behavioral problems which can worsen the person's relationship with family, friends and significant others.
It is necessary to make the person realise that the alcohol is not anxiety reliever infact worsens the problem to extreme ends and also cause health problems affecting liver , kidney, heart, pancreas and other organs which can become irreversible.
It also affects and interferes with the other medications.
When alcohol is combined with tranquilizers, sedatives it can have hazardous affects on brain and heart. It can slow down the heart rate significantly.
While taking warfarin, if the person consumes alcohol, the person is at risk of heavy bleeding. NSAIDS along with alcohol can cause stomach ulcers, bleeding , stroke .
Antidepressants along with alcohol can cause thrombosis and stroke.
Thank you.