tums with alcohol

Can you take Tums with alcohol? Yes or No

General Health

Having fine alcohol and you feel sudden heartburn or stomachache, but you aren’t sure overtaking Tums? Grab a cup of coffee and keep going through this guide. Tums is an over-the-counter (OTC) antacid, which is used to treat heartburn and other indigestion problems. Calcium Carbonate is the main ingredient in Tums, which plays a vital role in relieving stomach pain.

I’d like to address the FAQ “can you take Tums with alcohol?” saying that alcohol increases stomach irritation and can worsen heartburn symptoms. So it’s better to take Tums with water rather than Alcohol. Another question is frequently asked about the working of Tums, it works by increasing the pH of gastric juice, which gets low in stomach acidity situation, and you feel stomachache.  

Tums and Alcohol interaction

As mentioned above, alcohol does worsen the stomachache, heartburn, and other indigestion problems, but there’s no known interaction between these two. Alcohol ingredient causes relaxing of the lower esophageal sphincter. It’s a muscle that prevents acid from going up-to-the esophagus from the stomach. Despite this, you may want to avoid taking Alcohol with Tums when you’re experiencing heartburn.

Any chemical reaction occurs when you take drugs with something else like food, drinks, supplements, or another drug. The main ingredient in the Tums is Calcium Carbonate, which does not react with Alcohol. However, there can be certain situations when it shows a negative impact.

For instance, when you’re experiencing high acidity due to alcohol and take Tums but it causes an allergic problem in your case, then that’s a situation when you should avoid taking Tums with alcohol. Another thing to note is that every stomachache is not heartburn or a higher acidity problem. Tums will only be effective to relieve the heartburn, you would not be cured with Tums if you’re experiencing Abdominal pain or Diarrhea.

Common Side Effects of Tums

Side effects we’re going to share with you have quite a low rate to appear, but for your acknowledgment following are the most common side effects:

  • Vomiting
  • Upset stomach
  • Loss of appetite
  • Abdominal pain
  • Diarrhea or Constipation

These effects often fade away when you stop taking Tums. If any of these side effects get worse or is continued when you stop taking Tums, then you should contact your doctor.

Precautions

Tums are generally safe for adults and children above 12 years of age. However, for pregnant women and children age lower than 12 years, the doctor’s prescription is advised.

Don’t forget to share about any of the following problems with your doctor while asking for advice about Tums.

  • You have or had a stomach condition
  • You’re pregnant or breastfeeding
  • You have or had liver or kidney disease
  • You’re allergic to certain drugs

The calcium carbonate in Tums may disturb other medics’ effectiveness. However, you should not take Tums with other medications there should be a gap of 2 hours at least.

Tums are taken occasionally, if these symptoms last more than 2 weeks then visit your doctor for proper further process.

Hangovers and Tums

A Hangover is an output of too much drinking of alcohol. Some people in their hangovers experience heartburn, and in this case, Tums can be helpful with hangovers by lowering the stomach acidity. However, in case of other symptoms of a hangover like nausea, headache, and muscle aches Tums will not effective at all.

To address another question; “can Tums help in preventing hangovers?” Tums have literally no role in this, as an antacid, its only work is to lower the stomach acidity. Some people take Tums before drinking alcohol to prevent a hangover, but they need to study what Tums actually does. Tums antacid will only be helpful in acidic stomach conditions.

Some people think water may cause hindrance in the effect of Tums, and ask “Can I drink water after taking Tums?” The person asking this should know that water is a universal solvent, hence will never cause any chemical reaction. You should take a full glass of water after taking Tums, whether chewable or capsules. Interesting is that enough water may help in relieving the on-going toxicity; however, it doesn’t mean you can keep drinking gallons of water. Keep it low and safe!

Can kids take Tums?

Tums is specially made for adults and children above 12 years of age. If accidentally your kid takes Tums, and a lower amount of Tums can upset your kid’s tummy. However, there’s no need to panic, Tums side effects are at least; “Constipation or Diarrhea” which can be treated accordingly.

People have searched answers for “Can dogs take Tums?” Actually, Tums are specifically made for humans, and animals have different stomach acidity momentum. You should consult a veterinarian for better knowledge.

How long does it take for Tums to work?

It starts showing its effect immediately after taking, and when taken before the meal, it works the best. People have shared their personal experiences about Tums’ immediate effects at influenster.com, you can read their discussion as well. As it works fast so does wear off the same, when taken before a meal, it can give you up to 3 hours of relief, but after the meal, you’ll be relieved for almost an hour.

The reason for its shorter duration is due to the nature of our body and metabolism process. Calcium Carbonate in Tums increases pH, hence acidity if lowered. However, when calcium carbonate is used and our body again starts producing the acid to breakdown food, but somehow again acidity starts to show its negative impact. Doctors’ prescription and proper medications is a suggested action to resolve the stomach acidity problem.

How many Tums Can I take? Detailed answer in Can you take Tums with alcohol?

Tums is an antacid, and it contains Calcium Carbonate, which works differently on different sensitive level people. It is not possible to know the exact dosage for every person. In a report based on “Milk-Alkali Syndrome”, the doctors prescribed 20-60 grams of antacid to treat “Peptic Ulcers”, and they noted that 30% of the patients showed negative outcomes.

Excess accumulation of Calcium causes “Milk-Alkali Syndrome”. The doctors even were shocked when the syndrome appeared in those patients who were given only “4-12 grams” of antacid per day, which is even less than the recommended dose. The doctors concluded that the difference among patients’ susceptibility to this Syndrome is very high.

The reaction of people’s health to the calcium carbonate intake is significantly different, and that’s why it’s almost impossible to tell how many Tums you can take. The best is to take as it’s recommended, or if somehow you feel ill, your doctor should be the first person for you to visit.

Final words for Can you take Tums with alcohol?

Tums is an antacid that contains Calcium Carbonate as an active ingredient. Tums doesn’t react with alcohol, you can take Tums with it. However, liquor increases heartburn so may want to avoid taking both together. Drinking water after taking Tums is recommended, as it helps Tums to dissolve. The exact dose of Tums is not possible to know, as everyone has a different reaction rate to Calcium carbonate. Tums works immediately after taking but don’t last long.  

References

  1. Healthline.com
  2. Tums.com
  3. PopularScience.com
  4. Afterdrink.com

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