HIV & Alcohol

During my first consultation with my infectious disease doctor, she asked me if I drink alcoholic beverages. I didn't know if it mattered really, but good thing that I am just a social drinker and that's what I told her. She said that there are a lot of things to consider when drinking alcoholic beverages especially if you are HIV positive. We have to know the short term and long term effects, the effects of our organ systems and the interaction with the ARV's.

So what are alcoholic beverages?

According to wikipedia, an alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. Beer is produced by the brewing  and fermentation of starches which are mainly derived from cereal grains, most commonly malted barley although wheat, corn and rice are also used. Wine is produced from grapes and fruit wine is produced from plums, cherries or apples. Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic beverages are called spirits and are produced by the distillation of a fermented base product. 

What are the effects of alcohol?

1. Physical Effects. Everybody experiences this. As soon as you take a sip of alcohol, one gets a little light headedness and becomes "tipsy". Everybody becomes more sociable, talkative and can case irrational behavior. Depending on somebody's tolerance, a few drinks can have an impact on balance as one will have a difficulty in walking. Alcohol can affect alertness and memory. Alcohol can also disturb the stomach and this can cause nausea and vomiting. Too much alcohol drinking can cause a headache the following day, called a hangover.

2. Appearance. Alcohol has a general effect on somebody's physical appearance. Too much drinking on a regular basis can increase the cholesterol levels in the blood and increase the deposition of fat especially in the abdominal area, thus the "beer belly". Alcohol can also cause dryness of skin and can produces lines under the eyes, premature ageing and wrinkles.

3. Diseases. Too much alcohol drinking can cause problems in the liver, pancreas and heart. It can also a predisposing factor in having diabetes and cancers.

4. Mental Health. Heavy drinking can cause depression anxiety and isolation which can lead to family, social and work problems and dependency.

HIV and Alcohol Combination

So why is it that doctors not recommend persons living with HIV/AIDS to not drink alcohol on a regular basis? 

For one, because of the myriad of illnesses that alcohol can bring about, our doctors would want us to try to avoid complicating our health status. Our doctors would always recommend for us to stop drinking if we don't want to have a coinfection or aggravate an infection that we already have. 

Second, because drinking can affect our memory and judgement skills, we might forget to guard ourselves against illnesses. Always remember that with HIV, our immune system is already compromised and that we should always be on guard against common, communicable illnesses. However, since alcohol can slow our memory and judgement, we might forget this. In addition to this, those who have been taking ARV's can miss or be late in taking their doses when they drink. I have heard this a lot of times, hearing stories of how a pozzie have left their ARV's in a bar, or have been late in taking a dose or because of drunkenness, have slept and totally have forgotten to take his meds. Another ill effect of this and this is a warning to most is that alcohol can impair our judgement during sex. Because we are under the influence of alcohol, there is a great tendency for us to forget or not to have protection during intercourse. This has a devastating effect on us as we can be infected with another strain of HIV, or have another infected caused by STD's or have a devastating effect on others as we can transfer our virus to other people.

Third, drinking can have an effect on the ARV's. Based on my experience, every time I drink alcoholic beverages during social events, I feel heat and itchiness and see dryness of my skin. I feel that the alcohol is magnifying the effects of efavirenz on my system. Well everyone has a different effect with the combination of alcohol and ARV's, and one really has to monitor it's effect on oneself. 

Fourth, because of the psychological impact of alcohol, we have to be careful especially those who are already depressed in drinking alcoholic beverages. We have to put in mind that these drinks, if taken too much are already depressants and this can aggravate our situation.

So what do we do now?

Here are some tips that a person with HIV/AIDS can consider:

1. STOP drinking alcoholic beverages if you have an infection that you are still treating.

2. STOP drinking alcoholic beverages if you are depressed.

3. During the monitoring stage of ARV's, which is usually one month, STOP drinking alcoholic beverages. This is the period wherein doctors are monitoring the side effects and the compatibility of the ARV's.

4. Don't drink prior to having sex! We might forget to have protection. Let's protect ourselves and others!

5. If can't avoided, drink 6-12 hours before taking your ARV's, or in between in takes. This lessens the chances of side effects or even forgetting the schedule of your ARV's.

6. Drink moderately. Once a week of a bottle of beer, or  a glass of wine won't harm your system.

7. Ask permission from your doctor first before drinking alcohol. Our doctors know best and we should listen to what they will tell us!

CREDITS & REFERENCES:

Alcoholic_beverages
Alcohol
Effects of Alcohol
www.freedigitalphotos.net

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