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 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 drugs designed to fight bacteria.They penetrate pathogenic microorganisms or interfere with their metabolism, interrupting it completely or partially.
Doctors still have different opinions on the question of the compatibility of antibiotics with alcohol and when it is possible to drink after therapy.Many doctors strongly recommend patients to completely avoid alcoholic beverages during therapy to avoid the consequences of simultaneously taking antibiotics and alcohol.They explain this by saying that these drugs, together with ethanol, destroy the liver and nullify the effectiveness of the treatment.
To date, numerous studies have been conducted, the results of which allow us to confidently state 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 the treatment will obviously decrease.
There are also a number of antibiotics that react with ethanol in a similar reaction to disulfiram.Their simultaneous use with alcohol is contraindicated, as this would cause intoxication, accompanied by nausea, vomiting and convulsions.In very rare cases, death can occur.
Myths and reality
Historically, society has developed myths about complications resulting from 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 drinks reduce the effectiveness of the experimental therapy.
In reality these theses are only partially true, which is confirmed by the results of numerous compatibility studies.In particular, available data suggest that the intake of alcohol-containing beverages does not influence the pharmacokinetics of most antibiotics in any way.
At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, much research was conducted on the combined effects of antibacterial drugs and alcohol.The experiments involved people and laboratory animals.The results of antibiotic therapy in the experimental and control groups were the same, but no significant deviations in the absorption, distribution and excretion of the active ingredients of the drugs from the body were found.Data from these studies showed that it is possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics.
In 1982, Finnish scientists conducted 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 subjects showed only slight changes in the speed of absorption of the substance and in its 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 hepatotoxicity of antibacterial drugs, but only in very rare cases.This fact becomes rather an exception to the rule.
Scientists have also shown that ethanol has no effect on antibiotics used in the treatment of experimental pneumococcal infection in experimental rats.
Reasons for incompatibility
Despite the fact that the safety of the 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 ingredients enter into a reaction similar to disulfiram with ethyl alcohol, mainly nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins.
The reason why you cannot take antibiotics and alcohol at the same time is that the drugs mentioned above contain specific molecules that can modify 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.
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.
To code alcoholism, a reaction similar to disulfiram is used, but this method should be used only under the strict supervision of a specialist.Poisoning during treatment with nitroimidazoles and cephalosporins can be caused even by a small dose of alcohol.Alcohol abuse in this case can cause death.
Doctors allow the intake of small amounts of alcohol during treatment with penicillins, antifungal drugs, and some broad-spectrum antibiotics.A portion of fortified drink while taking these drugs will not affect the effectiveness of therapy and will not cause negative health consequences.
When possible
While it's OK to drink alcohol while taking most antibiotics, it's not OK to 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 tetracyclines increases 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 taking the drug.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 drug.
In any case, during the treatment period it is 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 it is 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.
It is also assumed that the myth was invented by European doctors.In the 1940s penicillin was a rare drug, 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 ingredients 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.