Highlights  

• Acyclovir is an antiviral drug that alleviates pain and cuts the risk of developing complications from herpes.
• Acyclovir and alcohol can interact, amplifying adverse effects like drowsiness and dizziness.
• Alcoholic beverages can increase acyclovir concentration in the blood, worsening the side effects of the drug.
• Moderate alcohol consumption shouldn’t interfere with acyclovir, but to stay safe, you shouldn’t drink, drive, or operate machinery while mixing alcohol with acyclovir.

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Acyclovir is commonly known by its brand name, Zovirax. It is an antiviral drug that can control symptoms of the Herpes virus. It doesn’t cure herpes, but it can keep symptoms under control while the body’s immune system fights the virus.

Alcohol doesn’t affect how antiviral drugs work.

You still shouldn’t mix acyclovir and alcohol, however. If you do, you may experience mishaps like sleepiness and dizziness. A high blood alcohol concentration affects acyclovir concentrations and can amplify its side effects. Two main considerations are at play: 

• Increase in urination, while drinking, can increase clearance of acyclovir via the kidneys, decreasing your dose and lessening its potency.
• Dehydration after alcohol consumption from the increase in urination (as above), with an increase in acyclovir concentration that can exaggerate side effects. 

Types of Herpes

There are more than 80 kinds of known herpes viruses that differ slightly but work in the same basic manner. All herpes viruses migrate to find residence in nerve root ganglia near the spine. Once there, herpes viruses remain inactive indefinitely, though they can reactivate and cause problems. When this happens, they can move along nerve pathways to nerve endings, the skin innervated by those endings erupting in painful blisters. 

Herpes is one of the most difficult viruses to control. Sexually transmitted herpes may be from the herpes simplex virus 1 or herpes simplex virus 2. It used to be that oral lesions were probably due to HSV1 and genital lesions were probably due to HSV2. Today we know that either can cause blisters at either site. Currently, herpes simplex virus 1 is responsible for about half of all new cases of genital herpes in developed regions.

The herpes simplex virus affects liver function and can cause deadly liver failure in those with compromised immune function.

What Acyclovir Does

Doctors use acyclovir to treat herpes infections in their many manifestations. Herpes is the cause of ordinary cold sores, as well as sexually transmitted genital herpes and the painful condition we call shingles. 

It must be noted that aphthous ulcers, which can present similarly, are not HSV, likely immunological instead. Since acyclovir does not treat aphthous ulcers, however, the diagnosis of HSV infection must be accurate before prescribing acyclovir.

Acyclovir is also helpful in reducing the risks of transmitting genital herpes, although the drug does not prevent transmission. Even more confusing, although acyclovir can reduce the risk of spreading the HSV virus, it is also possible to spread it even without lesions present. This is called “silent shedding.” 

When taken as directed, acyclovir helps speed up the healing process, reduces transmission risks, and helps minimize the risk of complications that can result from herpes outbreaks. This is especially important in pregnancy, because the HSV can be deadly to a newborn who gets the virus from the birth process.

Side Effects of Acyclovir

People who take acyclovir sometimes report side effects, including nausea, dizziness, and drowsiness. These side effects are generally not serious enough for patients to discontinue the medication.

More severe side effects include kidney problems, like pain and even acute kidney injury. Some patients have reported mood changes, unsteady movement, and difficulty speaking. In rare cases, the drug can cause life-threatening problems with the kidneys or blood cells. But these problems are generally limited to people with compromised immune systems due to HIV, a bone marrow transplant, or another organ transplant.

Other side effects of acyclovir you should report to your physician right away include extreme fatigue, changes in heart rate, easy bruising or bleeding, dark or bloody urine, severe gastric pain, vision changes, seizures, or yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes.

Liver toxicity is a more serious side effect of acyclovir, though it’s rare.

Acyclovir’s potential adverse effects also include drug interactions. Acyclovir can interact with medications patients take for high blood pressure, bowel disorders, cancer, viral infections, osteoporosis, and arthritis.

The frequency and severity of acyclovir’s side effects depend on the dosage. The higher the dosage, the more frequently patients experience side effects.

Acyclovir and Alcohol

When people are prescribed acyclovir, they’re generally told to avoid alcohol. The most common problem that can occur when a person taking acyclovir drinks alcohol is an amplification of the dizziness and drowsiness that frequently occur as side effects of the drug. Combining acyclovir and alcohol can result in a potentially dangerous level of dizziness, which can pose serious safety hazards if the patient drives or operates heavy machinery.

The other concern is the increase in urination that comes with drinking alcolol. Since acyclovir is cleared in the urine, increased urination lowers the amount of acyclovir in the body, making it less potent.

Some people use acyclovir in an ointment form, and with this form of the drug, dizziness is less likely to be a problem, so drinking alcohol will have less of an effect than if the drug is taken orally. If you have taken acyclovir in the past and have not experienced dizziness, you should still be cautious with alcohol. Dizziness can occur even if it has not been a problem before.

Other conditions can contribute to the dizziness experienced by patients taking acyclovir. Heat, tiredness, stress, and hunger tend to worsen dizziness caused by the medication, and alcohol consumption can amplify the effect. If you have been exercising, side effects may be more intense. And side effects are generally more severe in older adults.

Another concern about mixing acyclovir with alcohol is interference with how the body metabolizes the drug. With alcohol, the concentration of the drug in the body can increase, especially from the dehydration that occurs after increased urination during consumption. Dehydration can make the side effects worse. People who drink while taking acyclovir are more likely to experience side effects such as fainting or changes in vision. How much of this is attributed to the liver or increased clearance by the kidneys is unknown. Both, likely, play a role.

In general, casual “social” drinking, such as a glass of wine with a meal, is not problematic. But how can the average patient know how much alcohol is too much? And the health risks one assumes by taking acyclovir and drinking too much are considerable.

How Many Drinks Are OK with Acyclovir?

Medical professionals generally define “moderate consumption” of alcoholic drinks as no more than two drinks a day. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a “drink” is defined as a beverage containing 14 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. Specifically, one “drink” is:

• 12 ounces of beer
• 8 ounces of malt liquor
• 5 ounces of wine
• 1.5 ounces (a “shot”) of 80-proof liquor such as gin, rum, whiskey, or vodka

Observing drinking limits can reduce or eliminate the risks the combination of acyclovir and alcohol creates. The CDC’s safe drinking guidelines are a good starting point.

If you’re taking acyclovir and consume no more than two drinks per day, you will probably not have problems. Though to be safe, you should not drive or operate machinery when you drink.

Safety, Alcohol, and Acyclovir

Be aware that even if you believe that you “handle” alcohol well, the experience of drinking alcohol while taking acyclovir may be different and may change from one course of acyclovir to the next. When other influences (like hunger, tiredness, heat, dehydration, or stress) are present, the risks of drinking while on acyclovir are higher.

If you are taking acyclovir and plan to attend a social function where alcohol is available, the wise course of action is to have someone else drive you and stick to no more than two drinks, as defined above.

If you have herpes, you should be honest with your physician about how much you drink. It isn’t easy, but you can rest assured that your physician has dealt with the effects of alcohol many times and doesn’t want to judge you but does want to talk to you about the health precautions you should take.

With acyclovir, you do not necessarily have to give up alcohol completely. But if you observe drinking limits and make arrangements so that you don’t have to drive or operate machinery after drinking, you should be safe, and the medication should work as expected. If you have any doubts about your ability to handle alcohol, then it’s best to avoid it altogether.

Buying Acyclovir Online

If you’re struggling with herpes simplex viral infections and want to treat your herpes with acyclovir discreetly, eDrugstore has the solution.

Acyclovir can be safely purchased online through medical facilitators like eDrugstore.com. We contract with U.S.-licensed physicians and pharmacists and have safely dispensed brand-name, FDA-approved medications like acyclovir (Zovirax) to thousands of consumers since 1998.

Place your order. We deliver quickly and discreetly, and shipping is always free.

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