Everyone gets sick periodically, and many of them have to take antibiotics.There is a widespread belief in society that these drugs are incompatible with alcohol, but what to do if the period of treatment coincides with the holidays?Where is the truth and where is the legend in our ideas about the interaction of antibiotics with alcoholic beverages?
Antibiotics and alcohol
Antibiotics are drugs designed to fight bacteria.They penetrate pathogenic microorganisms or interfere with their metabolism, completely or partially interfering.
Doctors still have different views on the issue of compatibility of antibiotics with alcohol and when you can drink after therapy.There are many doctors who strongly advise patients to completely avoid alcoholic beverages during therapy to avoid the consequences of taking antibiotics and alcohol simultaneously.They explain this by saying that these drugs, along with ethanol, destroy the liver and negate the effectiveness of treatment.
To date, many studies have been conducted, the results of which allow us to confidently assert that the pharmacological effects of most antibiotics under the influence of alcohol do not deteriorate, and the burden on the liver does not increase.
However, alcohol itself causes hangovers and dehydration.If you take antibiotics with a large dose of alcohol, the body will be weakened, and in this case, the effectiveness of the treatment will, of course, decrease.
There are also some antibiotics that react with ethanol in a disulfiram-like reaction.Their simultaneous use with alcohol is contraindicated, as this will cause intoxication, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, and convulsions.In very rare cases, death can occur.
Myth and reality
Historically, society has developed myths about complications after drinking alcohol during antibiotic treatment.
The main myths are as follows:
- Alcohol neutralizes the effect of antibiotics.
- Alcohol combined with antibiotics increases liver damage.
- Alcoholic beverages reduce the effectiveness of experimental therapy.
In fact, this thesis is only partially true, which is confirmed by the results of many compatibility studies.In particular, available data suggest that consuming alcohol-containing beverages does not at all affect the pharmacokinetics of most antibiotics.
At the beginning of the 20th and 21st centuries, a lot of research was conducted on the combined effects of antibacterial drugs and alcohol.Experiments involving humans and laboratory animals.The results of antibiotic therapy were similar in the experimental and control groups, but no significant deviations were found in the absorption, distribution and excretion of the active substance of the drug from the body.Data from this study show that it is possible to drink alcohol 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 did not react in any way with ethanol;therefore, they can be consumed with alcohol.In 1988, Spanish researchers tested amoxicillin for compatibility with alcohol: a group of subjects showed only a small change in the absorption rate of the substance and retention time.
It was also found that the pharmacokinetic parameters of some antibiotics, for example, 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 around the world.More precisely, alcohol can increase the hepatoxicity of antibacterial drugs, but only in very rare cases.This fact becomes somewhat of an exception to the rule.
Scientists have also proven that ethanol has no effect on antibiotics used in the treatment of experimental pneumococcal infections among experimental mice.
Because of incompatibility
Despite the fact that the safety of the simultaneous use of most antibiotics with alcohol has been proven, there are some drugs that are incompatible with alcohol.These are drugs whose active ingredients enter into a disulfiram-like reaction with ethyl alcohol - especially nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins.
The reason why you cannot take both antibiotics and alcohol at the same time is that the above-mentioned drugs contain certain molecules that can alter the metabolism of ethanol.As a result, there is a delay in the excretion of acetaldehyde, which accumulates in the body and leads to intoxication.
This process is accompanied by characteristic symptoms:
- severe headache;
- fast heartbeat;
- nausea with vomiting;
- heat in the face, neck, chest;
- difficulty breathing;
- convulsions.
Reactions such as disulfiram are used in coding for alcoholism, but this method can only be used under the strict supervision of a specialist.Poisoning during treatment with nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins can be caused by even small doses of alcohol.Alcohol abuse in this case can result in death.
Doctors allow some alcohol during treatment with penicillin, antifungal drugs, and some broad-spectrum antibiotics.One serving of fortified drinks while taking these drugs will not affect the effectiveness of therapy and will not cause negative health consequences.
Whenever possible
Although it is okay to drink alcohol while taking most antibiotics, it is not good to take them at the same time.The best way to take the drug is indicated in the instructions.
For example, the effectiveness of erythromycin and tetracycline is increased by drinking alkaline mineral water, and drinking sulfonamides, indomethacin and reserpine with milk.
If the antibiotic does not enter into a disulfiram-like reaction with ethanol, you can drink alcohol, but not earlier than 4 hours after the medicine.This is the minimum time the antibiotic circulates in the blood, and thus is the answer to the question of how long you can drink after taking the medicine.
In any case, during the treatment period you are allowed to take only a small dose of alcohol, otherwise the body will begin to dehydrate, and the antibacterial drug will only be excreted in the urine.
The combination of alcohol with any antibacterial composition is harmful to the body.By understanding how long after taking the drug you are allowed to drink alcohol, you can eliminate all possible side effects.
Conclusion
The myth about the incompatibility of antibiotics and alcohol appeared in the last century, and there are several hypotheses about the reasons for its occurrence.According to one of them, the author of the legend belonged to venereologists who wanted to warn their patients against drunkenness.
There is also an assumption that the myth was created by European doctors.Penicillin was a restricted drug in the 1940s, and soldiers liked to drink beer, which had a diuretic effect and flushed the drug out of the body.
It has now been proven that alcohol in most cases does not affect the effectiveness of antibiotics and does not increase liver damage.If the active substance of the drug does not enter into a reaction like disulfiram with ethanol, you can drink alcohol during treatment.However, you should follow 2 main rules: do not abuse alcohol and do not take antibiotics with it.