Take prescription and over-the-counter medications with caution when you’re using blood thinners. Many medications can increase your chance of bleeding excessively if you take them with blood thinning medications. The review authors highlighted that previous research has suggested drinking significant amounts of alcohol every day has links to a higher risk of developing high blood pressure.
Frequently asked questions regarding Xarelto and alcohol
It also changes their physical makeup, making them less sticky and therefore less able to stick together and form a clot. And if you have an underlying health condition such as diabetes or kidney disease, ask your doctor whether it’s safe for you to drink at all. It can also limit your kidneys’ ability to excrete broken-down toxins or drugs, such as your prescribed blood thinner.
How to stay safe when you take a blood thinner
However, it is always advisable to consult a doctor or pharmacist before drinking alcohol with any new medication. Experts suggest moderate alcohol consumption is generally safe while taking blood thinners and wine blood thinners. Know for its yellow flowers, St. John’s Wort is an herb that has been used in European medicine for centuries to help treat wounds and conditions like depression.
Side effects of mixing alcohol and blood thinners
- Other times, an immediate trip to the ER or a call to 911 is imperative, says Dr. Alvarado, because some bleeding episodes can be life-threatening.
- Links between red wine and fewer heart attacks aren’t well understood.
- “If you’re on some blood thinners, studies show you should also stay clear of cranberry, grapefruit and pomegranate fruits and juices,” advises Dr. Bishop.
- They also discussed studies that indicated higher levels of alcohol consumption have associations with an increased risk of stroke, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure.
To understand whether you can take Xarelto together with alcohol, it’s important to understand how the drug works. Xarelto, also known by its generic name rivaroxaban, is a factor Xa inhibitor. It treats blood clots by blocking factor Xa, a vital protein involved with the formation of blood clots. Anticoagulants, also described as blood thinners, are a group of drugs that reduce the ability of blood to clot.
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