OVER THE LIMIT

IS YOUR medication affected by the alcohol you drink? This week: Warfarin. DRINKING excessively is dangerous when taking warfarin — an anticoagulant used to prevent blood clots — as it can increase the risk of internal bleeding.

‘Alcohol interferes with the blood’s ability to clot, so it increases the effectiveness of warfarin, making the blood much thinner than it should be,’ explains Dr Shankara Paneesha, a consultant haematologist at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham.

Those who take the drug are therefore advised not to drink more than one to two units of alcohol in a day (equivalent to a standard glass of wine) and to have two alcohol-free days a week.