Drinking Alcohol with COVID-19: Tips for Use, Safety, Risks

In fact, it is possible that alcohol consumption may increase the chance of developing severe illness as a result of COVID-19. There are claims that drinking alcohol can help protect people from SARS-CoV-2, which is the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Facing the COVID-19 (new coronavirus disease) pandemic, the countries of the world must take decisive action to stop the spread of the virus. In these critical circumstances, it is essential that everyone is informed about other health risks and hazards so that they can stay safe and healthy. Here we present such data as are available on per capita alcohol sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding acquisition, E.R.G.; writing—original draft preparation, E.R.G.; writing—review and editing, S.E.B.-N. Among vulnerable groups like health professionals, elderly, patients diagnosed with cancer, alcohol has added to the burden of the problem. A total of 455 titles were obtained using a PUBMED search (keywords related to COVID-19 and alcohol), among which 227 abstracts were screened, and 95 articles reviewed (on 25th November 2020). Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company’s public news and information website. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.

What are the symptoms of alcohol intolerance?

Anecdotal reports from Thailand suggest outbreaks of COVID-19 among families attending alcohol parties 88. Further, among young adults with hazardous drinking, adherence to public policies was low and declined over a period of time during the lockdown 89. The COVID-19 pandemic has had considerable impact on alcohol use, with an increase in alcohol related emergencies, changes in alcohol use patterns, increased risk of contracting COVID-19, effect on alcohol policies and sales, and an effect on vulnerable groups. It is essential to understand and respond to the current situation, intervene early, and prevent further repercussions of the pandemic. Although some nations banned alcohol sales completely during lockdown, others declared it as an essential commodity, resulting in different problems across countries. Alcohol use has added to the burden of the problem particularly among vulnerable groups like the adolescents, elderly, patients with cancer, as well as health professionals.

1. Lastly, we examined whether U.S. adults reported that their alcohol intake had changed in the past 30 days compared to their drinking behaviors prior to COVID-19, and the reasons given for any perceived changes in their consumption (Aim 3).
2. In Australia, industry resorted to social media advertising through new means like memes.
3. AUD is a clinical diagnosis that indicates someone’s drinking is causing distress and harm.
4. These findings indicate that the initial search was towards procuring alcohol and later to access treatment for alcohol-related extended withdrawals.

This may be because alcohol use can weaken your immune system, making you more prone to infectious diseases. At the same time, people with active alcohol use disorder shouldn’t suddenly stop drinking without medical supervision, as alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported that each year there are more than 178,000 deaths that are attributable to excessive alcohol use. Alcohol, the institute reported, is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the U.S. In the meantime, healthcare providers should take alcohol intolerance into account when evaluating and treating post-COVID symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were alerted to the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. on 22 January 2020; the first reported death occurred on 29 February 2020 in Washington state 12,13.

Myth 1: Consuming alcohol can destroy the virus

While hand sanitizers containing 60-95% ethyl alcohol can help destroy the coronavirus on surfaces, drinking alcohol offers no protection from the virus. NIAAA Director, Dr. George Koob, discusses what we know about how alcohol affects our immune and stress systems, along with issues related to treatment access during the pandemic. While hand sanitizer containing alcohol may kill the virus on surfaces, drinking alcohol doesn’t cure or prevent a COVID-19 infection. As for why alcohol consumption is up, Dr. Brian Lee, one of the study’s authors, shared his thoughts with CNN.

From a total of 455 titles on COVID-19 and alcohol, 227 abstracts were screened, and 95 articles were reviewed (on November 25th, 2020). The immediate effect was an increase in alcohol related emergencies including alcohol withdrawal, related suicides, and methanol toxicity. Although there are mixed findings with respect to changes in the quantity of drinking, there are reports of binge/heavy drinking during the lockdown as well as relapse postlockdown. Psychological, social, biological, economic and policy-related factors appear to influence the changes in drinking. Although preliminary data suggest no change in alcohol use among persons with comorbid mental illness, findings in this population are presently limited. Among patients with alcohol related liver disease, outcomes appear worse and caution is warranted with the use of medications.

1. Strengths and limitations of the study

In India, in the early period of lockdown, less than 20% of registered patients with alcohol dependence were able to seek treatment. It was observed that there were difficulties to get help for withdrawal management and access to medication for preventing relapses (like disulfiram) 92▪. Two studies reported a statistically significant role of ethnicity in increasing drug use during lockdown. In the US, black patients made up a relatively larger proportion of opioid overdose visits during lockdown compared with the previous year (Ochalek et al., 2020).

Evidence based policy changes, improving access to treatment for alcohol use disorders, liaison services, evidence-based prevention, and prioritising care of vulnerable population are urgently required 125. In England, the rates of smoking cessation and use of remote cessation support during lockdown were higher. Compared to prepandemic period, the use of evidence-based support to reduce the use of alcohol decreased among high-risk drinkers 55.

2. Characteristics of studies

Experience from US suggests similar difficulties in implementation of mitigation measures in sun rock weed thc recovery homes and making appropriate social adjustments 93. ‘Alcohol lung’ among alcohol users increases the susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 74 and using alcohol during COVID-19 infection has been described as a ‘dangerous cocktail’ 75,76. Interestingly, alcohol bans in South Africa resulted in reduction of unnatural death by half, reduction in assaults, accidents, other injuries, sexual assaults 20▪. Disulfiram ethanol-reactions were observed in around 20% of the patients on disulfiram who used alcohol-based hand sanitisers 21.

Below are links to important resources for the public, clinicians, and researchers from NIAAA. The effects of the pandemic on alcohol-related problems have not been the same for everyone, though. One example is an NIAAA-supported study showing that fewer college students had AUD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.