Sometimes the dentist prescribes a course of antibiotic treatment to the patient.This happens with a bacterial infection of the mouth.You should take antibacterial drugs following certain rules that your doctor will tell you individually.One of the most frequently asked questions is whether it is possible to combine antibiotics and alcohol?We talk about this in detail in our material.
Is it possible to drink alcohol with antibiotics?
You've been prescribed antibiotics and don't know if you can drink a glass of wine or a glass of beer.There is an opinion that you should not mix antibiotics and alcohol.For many who did not want to drink, it even became a convenient excuse to drink.As soon as you say that you are taking antibiotics, the persuasion to drink immediately stops.But legends are legends, but it does not hurt to find out the truth.Let's understand if you can drink alcohol during antibacterial therapy.
To begin with, a few words about antibiotics.These are drugs prescribed for bacterial infections.Different antibiotics have different mechanisms of action, but the result is the same - the death or non-reproduction of bacteria.
It is important.Antibiotics are not taken for viral diseases because they cannot fight viruses.Therefore, it is not recommended to take antibiotics for flu and colds.Many people with symptoms of acute respiratory diseases immediately take antibiotics, which is a big mistake.You can take these medicines only with the permission of your doctor.
Like other drugs, antibiotics have side effects.Interestingly, when combined with alcohol, the likelihood of side effects can increase.In addition, there is a danger of new negative reactions.This, by the way, applies not only to antibiotics, but also to other drugs, sleeping pills, anti-allergic drugs, sedatives, anti-inflammatory and pain relievers.
Speaking about antibiotics and alcohol, it is important to note the compatibility, questioning, how alcohol interacts with the drug.Antibiotics and alcohol cannot be mixed, so let's consider 2 main mechanisms.
Metabolism of drugs
Any drug is metabolized in the body, that is, it undergoes a number of changes.The drug begins to break down in the oral cavity.This process is developed in the gastrointestinal tract, where the drug enters the bloodstream in the small intestine.Then the substance passes through the liver, where it undergoes changes.The drug is in the bloodstream for some time, after which it is excreted in the urine (often in a modified form).
Now let's understand what happens when you drink alcohol while on antibiotic therapy.Like drugs, alcohol is metabolized.This happens in the liver with the help of special enzymes.If the liver has to cope with both alcohol and drugs at the same time, then the enzymes will work too much, or they will not have time to do their work.
If the liver works too quickly, antibiotics will be destroyed prematurely and will not have time to fully realize the therapeutic effect.If the liver function is slowed down, the antibiotic will accumulate in the blood very quickly, causing great toxicity of the drug.
Increased side effects
In some cases, the combination of antibiotics and alcohol can lead to increased side effects or the appearance of new ones (taking antibiotics).In particular, this is indicated for antibiotics, for example, antibiotics that cause drowsiness.Also, if you drink alcohol, insomnia will increase.
However, in addition to increasing the main side effects (specified in the instructions for the drug), new ones may also appear.Often these are headaches, nausea, heart rhythms, intestinal disorders and abdominal pain.
IMPORTANT: Antibiotic resistance.Bacteria, like any other living organisms, evolve and adapt to new environmental conditions.In this case, they can adapt to the action of antibiotics.How antibiotic resistance develops - the resistance of certain types of bacteria to one or another antibiotic.Currently, this is one of the most serious medical problems, because resistant bacteria are becoming more and more common, and the search for new antibiotics is difficult.Uncontrolled use of antibiotics is one of the causes of bacterial resistance.Often, patients stop taking the medication after they feel better.You can't do that with antibiotics.It is important to drink the entire course indicated by the doctor, even a significant relief "ahead of the schedule".
What happens if you drink alcohol with antibiotics?
Let's look at some negative consequences of taking alcohol and antibiotics at the same time.Let's immediately note that such events have not been observed, but we are obliged to inform the reader about this, because such reactions occur in medical practice.
- Liver dysfunction.If you have a healthy liver, you will not experience the effects of mixing alcohol with antibiotics.However, remember that the liver experiences a double burden to process both alcohol and drugs.
- Disorders of the nervous system.In some people, alcohol, together with antibiotics, causes significant disturbances in the central and peripheral nervous system.In particular, this is expressed by headache, dizziness, nausea and even convulsions.
- Sleep disorder.Disturbances can occur during the day and vice versa at night.
- Cardiovascular disorders.Most often, this is a change in blood pressure (both up and down).
- Allergic reactions.In rare cases, antibiotics and alcohol can cause serious allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock.The latter is a serious condition that threatens human life.In this case, you should call an ambulance.
- Digestive tract disorders.Combining antibacterial drugs with alcohol can cause indigestion, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
How many days after taking antibiotics can you drink alcohol?
How long should you not drink after taking antibiotics?This is also one of the most common questions asked by patients who have to take antibacterial drugs.In this case, it depends a lot on the specific drug, that is, the time it takes to remove it from the body.
In most cases, it is enough to take a two-day break (48 hours) after taking antibiotics, after which you can indulge in alcohol.In some countries they recommend waiting 3 days.There is no consensus on this issue.The only thing that can be said for sure is that you need to wait at least 2 days.
Why you should not drink while on antibiotics
Medical literature (scientific articles, treatment recommendations, etc.) talks about the harmfulness of combining antibacterial drugs with alcohol, and shows a number of negative events that occur when taking alcohol and antibiotics at the same time.The negative results are due to two undesirable effects, namely:
- It reduced the effectiveness of antibacterial therapy.It is reported that alcohol inhibits the antibacterial activity of antibiotics.Thus, the suppression of pathogenic microflora is less effective, which creates the need to expand the treatment or find a new antibiotic.
- Liver damage.With the simultaneous use of alcoholic beverages and antibiotics, a large burden is placed on the liver tissue.Not only the liver, but also the body is at increased risk, the liver is a filter through which the blood passes.
Let's find out how true these statements are.What will happen to the body if an antibiotic and alcohol have already been mixed?
Such a threat to reduce the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy really exists.But this applies not only to antibiotics, but also to other drugs.It is interesting that there are still no convincing data on the negative effects of alcohol in different groups of antibiotics.No interaction between antibiotics and alcohol was observed in an animal study.A study in humans showed no significant reduction in the effectiveness of antibacterial therapy.
However, the instructions for such drugs are black and white, so it is recommended to avoid drinking alcohol.Experts say that not enough research has been done on this issue, so it's best to stay away from alcohol while taking antibiotics.In addition, in the studies conducted, volunteers were given small doses, which probably do not have a significant effect on the metabolism of pharmacological drugs.Therefore, the answer to the question of whether you can drink if you take antibiotics is still negative.
To summarize the above, we can identify 5 main reasons why it is undesirable to combine antibiotics and alcohol:
- Deterioration of metabolic processes.Alcoholic beverages impair the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and drugs.This means that the antibiotics will be less absorbed into the blood, which will reduce its effectiveness.
- Blood sugar increased.Alcohol is metabolized in the body to form sugar.This is a particularly dangerous situation for diabetics.In addition, during infectious diseases, the increase in sugar level can only aggravate the course of the pathological process, because sugar is a substrate for pathogenic microorganisms.
- Immunity decreased.Drinking alcoholic beverages reduces the body's defenses.Thus, the infectious process will only intensify.
- Allergy.Combining antibiotics and alcohol increases the likelihood of allergic reactions such as skin rashes.
- Unexpected results.Despite the conflicting evidence base, it is difficult to predict drug-drug interactions in each specific situation.Perhaps this combination will lead to undesirable consequences for you.
Important: antibiotics and other drugs.For the information of our readers, it is undesirable to combine antibiotics not only with alcohol, but also with other drugs.When prescribing antibacterial therapy, the doctor will definitely ask what medications the patient is taking.As a rule, anticoagulants, anticonvulsants, some hypoglycemic drugs and antibiotics to be combined with other drugs are not recommended.If for some reason you forgot to ask the doctor about the medications you are taking, then do not hesitate to ask this question.
Antibiotics and beer
Or maybe beer with antibiotics is the least "strong" of all alcoholic beverages?Indeed, beer is a low-alcohol drink.But its insidiousness is that, as a rule, people drink a lot of beer.Thus, 100 ml of beer contains about 3-6 ml of pure alcohol.So, if you drink 0.5 liters of beer, then this is already 15-30 ml of ethanol.If the beer is strong, this is already 40-50 ml of alcohol.
You should not relax with alcohol-free beer either, because it still contains some alcohol.Therefore, if you are taking antibiotics (especially if it is a short-term course), it is better to give up alcohol, even if it is beer.For your health, you can wait a week or two without a bottle of beer.
Wine with antibiotics
The situation with wine is the same as with beer.At the same time, wine is a stronger drink, and wine has more alcohol per unit volume than beer.
Cognac and antibiotics
Cognac, brandy, whiskey, vodka and other strong spirits contain more alcohol than wine and beer.It is better not to consume such alcoholic beverages during antibacterial therapy.It is not true that alcohol will somehow interfere with the action of antibiotics.But even in the absence of convincing data, it is better to give up alcohol.It definitely won't get any worse.
Antibiotics and alcohol: myths
Thus, as mentioned above, the negative effect of alcohol on antibiotics is a controversial issue.No one has proven it.Medical advice against drinking alcohol during antibacterial therapy is "insurance" against possible negative effects.
There are several theories that doctors still prohibit drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics.One of them is that when treating sexually transmitted diseases, doctors in this way simply punished their patients for a dissolute lifestyle.
There is a second interesting story about the shortage of penicillin during World War II.It was in Africa that British troops conducted military operations.To doctors there, penicillin was worth its weight in gold.It got to the point where urine was taken from sick soldiers to isolate penicillin and reuse the drug.However, if you drink beer at the same time, the volume of urine increases dramatically, which complicates the process of removing the drug from urine.Therefore, patients prescribed an antibiotic were forbidden to drink.
Amoxicillin-based antibiotics and alcohol
Among other things, many patients may have a question: is it possible to drink alcohol while taking this medicine?Do they go well with beer, cognac and other alcoholic beverages?Interestingly, external instructions for Amoxicillin with Clavulanic acid do not indicate side effects associated with the combined use of alcohol.Adverse effects of combining amoxicillin with amoxicillin were also absent.
Cephalosporin antibiotics and alcohol
It is undesirable to combine such drugs with alcohol, as this can cause a disulfiram-like reaction.With this interaction, the breakdown of ethyl alcohol is prevented, which leads to the accumulation of acetaldehyde, which has a toxic effect on the body.
Azithromycin-based antibiotics and alcohol
As for the popular antibiotic based on azithromycin, studies were conducted on laboratory animals.In particular, it was shown in rats that the effectiveness of azithromycin does not decrease when taking alcohol at the same time.However, according to the instructions for the drug, the simultaneous use of the drug with alcohol is undesirable.This is primarily due to the negative effect of alcohol on the liver.
Opinion
Summarizing all of the above, we can say the following.In most cases, antibiotics do not lose their effectiveness when taking alcohol.However, given the negative effects of alcohol on the liver, it is better to avoid such a combination.Drinking alcohol will not necessarily speed up the treatment, so it is better to avoid alcohol during antibiotic treatment.