[dbrgn]

Yeah, don't take paracetamol if your liver is already busy getting rid of the alcohol. However, both alcohol and ibuprofen increase the risk of stomach bleeding, so don't overdo it with ibuprofen either. I'm sometimes shocked how nonchalantly people mix residual alcohol with drugs without checking side effects.

PS: Paracetamol is a drug with pretty low side effects, but the dosage is really important. Even just doubling or tripling the dose can cause acute liver failure.

[Flashtoo]

Paracetamol and alcohol is actually not a dangerous combination at all as far as the liver is concerned. That is why there is no warning against combining the two in the information leaflet that comes with it. Paracetamol is not toxic, but its intermediate metabolite NAPQI is. The enzyme that converts paracetamol into NAPQI is the same that breaks down alcohol, and it has a higher affinity for alcohol meaning that it will be too busy working on the alcohol to turn the paracetamol into toxic NAPQI.

Long-term alcohol abusers will develop more of this enzyme, so they are more likely to get liver damage from paracetamol though.