Heather Locklear, who turned many heads playing as Amanda in the early 1990's soap "Melrose Place," has reportedly "spun out of control," binging on alcohol and medication at the same time. It is common knowledge that binging plus meds equals trouble, but what exactly are the adverse effects of the equation?

Amidst the talks of Locklear mixing booze and meds, she was checked in an intensive care unit at the Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif., where her condition is now reportedly "good," according to Celebrity Health & Fitness. Binging on alcohol or on meds is dangerous enough on their own, but what happens when they are combined?

As varied as prescription drugs are, so are their effects when coupled with alcohol. No longer just a hangover, adverse effects of the combination may put a person in the ICU.

Those taking antibiotics to treat infectious diseases and medicating themselves with alcohol are potentially risking their lives. Not only does drinking stop the antibiotics from working, mixing alcohol and antibiotics can cause nausea, vomiting, and headaches, what even more frightening, convulsions, Samantha James of eZineArticles.com reported.

Sedative meds, like valium, are often used to help combat anxiety and sleep disorders. While alcohol may also aid in sleeping, adding the two together can actually magnify the drugs' effects, leading to extreme drowsiness - not a good combination when driving and doing work. In addition, breathing difficulties and heart problems are also to be expected, according to Drug-and-Alcohol-Rehab-Info.com.

And as far as allergies go, having an allergic reaction to booze can actually be good. That's because when alcohol is paired up with antihistamines, it can intensify the sedative effects of the drugs. It may also cause slower reactions and poor judgments, and in extreme cases, excessive dizziness.

Cardiovascular problems, like angina, are already bad enough as they are, but adding alcohol to the mix could prove lethal. While it may only cause dizziness or fainting when a person attempts to stand up, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism said that the combination of meds like nitroglycerin and booze can cause sudden changes in blood pressure and the heartbeat to quicken.

While people resort to alcohol to dull emotional pain, pairing it with anesthetics, or drugs that that dull physical pain can induce loss of consciousness, but what most people may not know is that it can also cause liver damage.

What lesson can Locklear give us in her present travail? She leaves us with awareness; that binging on alcohol and on meds is a serious matter that may lead to a trip to the ICU.