How long should i wait to drink after taking ibuprofen

Doctors advise against taking even moderate amounts of alcohol with medications because of the health risks. The risks aren’t as high with ibuprofen, but many still choose to wait before drinking. The question now is – how long?

Well, it depends. If you’re fully healthy, you can drink alcohol right after taking ibuprofen, provided you drink moderately. However, for older adults and people with gastric ulcer, liver, or kidney problems, you need to consult your doctor or wait 24 hours.

We have broken this down in more detail in this article. Read on!

It depends. That’s as straightforward an answer as you’ll get, trust us.

According to the NHS, you can safely drink a small amount of alcohol while taking ibuprofen. Yes, we know that’s unusual for most medications, but it’s generally that way for over-the-counter painkillers.

However, there’s a big caveat here. Aside from drinking moderately, you should only drink alcohol while taking ibuprofen if you’re healthy. For older adults or people with certain health conditions, drinking alcohol after ibuprofen isn’t safe. 

Before you ask, we have those conditions outlined below.

When Can You Not Drink After Taking Ibuprofen?

If you have the following conditions, you absolutely need to talk to your doctor before drinking after taking ibuprofen or even taking either in the first place.

Ulcer and Gastrointestinal Bleeding

One of the major side effects of ibuprofen is ulcer or gastrointestinal bleeding. This is because ibuprofen – and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – work by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis. 

Prostaglandins are pain mediators, so inhibiting them results in pain relief. However, these prostaglandins also help protect the protective lining of the stomach. The implication is that ibuprofen use can cause ulcers (sores in the stomach lining) or gastric bleeding.

Unfortunately, as confirmed by a 2016 review, alcohol can increase the risk and severity of these conditions. 

Kidney and Liver Problems

Both ibuprofen and alcohol can harm the kidney if abused. Combining them increases the risk for kidney damage even more. While people with healthy kidney function will be fine, studies have shown that NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, can worsen renal injuries. 

The risk for people with liver problems isn’t as pronounced, but there’s still a risk. People with much-weakened liver function should talk to their doctor before taking alcohol after ibuprofen. 

Old Age

This isn’t exactly a health condition, is it?! However, because of their weakened system, older people cannot break down alcohol as efficiently as younger people. This means taking alcohol close to ibuprofen use can significantly worsen the drug’s side effects.

How Long Does It Take Ibuprofen to Leave Your System?

The half-life of ibuprofen is two hours. Don’t fret; we promise not to make this a biochemistry class! 

If the recommended dose of the drug is used, it can take up to 24 hours to completely get the drug out of your system. It will take even more with overdoses. However, after around five hours, the drug’s effects start to wear away as enough of it will have been metabolized and eliminated from the body. 

Can You Drink Alcohol 5 Hours After Taking Ibuprofen?

Considering that ibuprofen’s effects usually wear off after four to six hours, it is valid to ask if five hours is the benchmark for drinking after taking it.

Again – it depends. Five hours is more than long enough wait time for healthy individuals before drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. On the other hand, if you are aged or have gastric, kidney, or liver conditions, you need to consult your doctor before drinking, even after five hours.

However, after 24 hours, you can be sure all of the ibuprofen is out of your system, and people that have been cleared to drink normally can drink now. Note that this is only with the recommended dose of ibuprofen. If you take over the recommended dose, you need to wait even longer.

Will Ibuprofen and Alcohol Kill You?

It is almost impossible for small to moderate amounts of alcohol and a recommended ibuprofen dose to kill a healthy individual. Honestly, the word “kill” is a bit dramatic. For alcohol and ibuprofen to kill you, several unfortunate conditions have to be in place, which is super rare. 

Seriously, what are the odds of someone simultaneously having ulcer, gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney problems, liver problems, and being very old? 

However, if someone ticks all or most of these boxes, taking high doses of ibuprofen and alcohol can be fatal.

How Soon After Taking Tylenol Can You Drink Alcohol?

Unlike ibuprofen, Tylenol poses serious liver damage risks. Since alcohol is also another leading cause of liver damage, the combination of the two is not advised, especially when taken excessively.

Like ibuprofen, though, the NHS states it is safe to drink a small amount of alcohol while taking Tylenol. People with stomach ulcers, gastric, kidney, and liver conditions should consult their doctor before taking alcohol after Tylenol. In a case where these issues are minor, a 24-hour wait time will put you on the safe side.

Can You Take Motrin and Drink Alcohol?

Motrin is a brand of ibuprofen, meaning all of the principles we have discussed here apply. In essence, you can take alcohol in small quantities with Motrin if you are healthy. Otherwise, you need to consult your doctor or wait a day.

Can You Take Aleve and Drink Alcohol?

Aleve is an NSAID, like ibuprofen. However, Aleve belongs to a different class of NSAIDs, with the active ingredient being naproxen. One primary difference between naproxen and ibuprofen is their half-life – 2 hours for ibuprofen and 12-25 hours for Aleve – meaning they stay different times in the body. 

Aleve can stay in the body for up to 3 days. This implies that people with health conditions have to wait longer before taking Aleve. Also, while fully healthy people will be fine with small amounts of alcohol, it isn’t the most advisable thing to do long-term. 

Conclusion

Unlike many drugs, ibuprofen and alcohol aren’t sworn enemies. According to the NHS, you can safely drink small amounts of alcohol while taking ibuprofen. However, that only applies to fully healthy people. If you are aged, ulcerative, have kidney, or liver conditions, you need to consult your doctor or wait twelve hours before drinking.

Can you drink alcohol after taking ibuprofen?

How long should you wait after taking ibuprofen?