The pill and alcohol: just don't drink too much!
Eva Rudolf-Muller is a freelance writer for the NetDoktor medical editorial team. She studied human medicine and newspaper science and has worked in both fields on and off – as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, as well as a medical journalist for various journals. She currently works in online journalism, where a broad spectrum of medicine is offered to all.
Pill and alcohol – In principle, this combination is unproblematic. Alcohol does not impair the contraceptive effect of the pill. However, drinking more than you can handle can result in a hangover with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The active ingredients of the pill can also be excreted before the body can absorb them. Read here what you therefore need to watch out for.
Pill& Alcohol: what affects contraception
If you take the pill regularly, preferably always at the same time of day, then the safety of contraception is also guaranteed, because the effectiveness of the pill is relatively closely related to the regular timing of its intake. Most medicines and also the consumption of alcohol generally have no influence on the contraceptive effect of the pill.
Sometimes, however, the interaction between the pill and alcohol can still have a negative impact on conception protection – namely, if you drink too much and cannot tolerate this. The body reacts to alcohol poisoning with a natural defense reaction: vomiting and diarrhea are the result. In this way, most of the ingested toxin – alcohol – is removed from the body before it can have a damaging effect on organs. In the course of this, the body may also excrete the hormones of the pill even before the body has fully absorbed them.
The pill and alcohol in the evening
If you regularly take the pill in the evening and have vomiting or diarrhea in the same night due to alcohol consumption, the hormones in the pill are removed from the body before they have been fully absorbed by the body. The contraceptive effect is then no longer ensured.
The pill and alcohol – the morning after
Even if you always take the pill in the morning, drinking alcohol the night before can still be a problem. Morning sickness with vomiting and perhaps diarrhea then transports the pill active again out of your body.
The pill can only be as safe as the application
The pill is one of the safest contraceptive methods: depending on the composition, the Pearl index is 0.1 to 0.9. The Pearl Index tells how many out of 100 women who use the same contraceptive method for a year will become pregnant after that year. The lower the index, the safer the contraceptive method.
However, this safety can only be given if the conditions are right. In addition to regular intake, this also includes ensuring that the simultaneous intake of the pill and alcohol with subsequent vomiting or diarrhea does not nullify the effect.
Pill and alcohol: additional safety with condom
If, in quick succession, you use the The pill and alcohol If you take a pill and then get vomiting or diarrhea, you should use a condom during sexual intercourse to be on the safe side. This reduces the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.