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Hello, I Took 500mg Of Acetaminophen At Around Noon Today,

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Posted on Tue, 14 Jan 2020
Question: Hello, I took 500mg of acetaminophen at around noon today, it is now 6pm, am I safe to have a few drinks?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (35 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
a few drinks?

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to Ask A Doctor service.

I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

Ok, first of all, acetaminophen's interaction with alcohol is complex and some people have considered using alcohol as a deterrent to acetaminophen damage! The consensus is to just try not to damage the liver. Acetaminophen damages the liver in the context of OVERDOSE. It's danger is about the same as water...10 times the usual dose of either could kill you. Water has more of an interaction with alcohol than acetaminophen has an interaction with acetaminophen (places that water down their alcohol are quite dangerous!).
However, markers for alcohol problems include having more than 2 drinks, having lack of control on the number of drinks, wanting reassurance that questionable activities are ok.
Repeatedly having a few drinks is, by itself, quite harmful to the liver.
so, no, not safe.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (29 minutes later)
So say I had 2 beers, would that cause significant liver damage 6-7 hours after taking acetaminophen?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (7 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
heh, specifics are indeed helpful--2 beers is fine

Detailed Answer:
You said "a few drinks" which is different.
2 beers some weeks is considered just fine in addiction measures. The guidelines are about 1 drink a day and about 8 a week in males and a bit less in females is the upper limit of just fine. But you need to see the overall scale and you can almost put a decimal place for each category of alcohol intake. Per Week:
1. about zero
2. about 7
3. about 70 (ok, that's an overstatement but only a bit. category FOUR would be about that. there is a real category 3 that is about halfway... or about 30 a week). Category 2 is quite uncommon to have problems with alcohol.
so, it's quite UNlikely that 2 beers will have any interaction with one tylenol regardless of timing. Thank you for clarifying. and when you see the overall scale we use for alcohol intake, you can see where I'm coming from on this.
Note: In case of any other concern or query related to prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, or the recovery of persons with the any type of addiction or substance use, follow up with our Addiction Medicine Specialist. Click here to book a consultation now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman

Addiction Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1985

Answered : 4214 Questions

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Hello, I Took 500mg Of Acetaminophen At Around Noon Today,

Brief Answer: a few drinks? Detailed Answer: Hello and welcome to Ask A Doctor service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. Ok, first of all, acetaminophen's interaction with alcohol is complex and some people have considered using alcohol as a deterrent to acetaminophen damage! The consensus is to just try not to damage the liver. Acetaminophen damages the liver in the context of OVERDOSE. It's danger is about the same as water...10 times the usual dose of either could kill you. Water has more of an interaction with alcohol than acetaminophen has an interaction with acetaminophen (places that water down their alcohol are quite dangerous!). However, markers for alcohol problems include having more than 2 drinks, having lack of control on the number of drinks, wanting reassurance that questionable activities are ok. Repeatedly having a few drinks is, by itself, quite harmful to the liver. so, no, not safe. Hope this helps. Let me know if I can assist you further.