Sometimes the dentist prescribes a course of antibiotic therapy to the patient.This happens with bacterial infections of the oral cavity.You should take antibacterial drugs, following certain rules, which your doctor will tell you about.One of the most frequently asked questions is whether it is possible to combine antibiotics and alcohol?We talk about it in detail in our material.
Is it possible to drink alcohol with antibiotics?
You've 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 do not like to drink, it has even 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 know the truth.Let's figure out if you can afford alcohol during antibacterial therapy.
First, 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 of bacteria or their inability to reproduce.
Important.Antibiotics are not taken for viral diseases because they are unable to fight the virus.This is why it is not recommended to take antibiotics for flu and colds.Many people, with symptoms of acute respiratory diseases, immediately take antibiotics, which makes a big mistake.You can only take these medicines with your doctor's permission.
Like other drugs, antibiotics have side effects.It is important to note that in combination with alcoholic beverages, the likelihood of side effects may increase.In addition, there is a risk of new adverse reactions.By the way, this applies not only to antibiotics, but also to other drugs, for example, sleeping pills, anti-allergy drugs, sedatives, anti-inflammatory and pain relievers.
Speaking about antibiotics and alcohol, the compatibility of which is questioned, it is important to note how alcohol interacts with the drug.Let's consider the 2 main mechanisms that make it impossible to mix antibiotics and alcohol.
Drug metabolism
Every 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 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 some time, after which it is excreted in the urine (often in an altered form).
Now let's understand what happens when you drink alcohol while on antibiotic therapy.Like drugs, alcohol is also metabolized.This happens in the liver with the help of specific enzymes.If the liver has to deal with both alcohol and drugs at the same time, then the enzymes will either work too fast or not have time to do their job.
If the liver works too fast, then the antibiotic will be destroyed prematurely and will not have time to fully achieve its therapeutic effect.If liver function is slowed down, the antibiotic will accumulate too quickly in the blood, leading to high drug toxicity.
Increased side effects
In some cases, the combination of alcohol with antibiotics can cause increased side effects or the appearance of new ones (from taking antibiotics).This is especially indicated for antibiotics that, for example, cause drowsiness.If you also drink alcohol, your sleepiness will increase.
However, in addition to the increase in the main side effects (which are indicated in the instructions for the drug), new ones may also appear.These are often headache, nausea, heart rhythm disorders, 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 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, because 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 medicine themselves as soon as they feel improvement.You can't do that with antibiotics.It is important to drink the entire course prescribed by your doctor, even if you feel significant relief "before the deadline".
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 may not be noticed, 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 may not feel the effects of mixing alcohol with antibiotics.However, keep in mind that the liver experiences a double burden of processing both 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 headaches, dizziness, nausea, and even convulsions.
- Sleep disorder.Disturbances can occur until the change of day and night.
- Cardiovascular disorders.Most often it 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 must call an ambulance.
- Disorders of the digestive tract.The combination of 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 also one of the most common questions asked by patients forced to take antibacterial drugs.In this case, a lot depends on the specific drug, that is, on 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 should wait at least 2 days.
Why you shouldn't drink while on antibiotics
Medical literature (scientific articles, recommendations for treatment, etc.), which talks about the harmfulness of the combination of 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 unwanted effects, namely:
- Reduced effectiveness of antibacterial therapy.Alcohol has been shown to inhibit the antibacterial activity of antibiotics.Thus, the suppression of pathogenic microflora is less effective, which creates the need to prolong treatment or find a new antibiotic.
- Liver damage.With the simultaneous use of alcoholic beverages and antibiotics, there is a heavy load on the liver tissue.The risk of intoxication not only of the liver, but also of the body increases, because the liver is a filter through which the blood passes.
Let's find out how true these statements are.And if the antibiotic and alcohol are already mixed, what will happen to the body?
As for reducing the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy, such a danger really exists.But this applies not only to antibiotics, but also to other drugs.It is important to note that there is still no convincing data on the negative effects of alcohol on different groups of antibiotics.In one animal study, no interaction between antibiotics and alcohol was observed.A human study did not show a 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.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 conducted studies, volunteers were given small doses of alcohol, which most likely 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 are taking antibiotics is still negative.
To summarize the above, we can identify 5 main reasons why it is undesirable to combine antibiotics and alcohol:
- Worsening of metabolic processes.Alcoholic drinks interfere with the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and medicines.This means that the antibiotics will be less absorbed into the blood, which will reduce their effectiveness.
- High blood sugar.Alcohol is metabolized in the body to form sugar.This is a particularly dangerous situation for patients with diabetes.In addition, an increase in the level of sugar during infectious diseases can only worsen the course of the pathological process, because sugar is a substrate for pathogenic microorganisms.
- Reduced immunity.Consumption of alcoholic beverages reduces the body's defenses.Thus, the infectious process will only intensify.
- Allergy.The combination of antibiotics and alcohol increases the likelihood of allergic reactions such as skin rashes.
- Unforeseeable consequences.Despite the conflicting evidence base, it is difficult to make predictions about the interaction of drugs and alcohol in each specific case.Perhaps this combination will lead to unwanted consequences for you.
Important: antibiotics and other medicines.For the information of our readers, it is undesirable to combine antibiotics not only with alcohol, but also with some other drugs.When prescribing antibacterial 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 hypoglycemics 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 maybe beer with antibiotics, because this is the least "strong" of all alcoholic beverages?Indeed, beer is a low-alcohol drink.However, its insidiousness is that people usually drink a lot of beer.Therefore, 100 ml of beer contains approximately 3-6 ml of pure alcohol.So, if you drink 0.5 liters of beer, that's already 15-30 ml of ethanol.And if the beer is strong, then it is already 40-50 ml of alcohol.
You shouldn't relax around alcohol-free beer either, because it still contains a certain amount of alcohol.Therefore, if you are taking antibiotics (especially if it is a short-term course), then 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.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 alcoholic beverages contain much more alcohol than wine and beer.During antibacterial therapy, it is better to avoid the consumption of such alcoholic beverages.It is not a fact that alcohol will somehow interfere with the action of antibiotics.But even in the absence of convincing data, it is still better to give up alcohol.It certainly won't get worse.
Antibiotics and alcohol: myths
So, as already mentioned, the negative effect of alcohol on antibiotics is a debatable issue.No one has proven this yet.Medical recommendations regarding abstinence from drinking alcohol during antibacterial therapy are rather "insurance" against a possible negative effect.
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 were simply punishing their patients for their licentious lifestyle.
There is another interesting story related to the shortage of penicillin during World War II.It was in Africa, where British troops were conducting military operations.For the doctors there, penicillin was worth its weight in gold.It happened that urine was taken from sick soldiers in order to isolate penicillin from it and reuse the drug.But if you drink beer at the same time, the volume of urine increases sharply, which makes the process of drug excretion from urine difficult.Therefore, patients who were prescribed antibiotics were forbidden to drink.
Antibiotics based on amoxicillin and alcohol
Among other things, many patients may have a question: is it possible to drink alcohol while taking such drugs?Do they go well with beer, cognac and other alcoholic beverages?It is important to note that foreign instructions for amoxicillin with clavulanic acid do not indicate side effects associated with the combined use of alcohol.There were also no studies on the negative effects of the combination of amoxicillin and alcohol to reasonably prohibit patients from taking 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.This interaction inhibits the breakdown of ethyl alcohol, 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, research was conducted on laboratory animals.In particular, it has been 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 primarily due to the negative effect of alcohol on the liver.
Conclusion
Summarizing 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.Alcohol consumption will definitely not speed up the treatment, so it is better to avoid alcohol during the period of antibiotic treatment.