All people get sick from time to time, and many of them resort to antibiotics. Many in society believe that these drugs are incompatible with alcohol, but what if the duration of treatment coincides with the holidays? What is the truth, and what is the myth in our understanding of antibiotic interactions with alcohol?
Antibiotics and alcohol
Antibiotics are drugs designed to fight bacteria. They get into pathogenic microorganisms or interfere with their metabolism, completely or partially disrupting it.
On the question of the compatibility of antibiotics with alcohol and about when you can take it after treatment, doctors still have different attitudes. Many doctors have advised patients to absolutely abstain from alcohol during treatment to avoid the consequences of taking antibiotics and alcohol at the same time. They explain this because these drugs, along with ethanol, damage the liver and make the treatment less effective.
To date, many studies have been performed, the results of which allow us to safely state that the pharmacological effects of most antibiotics under the influence of alcohol do not worsen, and that the load onliver is not increased.
However, alcohol itself causes intoxication and dehydration. If taking antibiotics along with alcohol in large doses will make the body debilitated, in this case, of course, the treatment effectiveness will decrease.
Several antibiotics have also been isolated, which react like disulfiram with ethanol. Contraindicated to drink simultaneously with alcohol, as this will cause intoxication, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, convulsions. In very rare cases, death can occur.
Myth and Reality
Historically, there have been myths in society about the complications of drinking alcohol during antibiotic treatment.
The main myths are as follows:
- Alcohol neutralizes the effect of antibiotics.
- Alcohol along with antibiotics increases liver damage.
- Alcoholic beverages reduced the effectiveness of the experimental therapy.
In fact, these claims are only partially true, which is confirmed by the results of numerous compatibility studies. In particular, available data suggest that alcoholic beverage intake does not affect the pharmacokinetics of most antibiotics.
In the early 20th and 21st centuries, a lot of research was done on the combined action 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 there were no significant deviations in the absorption, distribution and excretion of the active substances from the body. Data from these studies suggest it is possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics.
Back in 1982, Finnish scientists conducted a series of experiments among volunteers, the results showed that penicillin antibiotics do not react with ethanol, so you can take them with alcohol. In 1988, Spanish researchers tested amoxicillin for alcohol compatibility: only insignificant changes in the rate of absorption of the substance and the duration of its delay were found in one group of subjects. .
It has also been found that the pharmacokinetic parameters of some antibiotics, for example, the tetracycline group, are significantly reduced under the influence of alcohol. However, few drugs with this effect have been identified.
The general notion that alcoholic beverages along with alcohol increase liver damage are also refuted by scientists around the world. Rather, alcohol can increase the hepatotoxicity of antibacterial drugs, but only in very rare cases. This fact becomes the exception rather than the rule.
The scientists also demonstrated that ethanol did not affect the antibiotics used in the treatment of pneumococcal infections in laboratory mice.
Reason for incompatibility
Despite the fact that the safety of the simultaneous use of most antibiotics with alcohol has been proven, there are still some drugs that are incompatible with alcohol. These are drugs whose active ingredient participates in a disulfiram-like reaction with ethyl alcohol - mainly nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins.
The reason why both antibiotics and alcohol cannot be taken at the same time lies in the fact that the ingredients of these drugs contain specific molecules that can change the metabolism of ethanol. As a result, the excretion of acetaldehyde is slowed down, which accumulates in the body and leads to intoxication.
This process is accompanied by characteristic symptoms:
- severe headache;
- arrhythmic heartbeat;
- nausea accompanied by vomiting;
- heat in the face, neck and chest areas;
- shortness of breath;
- convulsions.
A disulfiram-like reaction is used to encode alcoholism, but this method should only be used under the close supervision of a specialist. Even a small dose of alcohol causes toxicity when treated with nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins. Alcohol abuse in this case can lead to death.
Doctors allow small amounts of alcohol during treatment with penicillin, antifungal drugs, and some broad-spectrum antibiotics. One serving of fortified drinks while taking these medications will not affect the effectiveness of therapy and will not cause negative health effects.
When can
Although alcohol is allowed with most antibiotics, they should not be taken at the same time. It is better to take such drugs, it is indicated in the instructions.
For example, the effectiveness of erythromycin and tetracyclines increases the intake of alkaline mineral water, and sulfonamides, indomethacin and Reserpine - with milk.
If the antibiotic does not react like disulfiram with ethanol, you can drink alcohol, but not earlier than 4 hours after taking the medicine. This is the minimum time that the antibiotic circulates in the blood respectively and is the answer to the question of how much to take after taking the drug.
In any case, during the period of treatment, it is permissible to drink only a small amount of alcohol, otherwise dehydration will begin to occur in the body, and the antibacterial drug will simply be excreted in the urine.
The combination of alcohol with any antibacterial components is dangerous for the body. After finding out how long after taking the drug is allowed to drink alcohol, you can rule out all possible side effects.
conclude
The myth of the incompatibility of antibiotics and alcohol has emerged in the last century, while there are several theories as to the reason for its appearance. According to one of them, the author of the legend belongs to revered doctors who wanted to warn their patients against drunkenness.
There is also a theory that the myth was invented by European doctors. Penicillin was a drug in short supply in the 1940s, and soldiers liked to drink beer, which was a diuretic and eliminated the drug from the body.
It is now proven that alcohol in most cases does not affect the effectiveness of antibiotics and does not increase liver damage. If the active ingredients of the drug do not participate in a disulfiram-like reaction with ethanol, you can drink alcohol during treatment. However, there are 2 main rules to follow: don't abuse alcohol and don't take it with antibiotics.