Everyone gets sick from time to time, and many of them need to take antibiotics.There is a widespread belief in society that these drugs are incompatible with alcohol, but what if the treatment period coincides with the holidays?Where is the truth and where are the legends in our ideas about the interaction of antibiotics and alcoholic beverages?
Antibiotics and alcohol
Antibiotics are drugs designed to fight bacteria.They penetrate pathogenic microorganisms or disrupt their metabolism, completely or partially disrupting it.
Doctors still have different opinions about the compatibility of antibiotics with alcohol, as well as when you can drink after therapy.Many doctors strongly recommend that patients completely avoid alcoholic beverages during therapy to avoid the consequences of taking antibiotics and alcohol at the same time.This is explained by the fact that these drugs, together with ethanol, destroy the liver and negate the effectiveness of the treatment.
To date, many studies have been conducted, the results of which allow us to confidently state that the pharmacological effects of most antibiotics do not deteriorate under the influence of alcohol, and the load on the liver does not increase.
However, alcohol itself causes intoxication and dehydration.If you take antibiotics together with a large dose of alcohol, the body weakens, and in this case the effectiveness of the treatment naturally decreases.
There are also several antibiotics that react with ethanol in a disulfiram-like reaction.Their simultaneous use with alcohol is contraindicated, as it causes poisoning, nausea and vomiting, as well as convulsions.In very rare cases, death may occur.
Myths and reality
Historically, society has created myths about the complications of alcohol consumed during antibiotic treatment.
The main myths are:
- Alcohol neutralizes the effect of antibiotics.
- Alcohol combined with antibiotics increases liver damage.
- Alcoholic beverages reduce the effectiveness of experimental therapy.
In fact, these theses are only partially true, which is confirmed by the results of numerous compatibility tests.In particular, the available data suggest that the consumption of alcoholic beverages does not in any way affect the pharmacokinetics of most antibiotics.
At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, there was a lot of research on the combined effect of antibacterial drugs and alcohol.Humans and laboratory animals participated in the experiments.The results of the antibiotic therapy were the same in the experimental and control groups, but no significant differences were found in the absorption, distribution and elimination of the active substances of the drugs.Data from these studies showed that alcohol can be consumed while taking antibiotics.
Back in 1982, Finnish scientists conducted a series of experiments among volunteers, the results of which showed that antibiotics of the penicillin group do not react with ethanol in any way;therefore, they can be consumed with alcohol.In 1988, Spanish researchers tested the compatibility of amoxicillin with alcohol: a group of subjects showed only a slight change in the absorption rate and retention time of the substance.
It was also established that the pharmacokinetic parameters of some antibiotics, such as the tetracycline group, are significantly reduced under the influence of alcohol.However, fewer drugs with this effect have been identified.
The common belief that alcohol and alcoholic beverages increase liver damage has also been debunked by scientists worldwide.Specifically, alcohol can increase the hepatotoxicity of antibacterial drugs, but only in very rare cases.This fact is rather an exception to the rule.
The scientists also proved that ethanol has no effect on antibiotics used to treat pneumococcal infection in experimental rats.
Reasons for conflicts of interest
Despite the fact that the safety of the simultaneous use of most antibiotics with alcohol has been proven, there are many drugs that are incompatible with alcohol.These are drugs whose active ingredients react like disulfiram with ethyl alcohol - mainly nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins.
The reason you can't take antibiotics and alcohol at the same time is that the above-mentioned drugs contain specific molecules that can alter the metabolism of ethanol.As a result, the excretion of acetaldehyde, which accumulates in the body and leads to poisoning, is delayed.
The process is accompanied by characteristic symptoms:
- intense headache;
- fast heartbeat;
- nausea with vomiting;
- heat in the face, neck, chest area;
- difficulty breathing;
- convulsions.
A disulfiram-like reaction is used to code for alcoholism, but this method should only be used under the strict supervision of a specialist.Even a small dose of alcohol can cause poisoning during nitroimidazole and cephalosporin treatment.Alcohol abuse in this case can lead to death.
Doctors allow small amounts of alcohol during treatment with penicillins, antifungal drugs, and some broad-spectrum antibiotics.A dose of fortified drink while taking these drugs does not affect the effectiveness of the therapy and does not cause negative health consequences.
When possible
Although you can drink alcohol while taking most antibiotics, it's not a good idea to take them at the same time.The best way to take such drugs is indicated in the instructions.
For example, the effectiveness of erythromycin and tetracyclines increases if you drink alkaline mineral water, or sulfonamides, indomethacin and reserpine with milk.
If the antibiotic does not cause a disulfiram-like reaction with ethanol, you can drink alcohol, but no earlier than 4 hours after taking the medicine.This is the minimum time that antibiotics circulate in the blood and, accordingly, the answer to the question of how long you can drink after taking the drug.
In any case, during the treatment you can only drink small amounts of alcohol, otherwise the body starts to dehydrate and the antibacterial drug is simply excreted in the urine.
The combination of alcohol and any antibacterial preparation is dangerous for the body.If you understand how long you can drink alcohol after taking the drug, you can eliminate all possible side effects.
Conclusions
The myth of the incompatibility of antibiotics and alcohol appeared in the last century, and there are many hypotheses about the reasons for its occurrence.According to one of them, the authors of the legend are venereologists who wanted to warn their patients against drunkenness.
There is also an assumption that the myth was invented by European doctors.Penicillin was a scarce drug in the 1940s, and soldiers liked to drink beer, which has a diuretic effect and removes the drug from the body.
It has now been proven that alcohol does not affect the effectiveness of antibiotics in most cases and does not increase liver damage.If the active ingredients of the medicine do not react like disulfiram with ethanol, you can drink alcohol during the treatment.However, 2 main rules should be followed: do not abuse alcohol and do not take antibiotics with it.