Everyone gets sick periodically, and many people have to take antibiotics.In society there is a widespread belief that these drugs are incompatible with alcohol, but what to do if the period of treatment coincides with a holiday?What is the truth and what are the myths in our perception of 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 disrupting it.
Doctors still have different views on the issue of antibiotic compatibility with alcohol and when you can drink it after treatment.Many doctors recommend that patients completely avoid alcoholic beverages during treatment to avoid the consequences of concurrent use of antibiotics and alcohol.They explain this by saying that these drugs along with ethanol destroy the liver and make the treatment ineffective.
To date, many studies have been conducted, the results of which allow us to confidently confirm that the pharmacological effect of most antibiotics under the influence of alcohol is not impaired and the load on the liver does not increase.
However, alcohol itself causes poisoning and dehydration.If you take antibiotics with large amounts of alcohol, the body will weaken, and in this case, the effectiveness of treatment will, of course, decrease.
There are also some antibiotics that react with ethanol in a disulfiram-like reaction.Concomitant use with alcohol is contraindicated as this will cause poisoning, accompanied by nausea, 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 effects of antibiotics.
- Alcohol combined with antibiotics increases liver damage.
- Alcoholic beverages reduce the effectiveness of the experimental therapy.
In fact, these arguments are only partly correct, which is confirmed by the results of many studies on compatibility.In particular, available data suggest that ingestion of alcoholic beverages does not affect the pharmacokinetics of most antibiotics.
At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, a lot of research was done on the combined effects of antibacterial drugs and alcohol.The experiments involved humans and laboratory animals.The results of antibiotic treatment in the experimental and control groups were the same, however, no significant deviations were found in the absorption, distribution and excretion of active ingredients of the drug from the body.Data from these studies suggest that drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics is acceptable.
Back in 1982, Finnish scientists conducted a series of experiments among volunteers, the results showed that penicillin antibiotics do not react with ethanol;therefore, they can be taken with alcohol.In 1988, Spanish researchers tested the compatibility of amoxicillin with alcohol: a group of subjects showed only small changes in the rate of absorption of the substance and its retention time.
It was also found that the pharmacokinetic parameters of some antibiotics, for example, tetracycline group, significantly decrease under the influence of alcohol.However, few drugs with this effect have been identified.
The popular belief that alcohol and alcoholic beverages increase liver damage has also been refuted by scientists around the world.More precisely, alcohol can increase the hepatotoxicity of antibacterial drugs, but only in very rare cases.This fact becomes an exception to the rule.
Scientists have also demonstrated that ethanol has no effect on antibiotics used in the treatment of experimental pneumococcal infections in laboratory mice.
Reason for incompatibility
Despite the fact that the safety of 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 ingredients produce a disulfiram-like reaction with ethyl alcohol - mainly nitroimidazole and cephalosporins.
The reason you can't take both antibiotics and alcohol at the same time is because the drugs mentioned above contain specific molecules that can alter ethanol metabolism.The result is a delay in the excretion of acetaldehyde, which accumulates in the body and leads to poisoning.
This process is accompanied by characteristic symptoms:
- severe headache;
- fast heart rate;
- nausea accompanied by vomiting;
- heat in the face, neck, and chest areas;
- shortness of breath;
- convulsion.
Disulfiram-like reactions are used to code for alcoholism, but this method should only be used under the close supervision of a specialist.Poisoning during treatment with nitroimidazole and cephalosporins can be caused by drinking small amounts of alcohol.Alcohol abuse in this case can lead to death.
Doctors allow drinking small amounts of alcohol during treatment with penicillin, antifungal drugs and some broad-spectrum antibiotics.The use of fortified drinks while taking these drugs will not affect the effectiveness of treatment and will not cause negative health consequences.
Whenever possible
Although you can drink alcohol while taking most antibiotics, you should not 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 tetracycline is increased when drinking alkaline mineral water and taking 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 for the antibiotic to circulate in the blood and is also the answer to the question of how long after taking the drug.
In any case, during the period of treatment, you are allowed to drink only a small amount of alcohol, otherwise the body will begin to dehydrate and the antibacterial drug will be excreted in the urine.
The combination of alcohol with any antibacterial ingredient is dangerous for the body.By understanding how long after taking the drug you are allowed to drink alcohol, you can eliminate all possible side effects.
Conclude
The myth of incompatibility between antibiotics and alcohol has appeared since the last century and there are several hypotheses about the causes of its appearance.According to one of them, the authorship of the legend belongs to vein specialists who wanted to warn their patients against drunkenness.
There is also an assumption that this myth was invented by European doctors.Penicillin was a scarce drug in the 1940s, and soldiers liked to drink beer because beer had a diuretic effect and removed 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 react like disulfiram with ethanol, you can drink alcohol during treatment.However, you should follow two main rules: do not abuse alcohol and do not take antibiotics together.