Everyone gets sick periodically and many of them have to resort to 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 medicines designed to fight bacteria.They penetrate pathogenic microorganisms or interfere with their metabolism, completely or partially stopping it.
Doctors still have different opinions on the issue of compatibility of antibiotics with alcohol and when you can drink after therapy.Many doctors strongly recommend that patients completely avoid alcoholic beverages during therapy in order to avoid the consequences of taking antibiotics and alcohol simultaneously.They explain this by saying that these drugs, together with ethanol, destroy the liver and nullify the effectiveness of the treatment.
To date, many studies have been carried out, the results of which make it possible 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, in which case the effectiveness of the treatment will decrease, of course.
There are also several antibiotics that react with ethanol in a disulfiram-like reaction.Its simultaneous use with alcohol is contraindicated, as it will cause intoxication, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, as well as convulsions.In very rare cases, death may occur.
Myths and reality
Historically, society has developed myths about complications following alcohol consumption during antibiotic treatment.
The main myths are the following:
- 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 studies.In particular, available data suggest that ingestion of alcohol-containing beverages does not in any way affect the pharmacokinetics of most antibiotics.
At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, much 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 medicines from the body.Data from these studies showed that it is possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics.
In 1982, Finnish scientists carried out a series of experiments among volunteers, the results of which showed that antibiotics from the penicillin group do not react in any way with ethanol;therefore, they can be consumed with alcohol.In 1988, Spanish researchers tested the compatibility of amoxicillin with alcohol: a group of individuals showed only small changes in the substance's absorption rate 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 medicines 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 to treat experimental pneumococcal infection in experimental rats.
Reasons for incompatibility
Although the simultaneous use of most antibiotics with alcohol has been proven to be safe, there are several medications that are incompatible with alcohol.These are medicines whose active substances enter into a disulfiram-like reaction with ethyl alcohol - mainly nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins.
The reason you can't take antibiotics and alcohol at the same time is that the medications mentioned above contain specific molecules that can alter 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:
- severe headache;
- accelerated heartbeat;
- nausea with vomiting;
- heat in the face, neck, chest areas;
- difficulty breathing;
- convulsions.
A disulfiram-like reaction is used in coding alcoholism, but this method should only be used under the strict supervision of a specialist.Intoxication 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 medications, 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
While it's okay to drink alcohol while taking most antibiotics, it's not okay to take them at the same time.The best way to take these medications is indicated in the instructions.
For example, the effectiveness of erythromycin and tetracyclines is increased by drinking alkaline mineral water and taking 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 taking the medicine.This is the minimum time that antibiotics circulate in the blood and therefore is the answer to the question of how long you can drink after taking the medicine.
In any case, during the period of treatment it is allowed to take only a small dose of alcohol, otherwise the body will begin to dehydrate and the antibacterial 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 can drink alcohol, you can eliminate all possible side effects.
Conclusions
The myth of incompatibility between antibiotics and alcohol emerged 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 is now proven that alcohol, in most cases, does not affect the effectiveness of antibiotics and does not increase liver damage.If the active substances in the medicine do not enter into a disulfiram-like reaction with ethanol, you can drink alcohol during treatment.However, you must follow 2 main rules: do not abuse alcohol and do not take antibiotics along with it.