Generally it is best not to drink alcohol whilst taking warfarin. This is because alcohol may increase or decrease how fast warfarin is removed from your body. It needs to stay long enough to work but not too long to cause side effects. Whether it increases or decreases your breakdown of warfarin depends on how much you drink and whether the alcohol has damaged your liver. Everyone's body will react differently. If you do choose to drink while being treated with warfarin you should restrict your daily intake to no more than one or two standard drinks a day, with two alcohol free days a week.

One standard drink is equal to:

• One small glass of wine (100ml)
• One nip of spirits (30ml)
• One middy of normal strength beer (285ml)

As well as affecting your liver, alcohol may irritate the lining of your stomach which may increase the likelihood of a stomach bleed.