Question
Can I drink alcohol with ARVs?
9 September 2014. Related: All topics, Drug interactions, Recreational drugs.
I have started ART a month ago. Before that I used to drink alcohol quite often.
Since I started ART, I try to not drink. But, I still want to.
Can I drink alcohol?
Answer
In general, one or two drink is likely to be fine, if this is something you enjoy. There are no interactions between alcohol and ARVs.
More heavy drinking however can lead to missing doses of your ARVs. This can cause your treatment to fail. This means that if you have a drink, make sure you find a way to not miss any of your meds. Moderation is important.
Two other concerns are important for people living with HIV:
- Alcohol can also make efavirenz side effects worse, in particular feeling dizzy, so be careful about this.
- Alcohol can make hepatitis or other liver complications progress more quickly. Alcohol is not recommended if you have hepatitis. See this information from the guide to HIV and hepatitis C:
https://i-base.info/guides/hepc/alcohol
The NHS website has a lot of information about alcohol. This is important whether you are HIV positive or HIV negative. See:
http://www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/Alcohol/Pages/Alcoholhome.aspx, and
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/Pages/Effectsofalcohol.aspx
In the UK, the NHS recommendations for alcohol are:
- Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day. This is only 1-2 pints of lager – ie one strong drink.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/Pages/alcohol-units.aspx - Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day
- If you’ve had a heavy drinking session, avoid alcohol for 48 hours.
“Regularly” means drinking this amount every day or most days of the week.
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This question from 2008 was updated in September 2014.
Hi, have taken ARVS for almost 10days but they are just making my body very weak, whenever I take it I fall very sick, diarrhoea, vomiting n dizzy. I even loose appettite n yet I drink alot if water. But when I stopped taking it I became better again imidiatly. Its called Efavirenz, lamivudine n Tenofovir Disoproxil. So what am I supposed to do
Hi Cy,
Your CD4 is low, so yes you need to start taking ARVs. Please see here: http://i-base.info/guides/starting
Due to your CD4 being low you’ll also need to take an antibiotic called bactrim. Bactrim (co-trimoxazole) is used to treat a type of pneumonia called PCP. It can also be used to prevent this infection in people with a low CD4 count.
My cd4 is 69 should i start treatment
Hi Soso,
Its perfectly fine for you to be a mother to your son, you can’t contract HIV by touching someone.
Hi I’m 32 years old old lady,I’m HIV positive.i want to know if my son his safe if I wash his body.. sometimes he likes to play with my as his mother. Please help
Hi Rachit,
If you’re asking if its OK to drink alcohol when you take ARVs, the answer is yes. Its also possible to take meds whilst drinking alcohol.
Hi. I plan to take my meds everyday at 9 pm. On the days when I decide to drink alcohol, can I do so right after taking the meds ?
Hi Humphrey,
First-line drugs for HIV should be the best possible choice for each individual. If first-line meds work well and you don’t have side effects, or have to take other meds, you can use them for a long time.
Managing your sexual life when you start HIV treatment (ART) can depend on getting your viral load to undetectable. Once you’re undetectable for several months you cannot transmit HIV to your sexual partners. Even if you don’t use condoms.
Please see more info about Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) here.
For how long can someone use the first-line drugs and how do you manage your sexual life when on first-line medication
Hi Bosh,
Its ok to drink, this won’t have an impact on your meds. As long as your viral load is undetectable then there isn’t any risk to your partner. Please see here: http://i-base.info/u-equals-u/