Is it possible to combine alcohol and antibiotics?Even doctors do not give an exact answer to this popular question.And while some are categorically against such duets, others believe that it is important to consider what kind of alcohol you drink and how much.There is a third opinion that by dealing with the issue wisely, it is possible to successfully undergo treatment while maintaining social activity.
Is it really necessary to abstain from alcohol in combination with a course of antibiotics?Let's find out.
Much depends on the active ingredient of the drug.Some types of antibiotics are not alcohol friendly at all, while others may interact normally.Of course, after reading this article, you should not mix alcohol with pills.However, knowing a few things will help you not to panic, but to intelligently understand the problem if for some reason you continue to drink alcohol during antibiotic therapy.
Antibiotics and alcohol: myths and legends
There is a version that scary stories about the failure to combine alcohol and antibiotics began to spread after the war.The first legend says that during this period venereology clinics in our country and abroad were simply overcrowded.The patients are soldiers and officers who have fully tasted the "delights" of martial law.Medical personnel deliberately intimidated patients, talking about the terrible consequences of the combination of alcohol and antibiotics, because after drinking, patients could again indulge in all serious acts, and the result of such "exploits" could be a new sexually transmitted infection.
Another legend says that due to the laboriousness of obtaining penicillin, it was evaporated from the urine of treated soldiers.For this reason, soldiers were forbidden to drink beer during therapy.
The danger of drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics is in the air, and modern people prefer to avoid such mixtures.But what does evidence-based medicine think about this?
What do the studies say?
At the beginning of the 21st century, studies were conducted on the effects of ethanol on various types of antibiotics.In experiments on laboratory animals and human volunteers it was shown that most types of antibiotics are not affected by alcohol intake.
Therefore, in the experimental and control groups, the antibiotics studied were equally effective.No significant deviations in the mechanisms of absorption, distribution throughout the body or elimination of breakdown products have been identified.
By the way, there is a hypothesis that drinking alcoholic beverages increases the negative effects of antibiotics on the liver.Such cases are rarely described in the medical literature due to their rare incidence (up to 10 cases per 100,000).At the same time, no further research has been conducted in this regard.Are all fears unfounded?
Which antibiotics should not be combined with alcohol?
No, the fears are not unfounded: there are numerous antibiotics that, when in contact with alcohol, give extremely unpleasant symptoms - the so-called disulfiram-like reaction.The reaction occurs when ethanol chemically reacts with some specific antibiotic molecules, causing changes in the metabolism of ethyl alcohol in the body.In particular, an intermediate substance, acetaldehyde, accumulates.Intoxication with this substance gives the following symptoms:
- severe headache
- nausea and vomiting
- increased heart rate
- redness of the face, neck, chest, "heat" in them
- heavy and intermittent breathing
- spasms of the limbs
Large doses of alcohol can be fatal!
These symptoms are very difficult to bear and often cause fear of suffocation or death.The disulfiram-like reaction is used in clinics in the treatment of alcoholism ("coding").
Antibiotics that can cause the following symptoms:
- active ingredient metronidazole
- active ingredient ketoconazole (prescribed for thrush, for example, in the form of suppositories)
- active ingredient furazolidone (prescribed for food poisoning or diarrhea of an unspecified nature)
- active ingredient chloramphenicol (toxic, rarely used: for urinary tract infections, bile duct infections and some other diseases)
- active ingredient cotrimoxazole (can be prescribed in case of infections of the respiratory tract, kidneys and ureters, prostatitis)
- active ingredient lornoxicam (used to treat bacterial infections of the respiratory and ENT organs, kidneys, urinary tract, etc.)
- active ingredient tinidazole (often prescribed for infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes stomach ulcers)
- active ingredient cefamandolo (injections for infections of an unspecified nature)
- active ingredient cefoperazone (available in the form of injections, treats the respiratory tract, including pneumonia, bacterial diseases of the genitourinary system and other diseases)
- active ingredient moxifloxacin (broad-spectrum antibiotic, prescribed for serious conditions, including fever, if a bacterial infection is suspected)
When taking these medications (whether oral medications or suppositories or eye drops), you should avoid drinking alcohol!
To be sure that your antibiotic is not included in the group of drugs that are prohibited from combining with alcoholic beverages, consult your doctor and carefully read the drug's instructions.
Smart decision
When treating any disease with antibiotics, in any case, you should not overload your body with alcoholic beverages.After all, like any toxic substance, ethanol requires "neutralization" in the body.To fight the poison, the body uses additional reserves, often the last ones, especially if the disease is long-lasting.Spending energy on cleansing the body can damage the immune system and significantly increase the recovery period.
Furthermore, research and medical practice confirm that both alcohol and antibiotics have a depressant effect on the liver.
Despite the fact that expert opinion on the compatibility of alcoholic beverages and antibacterial agents is divided (with the exception of those drugs for which restrictions are categorical), most are inclined to believe that it is better to avoid alcoholic beverages during a course of antibiotic therapy.You should also know: if during therapy you drank a glass of wine, you should not refuse the next dose of antibiotic (of course, if it is a drug for which there are no contraindications for alcohol).