Sometimes the dentist prescribes antibiotic treatment for the patient.This occurs with bacterial infections of the mouth.Following certain rules, you must take antibacterial drugs, which the doctor will inform you about separately.One of the most frequently asked questions is, can antibiotics and alcohol be combined?We talk about this in detail in our material.
Can you drink alcohol with antibiotics?
You have been prescribed antibiotics and you don't know if you can have a glass of wine or a glass of beer.There is an opinion that you should not mix antibiotics and alcohol.For many people who don't like to drink, it has become a convenient excuse to drink.As soon as you say that you are taking antibiotics, the urge to drink immediately stops.However, legends are legends, but it doesn't hurt to find out the truth.Let's see if you can afford alcohol during antibacterial therapy.
First, a few words about antibiotics.These drugs are prescribed for bacterial infections.Different antibiotics have different mechanisms of action, but the result is the same - the death or inability of bacteria to reproduce.
Important.They do not take antibiotics for viral diseases, because they are unable to fight viruses.Therefore, it is not advisable to take antibiotics for flu and colds.Many people with symptoms of acute respiratory diseases immediately receive antibiotics, which makes a big mistake.You can only take these medicines with your doctor's permission.
Like other medicines, antibiotics have side effects.It is noteworthy that in combination with alcoholic beverages, the likelihood of side effects may increase.In addition, there is a risk of new side effects.By the way, this applies not only to antibiotics, but also to other drugs, such as sleeping pills, anti-allergy drugs, sedatives, anti-inflammatory and pain relievers.
Speaking of antibiotics and alcohol, the compatibility of which is questionable, it is important to note how alcohol interacts with the drug.Consider 2 main mechanisms that make it impossible to mix antibiotics and alcohol.
Metabolism of drugs
Any medicine is metabolized in the body, that is, it goes through a series of transformations.The medicine begins to disintegrate in the oral cavity.This process is enhanced 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 be changed.The drug circulates in the bloodstream for a while and is then excreted in the urine (often in an altered form).
Now let's see what happens if you drink alcohol during antibiotic therapy.Like drugs, alcohol is metabolized.This happens in the liver with the help of specific enzymes.If the liver has to deal with alcohol and drugs at the same time, the enzymes either work too quickly or don't 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 exert its therapeutic effect.If liver function slows down, the antibiotic accumulates too quickly in the blood, which leads to high toxicity of the drug.
Increased side effects
In some cases, the combination of alcohol and antibiotics can cause increased side effects or the appearance of new ones (due to taking antibiotics).This is especially recommended for antibiotics that cause drowsiness, for example.If you also drink alcohol, drowsiness increases.
However, in addition to increasing the main side effects (which are indicated in the instructions for use of the drug), new ones may also appear.These are often headaches, nausea, heart rhythm disturbances, intestinal disorders and abdominal pain.
Important: antibiotic resistance.Bacteria, like all other living organisms, evolve, adapting to new environmental conditions.In this case, they are able to adapt to the effects of antibiotics.This is how antibiotic resistance develops - the resistance of certain types of bacteria to one or another type of antibiotic.This is currently one of the most serious health problems, as there are more and more resistant bacteria and it is difficult to find new antibiotics.Uncontrolled use of antibiotics is one of the causes of bacterial resistance.Patients often stop taking the drug as soon as they feel better.You can't do that with antibiotics.It is important to take the full course prescribed by your doctor, even if you feel significant relief "before the scheduled time".
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.We immediately note that such phenomena are not necessarily observed, but we are obliged to inform the reader about this, since such reactions occur in medical practice.
- Liver dysfunction.If your liver is healthy, you may not feel the effects of mixing alcohol and antibiotics.However, remember that the liver has a double burden when it comes to processing alcohol and drugs.
- Disorders of the nervous system.In some people, alcohol in combination with antibiotics causes significant disturbances in the central and peripheral nervous system.This is especially expressed by headache, dizziness, nausea and even convulsions.
- Sleep disorder.Disturbances may occur until day and night change.
- 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 severe allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock.The latter is a serious condition that threatens human life.In this case, you should call an ambulance.
- Digestive disorders.Combining antibacterial drugs 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 one of the most common questions among patients forced to take antibacterial drugs.In this case, a lot depends on the particular drug, namely on how long it takes to remove it from the body.
In most cases, it is sufficient to take a two-day (48-hour) break after taking the antibiotic, 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 have to wait at least 2 days.
Why should you not drink while taking antibiotics?
Medical literature (scientific articles, treatment recommendations, etc.), which talks about the harmfulness of combining antibacterial agents with alcohol, indicates a number of negative phenomena that occur when alcoholic beverages and antibiotics are taken at the same time.The negative consequences can be traced back to two undesirable effects, namely:
- Decreased effectiveness of antibacterial therapy.They indicate that alcohol inhibits the antibacterial effect of antibiotics.Thus, the suppression of the pathogenic microflora is less effective, which makes it necessary to prolong the treatment or develop a new antibiotic.
- Liver damage.The simultaneous use of alcoholic beverages and antibiotics places a heavy burden on the liver tissue.The risk of poisoning not only the liver, but also the body increases, since the liver is a filter through which the blood passes.
Let's see how true these statements are.And if the antibiotic and alcohol have been mixed, what will happen to the body?
As for reducing the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy, this danger is real.But this applies not only to antibiotics, but also to other drugs.It is noteworthy that there are still no conclusive data on the negative effects of alcohol on different groups of antibiotics.No interaction between antibiotics and alcohol was observed in an animal study.A human study showed no significant reduction in the effectiveness of antibacterial therapy.
However, the instructions for such drugs state in black and white that it is advisable to refrain from drinking alcohol.According to experts, not enough research has been done on this issue, so it is better to avoid alcohol while taking antibiotics.In addition, during the conducted studies, the volunteers received a small amount of alcohol, which most likely does not have a significant effect on the metabolism of pharmacological drugs.Therefore, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to drink while taking antibiotics remains negative.
Summarizing the above, we can identify 5 main reasons why it is not desirable to combine antibiotics and alcohol:
- Deterioration of metabolic processes.Alcoholic drinks impair the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and medicines.This means that antibiotics are less absorbed into the blood, which reduces their effectiveness.
- Increased blood sugar.Alcohol is metabolized in the body into sugars.This situation is especially dangerous for diabetics.In addition, an increase in sugar levels during infectious diseases can only aggravate the course of the pathological process, since sugar is a substrate for pathogenic microorganisms.
- Reduced immunity.Drinking alcoholic beverages reduces the body's defenses.Thus, the infectious process only increases.
- Allergy.The combination of antibiotics and alcohol increases the likelihood of allergic reactions such as skin rashes.
- Unpredictable consequences.Despite the conflicting evidence, it is difficult to make predictions about the interactions between drugs and alcohol in each case.Perhaps this combination has undesirable consequences for you.
Important: antibiotics and other medicines.According to the information of our readers, it is not desirable to combine antibiotics not only with alcohol, but also with other medicines.When prescribing antibacterial therapy, the doctor will definitely ask what medications the patient is currently taking.As a general rule, it is not recommended to combine antibiotics with anticoagulants, anticonvulsants, certain hypoglycemic drugs and other drugs.If for some reason the doctor forgot to ask about the medications you are taking, do not hesitate to ask him this question.
Antibiotics and beer
Or perhaps antibiotic beer because it is the least “strong” of all alcoholic beverages?In fact, beer is a low-alcohol drink.But the sneaky thing about it is that people tend to drink a lot of beer.So 100 ml of beer contains about 3-6 ml of pure alcohol.Thus, if you drink 0.5 liters of beer, this is already 15-30 ml of ethanol.And if the beer is strong, then this is already 40-50 ml of alcohol.
You shouldn't worry about alcohol-free beer either, because it also contains some alcohol.Therefore, if you are taking antibiotics (especially if it is a short-term course), it is better to refrain from 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.However, wine is a stronger drink and wine has more alcohol per volume than beer.
Cognac and antibiotics
Cognac, brandy, whiskey, vodka and other strong alcoholic beverages contain much more alcohol than wine and beer.During antibacterial therapy, it is better to avoid drinking such alcoholic beverages.It is not a fact that alcohol somehow affects the effect of antibiotics.But even in the absence of convincing data, it is better to give up alcohol.It certainly won't get any worse.
Antibiotics and alcohol: myths
So, as mentioned above, the negative effect of alcohol on antibiotics is a debatable issue.No one has proven this yet.Medical recommendations to abstain from alcohol during antibacterial therapy are more like "insurance" against possible negative effects.
There are many theories as to why doctors still prohibit alcohol consumption while taking antibiotics.One of them is that when treating sexually transmitted diseases, doctors simply punished their patients for their loose lifestyle.
There is another interesting story related to the penicillin shortage during World War II.It happened in Africa, where British troops were conducting military operations.To the doctors there, penicillin was worth gold.It got to the point where they took urine from sick soldiers in order to isolate penicillin and reuse the medicine.But if you drink beer at the same time, the amount of urine increases sharply, which makes it difficult to remove the drug from the urine.Therefore, patients prescribed antibiotics were forbidden to drink.
Amoxicillin-based antibiotics and alcohol
Among other things, many patients may have the question: is it possible to drink alcohol while taking these drugs?Do they go well with beer, cognac and other alcoholic beverages?It is noteworthy that the foreign instructions for amoxicillin and clavulanic acid do not indicate side effects associated with the combined use of alcohol.There have also been no studies investigating the negative effects of the combination of amoxicillin and alcohol, which would reasonably prohibit patients from drinking alcohol during antibiotic therapy.
Cephalosporin antibiotics and alcohol
It is undesirable to combine such drugs with alcohol, as this can lead to 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.
Azithromycin-based antibiotics and alcohol
In relation to the popular antibiotic based on azithromycin, tests were carried out on laboratory animals.In particular, it was shown in rats that the effectiveness of azithromycin is not reduced when alcohol is taken at the same time.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 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.Alcohol consumption certainly does not speed up the treatment, so it is better to avoid alcohol during antibiotic treatment.