Sometimes the dentist prescribes a course of antibiotics to the patient.This occurs with bacterial infections of the mouth.You should take antibacterial medications, following certain rules, which your doctor will tell you about separately.One of the most frequently asked questions is, is it possible to combine antibiotics and alcohol?We talk about this in detail in our material.
Is it possible to drink alcohol with antibiotics?
You have been prescribed antibiotics and you don't know if you can drink a glass of wine or a glass of beer.There is an opinion that antibiotics and alcohol should not be mixed.For many who don't like drinking, it has even become a convenient excuse to drink.As soon as you say you are taking antibiotics, the persuasion to drink stops immediately.However, legends are legends, but it doesn't hurt to discover the truth.Let's find out if you can afford to consume alcohol during antibiotic therapy.
To start, a few words about antibiotics.These are medications prescribed for bacterial infections.Different antibiotics have different mechanisms of action, but the result is the same: the death of bacteria or their inability to reproduce.
Important.Antibiotics are not taken for viral diseases because they cannot fight viruses.Therefore, in case of flu and colds, it is not advisable to take antibiotics.Many people, with symptoms of acute respiratory diseases, immediately take antibiotics, which makes a big mistake.You can take these medications only with your doctor's permission.
Like other medications, antibiotics have side effects.It should be noted that when combined with alcoholic beverages, the likelihood of side effects may increase.In addition, there is a danger of new adverse reactions occurring.This, by the way, applies not only to antibiotics, but also to other medications, for example, sleeping pills, anti-allergy, sedatives, anti-inflammatories and pain relievers.
Speaking about antibiotics and alcohol, the compatibility of which is in doubt, it is important to take into account how alcohol interacts with the drug.Let's consider 2 main mechanisms by which it is impossible to mix antibiotics and alcohol.
Drug metabolism.
Any drug is metabolized in the body, that is, it goes through a series of transformations.The medicine begins to disintegrate already in the oral cavity.This process is intensified in the gastrointestinal tract, where the drug is absorbed into the blood in the small intestine.The substance then passes through the liver, where it can undergo changes.The drug circulates in the bloodstream for some time, after which it is excreted with urine (often in altered form).
Now let's find out what happens when you drink alcohol during antibiotic therapy.Like medications, alcohol is also metabolized.This happens in the liver with the help of specific enzymes.If the liver needs to cope with alcohol and drugs at the same time, the enzymes will work too quickly or will not have time to do their job.
If the liver works too quickly, the antibiotic will be destroyed prematurely and will not have time to fully achieve its therapeutic effect.If liver function is slowed, the antibiotic will build up in the blood too quickly, leading to high drug toxicity.
Increased side effects
In some cases, combining alcohol with antibiotics can cause an increase in side effects or the appearance of new ones (due to taking antibiotics).In particular, it is indicated for antibiotics that, for example, cause drowsiness.If you also drink alcohol, your drowsiness will increase.
However, in addition to increasing the main side effects (which are indicated in the instructions for the drug), new ones may also appear.These are often headaches, nausea, heart rhythm disturbances, intestinal disorders and abdominal pain.
Important: resistance to antibiotics.Bacteria, like any other living organism, evolve by adapting to new environmental conditions.In this case, they are able to adapt to the action of antibiotics.This is how antibiotic resistance develops - the resistance of certain types of bacteria to one or another type of antibiotic.Currently, this is one of the most serious medical problems, since there are more and more resistant bacteria and the search for new antibiotics is difficult.Uncontrolled use of antibiotics is one of the reasons for bacterial resistance.Often, patients stop taking the medication on their own as soon as they feel improvement.You can't do this with antibiotics.It is important to drink all the treatment prescribed by the doctor, even if you feel significant relief "ahead of schedule."
What happens if you drink alcohol with antibiotics?
Let's look at some of the negative consequences of taking alcohol and antibiotics at the same time.Let us immediately note that such phenomena may not be observed, but we are obliged to inform the reader about this, since such reactions occur in medical practice.
- Liver dysfunction.If you have a healthy liver, you may not feel the effects of mixing alcohol with antibiotics.However, keep in mind that the liver experiences a double load in processing both the alcohol and the drug.
- Nervous system disorders..In some people, alcohol combined with antibiotics causes significant alterations in the central and peripheral nervous system.In particular, this is expressed by headaches, dizziness, nausea and even seizures.
- Sleep disorder.Disturbances may occur up to the reversal of day and night.
- Cardiovascular disorders.In most cases, 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, it is necessary to call an ambulance.
- Digestive tract disorders.Combining antibacterial medications with alcohol can cause indigestion, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
How many days after taking antibiotics can you drink alcohol?
How much should you not drink after taking antibiotics?This is also one of the most common questions asked by patients forced to take antibacterial medications.In this case, a lot depends on the specific drug, that is, the time it takes to eliminate it from the body.
In most cases, it is enough to take a two-day (48 hour) break after taking antibiotics, after which you can enjoy alcohol.In some countries they recommend waiting 3 days.There is no consensus on this matter.The only thing that can be said for sure is that you have to wait at least 2 days.
Why you shouldn't drink while taking antibiotics
Medical literature (scientific articles, treatment recommendations, etc.), which talks about the harmfulness of combining antibacterial drugs with alcohol, indicates a number of negative phenomena that occur when taking alcoholic beverages and antibiotics at the same time.The negative consequences are reduced to two undesirable effects, namely:
- Reduced effectiveness of antibacterial therapy..It is indicated that alcohol inhibits the antibacterial activity of antibiotics.Therefore, the suppression of pathogenic microflora is less effective, resulting in the need to prolong treatment or find a new antibiotic.
- liver damage.With the simultaneous use of alcoholic beverages and antibiotics, a large load is exerted on the liver tissue.The risk of poisoning not only of the liver, but also of the body increases, since the liver is a filter through which blood passes.
Let's find out how true these claims are.And if an antibiotic and alcohol have already been mixed, what will happen to the body?
As for reducing the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy, that danger really exists.But this not only applies to antibiotics, but also to other medications.It should be noted that there are still no convincing data on the negative effects of alcohol on various groups of antibiotics.In an animal study, no interaction was observed between antibiotics and alcohol.A human study did not show a significant decrease in the effectiveness of antibacterial therapy.
However, the instructions for this type of medication indicate in black and white that it is advisable to refrain from drinking alcohol.Experts say there hasn't been enough research done on this topic, so it's best to stay away from alcohol while taking antibiotics.Furthermore, in the studies carried out, volunteers received small doses of alcohol, which probably do not have a significant effect on drug metabolism.Therefore, to the question of whether you can drink it if you take antibiotics, the answer is still negative.
To summarize the above, we can identify 5 main reasons why it is undesirable to combine antibiotics and alcohol:
- Impairment of metabolic processes..Alcoholic beverages impair the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and medications.This means that antibiotics will be less absorbed into the blood, reducing their effectiveness.
- Increased blood sugar.Alcohol is metabolized in the body to form sugars.This is a particularly dangerous situation for patients with diabetes.In addition, an increase in sugar levels during infectious diseases can only aggravate the course of the pathological process, because sugar is a substrate for pathogenic microorganisms.
- Decreased immunity.The consumption of alcoholic beverages reduces the body's defenses.Therefore, the infectious process will only intensify.
- Allergy.The combination of antibiotics and alcohol increases the likelihood of allergic reactions such as skin rashes.
- Unpredictable consequences.Despite the conflicting evidence base, it is difficult to make predictions about the interaction of drugs with alcohol in each specific case.Perhaps this combination will have undesirable consequences for you.
Important: antibiotics and other medications.For the information of our readers, it is undesirable to combine antibiotics not only with alcohol, but also with other medications.When prescribing antibiotic therapy, the doctor will definitely ask what medications the patient is currently taking.As a rule, it is not recommended to combine antibiotics with anticoagulants, anticonvulsants, some hypoglycemic drugs and other drugs.If for some reason the doctor forgot to ask you about the medications you are taking, don't hesitate to ask him this question.
Antibiotics and beer.
Or maybe beer with antibiotics, because of all alcoholic beverages this is the least “strong”?In fact, beer is a low alcohol drink.However, the insidious thing is that, as a rule, people drink a lot of beer.Thus, 100 ml of beer contains approximately between 3 and 6 ml of pure alcohol.Therefore, if you drink 0.5 liters of beer, this is already equivalent to 15-30 ml of ethanol.And if the beer is strong, then it is already 40-50 ml of alcohol.
You shouldn't relax with non-alcoholic beer either, because it still contains a certain amount of alcohol.Therefore, if you are taking antibiotics (especially if it is a short-term treatment), it is best to refrain from drinking alcohol, even if it is beer.For the sake of 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 there is more alcohol per unit volume in wine than in beer.
Cognac and antibiotics.
Cognac, brandy, whiskey, vodka and other strong alcoholic beverages contain much more alcohol than wine and beer.During antibiotic therapy, it is best to avoid consuming these types of alcoholic beverages.It is not a fact that alcohol somehow interferes 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 worse.
Antibiotics and alcohol: myths
So, as mentioned above, the negative effect of alcohol on antibiotics is a debatable topic.Nobody has proven it yet.Medical recommendations on abstinence from alcohol during antibiotic therapy are rather "insurance" against possible negative effects.
There are several theories as to why doctors still prohibit drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics.One of them is that, when treating sexually transmitted diseases, doctors simply punished their patients in this way for their dissolute lifestyle.
There is a second interesting story related to the penicillin shortage during World War II.It was in Africa, where British troops carried out military operations.To the doctors there, penicillin was worth its weight in gold.It got to the point where sick soldiers had their urine taken to isolate the penicillin and reuse the drug.But if you drink beer at the same time, the volume of urine increases sharply, which complicates the process of excretion of the drug from the urine.Therefore, patients who were prescribed an antibiotic were prohibited from drinking.
Antibiotics based on amoxicillin and alcohol.
Among other things, many patients may have a question: is it possible to drink alcohol while taking these medications?Do they go well with beer, cognac and other alcoholic beverages?It is noteworthy that foreign instructions for amoxicillin with clavulanic acid do not indicate side effects associated with the combined use of alcohol.There have also been no studies on the negative effects of combining amoxicillin with alcohol to reasonably prohibit patients from drinking alcohol during antibiotic therapy.
Cephalosporin antibiotics and alcohol.
It is undesirable to combine these medications with alcohol, as this can cause a disulfiram-like reaction.With this interaction, the decomposition of ethyl alcohol is inhibited, which leads to the accumulation of acetaldehyde, which has a toxic effect on the body.
Antibiotics based on azithromycin and alcohol.
As for the popular antibiotic based on azithromycin, studies were carried out in laboratory animals.In particular, it was shown in rats that the effectiveness of azithromycin does not decrease when alcohol is taken simultaneously.However, the instructions for the drug indicate that the simultaneous use of the drug with alcohol is undesirable.This is mainly due to the negative effect of alcohol on the liver.
Conclusion
If we summarize all of the above, we can say the following.In most cases, antibiotics do not lose their effectiveness when taken with alcohol.However, given the negative effects of alcohol on the liver, it is better to refrain from such a combination.Drinking alcohol will definitely not speed up treatment, so it is best to avoid alcohol during the antibiotic treatment period.