Mixing Alcohol and Antihistamines: Risks, Alternatives, and Safety Tips
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Is It Safe to Mix Alcohol With Antihistamines?

Is It Safe to Mix Alcohol With Antihistamines?
Everyday Health
By
Ashley Broadwater
Updated on November 7, 2025
by

Alcohol and antihistamines can cause similar side effects, so taking them together can increase your risk of accident or injury. However, some types, like nasal sprays, may have less interaction when combined with alcohol.

Understanding the different antihistamine types and what to do if you experience side effects can help you stay safe if you plan to drink alcohol during allergy season.

What Happens When You Combine Antihistamines and Alcohol?

Antihistamines can cause side effects similar to those you may experience after drinking alcohol:

  • Drowsiness
  • Reduced coordination
  • Blurred vision
  • Dizziness
  • Headaches

Because many of the side effects are the same, combining the two can increase the risks.

“Combining alcohol with first-generation antihistamines like Benadryl and Dramamine will worsen these side effects, specifically drowsiness,” says HaVy Ngo-Hamilton, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Extreme drowsiness can “lead to serious problems with thinking, judgment, and motor skills,” increasing the chances of an injury or accident, she says.

Second-generation antihistamines like Zyrtec, Allegra, and Claritin are less likely to cause drowsiness than first-generation medications.

Some types of alcohol, like wine and beer, contain histamines themselves. “Drowsiness aside, one interesting fact is that some alcohol types contain histamines,” Dr. Ngo-Hamilton says, adding that histamines cause congestion, runny nose, and sneezing.

 “Therefore, when taking an antihistamine to relieve seasonal allergies, having a drink at the end of the day can actually worsen allergy symptoms by increasing your exposure to histamines.”

Can You Just Take a Smaller Dose?

Some people try to lower their risk by taking less of their allergy medication on days they plan to drink. However, this may not always be safe.

“Theoretically, the higher the antihistamine dose, especially if it's a first generation medication, the more pronounced the side effects,” Ngo-Hamilton says. However, people react to medications and alcohol differently, so even small doses may cause dangerous side effects.

Nasal Sprays May Be Safer

Nasal sprays can address the same issues as oral antihistamines without leading to drowsiness and similar alcohol-related risks.

For springtime allergies, nasal sprays can provide relief from a runny or itchy nose, sneezing, and itchy or watery eyes, according to Ngo-Hamilton. They include these types:

  • Saline nasal sprays
  • Nasal decongestant sprays
  • Nasal antihistamine sprays
  • Nasal steroid sprays

These nasal sprays are available over the counter.

“The risk of drowsiness with antihistamine nasal sprays is not zero,” Ngo-Hamilton says. “But since they act locally, they carry a much lower risk for drowsiness and sleepiness compared with oral antihistamines.”

Nasal sprays also act quickly. “Nasal sprays act within seconds, and their effects last for 12 hours,” Ngo-Hamilton says. However, she warns against using decongestant sprays for more than three days, as frequent or prolonged use can worsen congestion.

How Long Should You Wait Before Drinking Alcohol or Taking an Antihistamine?

To minimize your risk, it's best to wait until any alcohol or antihistamine medication is out of your system, depending on which you had first.

However, it may take anywhere from a few hours to a full day for your body to completely rid itself of an allergy medicine, Ngo-Hamilton says.

 The exact timeline can depend on the type of medication and your personal health history.
Alcohol typically takes about six hours, she says, but can take much longer for people who are older or have a smaller body size.

While there’s no single recommendation, Ngo-Hamilton says, “A generally healthy person can take an allergy medicine 24 hours after the last alcoholic beverage.” But, she adds, it’s best to consult your primary care doctor or a pharmacist.

What to Do if You Experience Side Effects

If you have a drink while oral antihistamines are still in your system, there’s no need to panic. Ngo-Hamilton suggests resting, avoiding driving or other situations that require quick reactions and coordination, and drinking plenty of fluids.

If you experience a headache or extreme drowsiness, consider contacting your doctor. If you experience seizures, hallucinations, confusion, or difficulty breathing, seek immediate medical attention.

Interactions With Other Medications

Combining alcohol with other central nervous system depressants can cause adverse side effects, too, Ngo-Hamilton says. These include pain medications, sleep aids, anxiety medications, and seizure drugs.

Talk with your doctor or pharmacist before combining any of these medications with alcohol.

The Takeaway

  • Alcohol and antihistamines can cause similar side effects, like drowsiness, reduced coordination, and headaches. Taking them together may increase your risk of accident or injury.
  • Some types of alcohol, like beer and wine, contain histamines, which can counteract the effect of allergy medications.
  • Using nasal sprays instead of oral medications or waiting until medication leaves your system can reduce your risk of an interaction with alcohol.
  • Avoid activities like driving if you experience side effects from alcohol and antihistamines. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience seizures or hallucinations, or have difficulty breathing.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Antihistamines. Cleveland Clinic. July 26, 2024.
  2. Harmful Interactions: Mixing Alcohol With Medicines. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2014.
  3. Nasal Spray for Allergies: What to Know and How to Choose. Cleveland Clinic. July 6, 2022.
  4. Farzam K et al. Antihistamines. StatPearls. July 10, 2023.
  5. How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System? Cleveland Clinic. December 3, 2021.
  6. Drinking Alcohol While Using Other Drugs Can Be Deadly. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January 31, 2025.
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Stephanie Young Moss, PharmD

Medical Reviewer

Stephanie Young Moss, PharmD, has worked in pharmacy, community outreach, regulatory compliance, managed care, and health economics and outcomes research. Dr. Young Moss is the owner of Integrative Pharmacy Outcomes and Consulting, which focuses on educating underserved communities on ways to reduce and prevent health disparities. She uses her platform to educate families on ways to decrease and eliminate health disparities by incorporating wellness and mental health techniques.

Young Moss is the creator of the websites DrStephanieYoMo.com and MenopauseInColor.com, providing practical health and wellness tips and resources for women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. She has over 100,000 people in her social media communities. She has also contributed to Pharmacy Times and shared her views on international and national podcasts and local television news.

She has served on various boards for organizations that focus on health equity, decreasing implicit bias, addressing social determinants of health, and empowering communities to advocate for their health. She has also been on the boards for the Minority Health Coalition of Marion County and Eskenazi Health Center, for which she was the clinical quality committee chair and board secretary and is currently the board treasurer. She is a board member for Community Action of Greater Indianapolis.

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Ashley Broadwater

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Ashley Broadwater is a freelance writer who covers topics surrounding mental health, sexual health, intersectional body positivity. Broadwater's aim is to help others develop a positive relationship with their body, themselves, and other people through her reporting. Her work has been featured in publications such as HuffPost, POPSUGAR, Shape, HelloGiggles, and Yoga Journal. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media and Journalism with a specialization in Publication Relations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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