All people get sick periodically, and many of them have to resort to taking antibiotics.There is a widespread belief in society that these drugs are incompatible with alcohol, but what to do 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 with alcoholic beverages?
Antibiotics and alcohol
Antibiotics are medications designed to fight bacteria.They penetrate pathogenic microorganisms or interfere with their metabolism, disrupting it completely or partially.
Doctors still have different views on the issue of the compatibility of antibiotics with alcohol and when you can drink after therapy.There are many doctors who strongly recommend that patients completely avoid alcoholic beverages during therapy in order to avoid the consequences of taking an antibiotic and alcohol simultaneously.They explain this by saying that these drugs, together with ethanol, destroy the liver and negate the effectiveness of treatment.
To date, many studies have been carried out, the results of which allow us to confidently assert that the pharmacological effect of most antibiotics under the influence of alcohol does not deteriorate, and the load on the liver does not increase.
However, alcohol itself causes intoxication and dehydration.If you take antibiotics with large doses of alcohol, the body will weaken, and in this case, the effectiveness of treatment will, of course, decrease.
There are also a number of 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.
Myths 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 drinks reduce the effectiveness of experimental therapy.
In fact, these theses are only partially true, which is confirmed by the results of numerous compatibility studies.In particular, the available data suggest that taking alcohol-containing drinks does not in any way affect the pharmacokinetics of most antibiotics.
At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, a lot of research was carried out on the combined effects of antibacterial drugs and alcohol.The experiments involved people and laboratory animals.The results of antibiotic therapy were the same in the experimental and control groups, but no significant deviations were found in the absorption, distribution and excretion of the active substances of the drugs from the body.Data from these studies showed 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 do 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 minor changes in the rate of absorption of the substance and the 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 refuted by scientists around the world.More precisely, alcohol can increase the hepatoxicity of antibacterial drugs, but only in very rare cases.This fact becomes rather an exception to the rule.
Scientists have also proven that ethanol has no effect on antibiotics used in the treatment of experimental pneumococcal infection among experimental rats.
Reasons for incompatibility
Despite the fact that the safety of simultaneous use of most antibiotics with alcohol has been proven, there are a number of drugs that are incompatible with alcohol.These are drugs whose active substances enter into a disulfiram-like reaction with ethyl alcohol - primarily nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins.
The reason why you can’t take both antibiotics and alcohol at the same time is that the above mentioned drugs contain specific molecules that can change ethanol metabolism.As a result, there is a delay in the excretion of acetaldehyde, which accumulates in the body and leads to intoxication.
The process is accompanied by characteristic symptoms:
- intense headache;
- rapid heartbeat;
- nausea with vomiting;
- heat in the areas of the face, neck, chest;
- difficulty breathing;
- convulsions.
A disulfiram-like reaction is used in coding for alcoholism, but this method should only be used under the strict supervision of a specialist.Poisoning during treatment with nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins can be caused by even a small dose of alcohol.Alcohol abuse in this case can result in death.
Doctors allow small amounts of alcohol during treatment with penicillins, antifungal drugs, and some broad-spectrum antibiotics.A serving of fortified drink while taking these medications will not affect the effectiveness of therapy and will not cause negative health consequences.
When is it possible
Although it is okay to drink alcohol while taking most antibiotics, it is not okay to take them at the same time.The best way to take such medications is indicated in the instructions.
For example, the effectiveness of erythromycin and tetracyclines 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 drug.This is the minimum time that antibiotics circulate in the blood, and accordingly is the answer to the question of how long you can drink after taking the drug.
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 simply be excreted in the urine.
The combination of alcohol with any antibacterial composition is dangerous for the body.By understanding how long after taking the medicine you are allowed to drink alcohol, you can eliminate all possible side effects.
Conclusions
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 authorship of the legend belongs to 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 in most cases does not affect the effectiveness of antibiotics and does not increase liver damage.If the active substances of the drug do not enter into a disulfiram-like reaction 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.