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Short answer Drinking alcohol while taking Alitretinoin: what to do Common questions Related questions Sources**Light or moderate drinking is generally acceptable with alitretinoin, but keeping your intake low is smart because the oral form raises blood fats and liver enzymes that alcohol also affects.**
Alitretinoin is not acitretin, the retinoid that alcohol converts into a longer-lasting compound, so the strict no-alcohol rule you may have read about for that drug does not apply here. What does apply is overlap: oral alitretinoin can push up triglycerides, cholesterol, and liver enzymes, and steady drinking does the same. Alitretinoin gel applied to the skin is barely absorbed, so alcohol is much less of a factor with that form. Staying within the US limit of up to one drink a day if you are a woman and two if you are a man, with several alcohol-free days each week, also keeps your monitoring blood tests easier to interpret. If you take the oral capsules and can become pregnant, keep contraception and pregnancy testing exactly on schedule, since drinking makes people more likely to skip steps.
Drinking alcohol while taking Alitretinoin: what to do
Common questions
Can you drink alcohol while taking Alitretinoin?
Alitretinoin has no direct alcohol interaction, so an occasional drink is not dangerous. The concern is overlap. Oral alitretinoin can raise triglycerides, cholesterol, and liver enzymes, and regular drinking pushes the same numbers up, so heavy or binge drinking is the pattern to avoid, especially in the days before scheduled blood work. Alitretinoin gel used on the skin is barely absorbed, so alcohol matters much less with it. If you can become pregnant, oral alitretinoin requires strict contraception and pregnancy testing, and drinking should never disrupt that routine. Ask your prescriber where your own limit sits, since it depends on your liver and lipid results.