Alcohol-energy drinks are a deadly combo

Sonal Shah (name changed), 30, recently died of acute liver failure after binge drinking, while attending a weekend gathering.

Although Shah had consumed about four pegs of alcohol in combination with a popular energy drink, she suffered from a case of altered liver function.

Such a condition develops after one is exposed to a few years of occasional drinking. She lost her life as she was unaware of the lethal effects of the combination of alcohol and the energy drink.

And Shah's is not a solitary case. In the dry state of Gujarat, where prohibition has perhaps become a surrogate network to yield easy cash for various authorities, more and more women and adolescent teens are falling a prey to the temptations of drinking alcohol.

Due to their unawareness of the harm caused by experimental and trendy ways of consuming alcohol, they end up with severe liver damage.

Due to the prohibition policy, no public awareness drives on the ways of disciplined moderate drinking are conducted and hence a number of 'amateur' drinkers end up suffering from the ill-effects of cocktail drinks which a are a concoction of energy drinks with alcohol or the combination of alcohol with drugs.

Energy drinks, containing caffeine and mixed with alcohol have become a trendy way to consume alcohol amongst the city's urban women. However, the mixture is riskier than drinking alcohol alone. The combination of the energy drink enhances feelings of stimulation and intoxication faster than alcohol alone, leading to their popularity.

Dr Deval Parikh, president of Gujarat Gastroenterology Society, said, "Having alcohol with caffeine mixed energy drinks is extremely harmful for the liver as well as the entire nervous system. This deadly combo does give a sudden boost but it also does irrecoverable harm."   

Moreover these combination drinks become lethal for women as their bodies require more efforts to metabolise alcohol, say experts. 

Dr Shravan Bohra, liver specialist from Apollo Hospital said that the cases of liver damage amongst women and adolescent teens consuming combination alcohol are on the rise in the state but not yet as commonplace as in other Indian metros.

Dr Chirag Desai, head of liver transplantation unit of the Apollo hospital and Dr Hitesh Chavda, head of liver transplantation unit of Sterling Hospital endorsed the views on combination alcohol stating that the patient's liver is damaged as they have consumed alcohol in a wrong way. "Having alcohol with energy drinks after consuming painkillers containing paracetamol is a dangerous combination which may lead to acute liver failure," added Bohra.    

And these combination drinks can prove fatal for women.

"Females have lesser amounts of Dehydrogenase - an enzyme that helps to metabolise alcohol. Hence females cannot tolerate the same amount of alcohol as males. But the combination of alcohol, energy drinks and painkillers may prove to be lethal for women," added Bohra.