Health
These medications could make driving dangerous, the FDA warns
It’s become common knowledge that drinking and driving don’t mix — but should you get behind the wheel after popping a pill?
It depends on the type of medication, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
While most medicines are safe to take on the go, some may cause side effects that can interfere with the ability to operate a vehicle or heavy machinery, the agency warned in a notice on its website.
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These side effects can include drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, fainting, lack of coordination, nausea, inability to focus or pay attention, and excitability, the FDA noted.
“Some medicines can affect your driving for a short time after you take them,” the notice stated. “For others, the effects can last for several hours and even into the next day.”
Some medications may cause side effects that can interfere with your ability to operate a vehicle, the FDA warned. (iStock)
Some medicines come with a warning to not operate a vehicle or operate heavy machinery for a certain period of time after taking them.
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“Many different types of medications — such as antipsychotics, anti-epileptic medications, stimulants, muscle relaxants, opioids, benzodiazepines, sleeping pills, some antidepressants, and even over-the-counter medications like antihistamines — can cause side effects that impair mental and motor functions, including fatigue, headaches, nausea, blurred vision, delayed reaction times and visual impairment,” Katy Dubinsky, a New York pharmacist and the CEO and co-founder of Vitalize, a private supplement company, told Fox News Digital.
“These side effects significantly reduce alertness and clear vision, which are crucial for safely driving and performing everyday tasks,” she added.
Some medicines come with a warning to not operate a vehicle or operate heavy machinery for a certain period of time after taking them. (iStock)
Dr. Shana Johnson, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician in Scottsdale, Arizona, noted that central nervous system depressants can be particularly dangerous for driving — as these medications exert their effects by calming the brain.
“Side effects associated with this calming include sleepiness, loss of focus and fuzzy thinking,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Common examples of this class are medications for muscle spasms (muscle relaxants), pain (opioids), seizures (anti-seizure medications) and anxiety (benzodiazepines).”
Two other classes of medications that have sedating effects are antihistamines used for allergy control and anticholinergics used for bladder control and chronic pain, Johnson added.
Medications that don’t mix with driving
The FDA website includes the following list of medications that could make it dangerous to drive.
- Antipsychotic medicines
- Anti-seizure medicines (antiepileptic drugs)
- Diet pills, “stay awake” medicines and other stimulants, including caffeine, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine
- Medicines that treat or control symptoms of diarrhea and urine or bladder control
- Medicines that treat or prevent symptoms of motion sickness
- Muscle relaxants
- Opioids, including some cough suppressants containing codeine and hydrocodone
- Prescription medicines for anxiety (for example, benzodiazepines)
- Sleeping pills
- Some antidepressants
- Some prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) cold remedies and allergy medicines that contain antihistamines, nighttime sleep aids or cough medicines
- Products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds, including CBD
Some medication side effects can include drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, fainting, lack of coordination, nausea, inability to focus or pay attention and excitability, the FDA noted. (iStock)
Taking sleep medicines at night can sometimes cause impaired driving the next day, the FDA warned.
“If you take sleep drugs, talk with your health care professional about ways to take the lowest effective dose, when to take the medicines before bedtime, and when it would be safe to drive again after taking a sleep medicine,” the agency advised.
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Allergy medications may contain antihistamines that can also impede driving ability, the FDA added.
“Antihistamines can slow your reaction time, make it hard to focus or think clearly, and may cause mild confusion even if you don’t feel drowsy.”
One doctor tells patients to try a new medication when they don’t have plans to drive — so they can see how it affects them and potentially avoid any dangerous situations. (iStock)
Johnson said the impact of medications on driving abilities may vary from person to person.
“One person may feel no sleepiness with an antihistamine, while another may feel sleepy the whole day,” she told Fox News Digital.
“Seeing how a medication affects you is important to know before driving on it.”
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In her practice, Johnson said she tells her patients to try a new medication when they don’t have plans to drive — so they can see how it affects them and avoid a dangerous situation.
“The risk of medications impairing driving increases if you are on multiple medications with sedating side effects and with older adults,” she added.
Preventing impaired driving
For those who are taking medications, it’s recommended to consult with a health care professional for guidance related to driving.
For over-the-counter medicines, the agency recommends always following directions for use and reading the warnings on the Drug Facts label.
For those taking medications, it’s recommended to consult with a health care professional for guidance related to driving. (iStock)
For prescription medications, the agency recommends following the directions and warnings on packaging, as well as reading the FDA-approved labeling.
“Your health care professional might be able to change your dose, adjust the timing of when you take the medicine, or switch the medicine to one that causes fewer side effects for you,” the FDA stated.
It’s also important to tell your doctor about other medicines, vitamins or supplements you are taking, as it’s possible that they could impact any side effects.
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The latest COVID-19 vaccine (2024-2025) has been linked to fewer serious heart-related events among U.S. veterans.
New research confirmed a small reduction in COVID-related cardiovascular events, or COVID-19-associated MACE, due to the vaccine.
MACE (major adverse cardiovascular events) is a composite measure of serious heart-related outcomes. It typically includes cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke, and may also include hospitalization for heart failure.
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Using health records from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the researchers compared two groups of veterans — one that received the COVID and flu vaccine on the same day (nearly 350,000 people) and another group that received only the flu vaccine (nearly 700,000 people).
For people older than 75, vaccine effectiveness against COVID-associated MACE was 50.7%. (iStock)
Out of more than one million veterans studied, the average age was about 70 and 92% were male, according to a press release.
Within about eight months, the results showed that those who received the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine had a lower risk of COVID-associated major cardiovascular events, with a relative vaccine effectiveness of 37.7%.
The COVID vaccine was linked to a 57.9% lower risk of cardiovascular death, 38.5% lower risk of heart attack and 41.9% lower risk of hospitalization for heart failure, the researchers stated. The result for stroke was not statistically significant.
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The benefit was greatest among adults ages 75 and older and those with underlying health conditions. In people over 75, the vaccine was 50.7% effective at preventing COVID-associated MACE.
As the study was observational, it could not prove cause and effect between the COVID-19 vaccine and lower risk of cardiovascular events, but only highlighted an association.
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Dr. Glenn Hirsch, cardiologist at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado, called these results “not overall surprising” in an interview with Fox News Digital.
After eight months, those who received the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine had a lower risk of COVID-associated major cardiovascular events. (iStock)
“This result is consistent with previous studies of the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines against infectious diseases [in] preventing cardiovascular events, including heart attack, cardiovascular cause of death or hospitalizations,” he said.
Acute inflammation in the body from infections like COVID-19 increases the risk of cardiovascular events and can cause further complications, according to the doctor.
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“This can lead to a higher risk of blood clotting, but can also make arterial plaques susceptible to rupture, which then leads to clot formation to heal a ruptured plaque,” he said. “This clotting can cause a near-total or complete occlusion of an artery, leading to these cardiovascular events.”
“Vaccines either prevent infection or reduce the severity of infection and subsequent inflammation, lowering the cardiovascular risk.”
Acute inflammation in the body from infections like COVID-19 can increase the risk of cardiovascular events, the study suggests. (iStock)
Despite the positive outcome, the overall benefit of the vaccine in this study was less than in previous studies, according to Hirsch, who was not involved in the research.
This could be due to the lower severity of illness seen in more recent COVID-19 variants, as well as immunity from prior infections among unvaccinated people, he noted. There has also been a decline in COVID testing, making it more difficult to link cardiovascular events to the virus.
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“The bottom line [is] that there is still evidence of benefit from COVID-19 vaccination like many other infectious disease vaccinations, and people should be encouraged to discuss these with their healthcare team annually,” Hirsch advised.
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“This is an observational trial and there can always be some confounding after necessary statistical adjustments and other potential benefits or harms, including adverse effects from vaccines that were not investigated in this study,” he added.
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A former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star is speaking out about a fresh wave of health issues.
Brandi Glanville, 53, has been speaking publicly about ongoing swelling, lumps and paralysis of her face since 2023.
At the time, the reality star shared that she believed she had been infected with a parasite during a trip to Morocco, Fox News Digital previously reported.
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After the initial diagnosis, she suspected she contracted a parasite in Morocco and said she could feel it moving within her face.
Brandi Glanville attends the grand opening of Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Clinic West Hollywood in West Hollywood, Calif., on April 25, 2024. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)
Glanville was first diagnosed with stress-induced angioedema, a sudden swelling of the deeper layers of the skin and mucous membranes, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Angioedema “is a reaction similar to hives that affects deeper layers of the skin. It can appear with hives or alone,” Mayo Clinic states.
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Most recently, in a June 18 episode of her podcast “Brandi Glanville Unfiltered,” Glanville revealed that doctors discovered a “benign tumor” in one of her facial lymph nodes.
The reality star, who has previously speculated that a parasite may be contributing to her facial symptoms, said the finding could help explain the swelling and fluid buildup she has experienced and noted that she has had a lump in her face for “years.”
Brandi Glanville, 53, has been speaking publicly about ongoing swelling, lumps and paralysis of her face since 2023. (Mega/GC Images)
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, guys. I thought I was fixed, and then it happened again and now it’s sinking in again,” Glanville said in another June podcast.
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“It could be why the fluid is going around my face and why I’m having a hard time,” she added.
While benign tumors of the face have been known to arise from fat tissue, blood vessels, skin structures, salivary glands or lymphatic tissue, Glanville has not publicly disclosed the specific type of diagnosis she received.
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Prior to learning of the tumor, Glanville said she saw dozens of doctors and spent over $100,000 trying to pinpoint the source of the issue.
Brandi Glanville shares images of painful facial burns caused by Nair hair removal cream in a viral TikTok video. (Brandi Glanville/TikTok)
The reality star emphasized that the tumor is “not cancerous.”
“I haven’t had a face lift yet!” she added.
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Glanville also said she suspected her ruptured breast implants could have played a role in her health issues, claiming the leaking silicone had clogged her lymph nodes.
Fox News Digital reached out to Glanville for comment.
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