Alcohol in general has a strong negative effect on the body. If you use it immediately after the end of the antibiotic, then the risk of problems increases significantly. Of course, in some cases the danger will be minimal, but a number of drugs that are usually prescribed for serious diseases are strongly incompatible with alcohol.
During antibiotic therapy, doctors recommend abstaining from alcohol. Such restrictions are described in the instructions for use of each antimicrobial agent. If you drink alcohol after antibiotics, the effect of therapy may be reduced or minimized. Perhaps the development of side effects and complications.
How long does it cost to wait after antibiotic treatment before drinking wine, vodka or even beer? Read more about it.
Antibiotic - what is this medicine
There are several basic types of antibiotics. The simplest are made from organic raw materials, others are purely synthetic, and others are some intermediate option. Regardless of the group, all drugs help to slow down the development of pathogenic microflora, suppress it and destroy it.
These drugs can only be used for bacterial infections - they do not act on viruses at all (even like the flu).
Antibiotics are available in different forms:
- capsules;
- pills;
- ointments;
- injection fluids;
- syrups.
However, the drugs work the same way. In addition, even when it comes to external means, the main substance still penetrates the blood.
Can I drink alcohol after completing a course of antibiotics?
When a person becomes ill, the main task of doctors is to ensure his rapid recovery. For this purpose, in addition to drugs, the following may be prescribed:
- diets;
- physiotherapy;
- various additional procedures.
At the same time, the doctor is obliged to minimize the effect of any negative factors that could potentially delay treatment, reduce its effectiveness or provoke complications. For this purpose, experts recommend that you refrain from drinking alcohol.
Each disease in itself is a heavy burden on the immune system. In addition, many antibacterial drugs do not work very well on the internal organs. For this reason, the dosage and duration of administration should be determined as accurately as possible. Alcohol taken orally has a negative effect on the liver and kidneys of even a completely healthy person. Accordingly, in combination with a pathogenic agent and antibiotics, it extremely overloads the said organs and increases intoxication.
Even when the course is over, it is not worth rushing to catch up - doctors advise you to wait a while. So, in case of acceptance:
- it is permissible to take conventional antibiotics after at least 3 days (preferably 5);
- long-acting drugs - you have to wait at least 3 weeks.
What antibiotics can not be combined with alcohol
There are many varieties of drugs in the process of taking which it is absolutely impossible to drink alcohol.
So nitroimidazoles are incompatible with alcohol. Their combination with ethanol causes a disulfiram-like reaction, an acute intoxication used to code people who want to stop drinking.
In this situation, it is better to start drinking alcohol at least two days after the end of the course.
The next group is fluoroquinolones. Here alcohol is allowed after 3 days. Medications already have a devastating effect on the central nervous system and, together with alcohol, can lead to the development of severe side effects (the worst of which is coma).
People who take cephalosporins should give up the idea of drinking alcohol during their cycle. It is necessary to wait at least a day after its completion. If there is any renal pathology, then it will be possible to relax no earlier than 3 days.
Taking tetracyclines is very painful for the liver. These drugs are excreted from the body for a long time. It is better to postpone drinking for 4 days.
Aminoglycosides are another very toxic group of antibiotics. They damage both the kidneys and the liver. After treatment with these drugs you can not drink alcohol for about 15 days.
Lincosamides (even when taken according to a system developed by a doctor) have a negative effect on the liver and central nervous system. They may provoke a disulfiram-like reaction. Drink alcohol no earlier than 4 days.
All macrolides increase the risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver. They are poorly excreted from the body. How long do you have to wait? The recommended abstinence period is 5 days.
Antibiotics that help get rid of tuberculosis are usually taken for a long time. They have a side effect - reactive drug hepatitis. When it comes to such drugs, alcohol is drunk exclusively by suicide bombers.
How long can the antibiotic last after completing the course
Scientists have found how many specific antibiotic metabolites save activity in the body. If we talk about simple drugs, then the period is 3 days. In case of prolonged - from 2 or more weeks.
A number of other factors also affect the duration of abstinence from alcohol:
- course duration;
- compatibility of the drug with ethanol;
- the presence of direct contraindications.
It is impossible to determine for yourself how long to wait before drinking alcohol. For this reason, it is better to get a comprehensive consultation with a doctor.
What happens if you take an antibiotic with alcohol
Alcohol in the process of taking antibiotics can cause many unwanted complications. First of all, ethanol is guaranteed to weaken the effectiveness of the drug, which leads to the development of resistance in the pathogenic strain.
It is impossible not to mention the possibility of the disease becoming chronic. Even due to the small amount of alcohol, the antibiotic is absorbed faster and does not reach the infected area.
Alcohol with this drug often provokes blood clotting, which in turn is fraught with heart attacks or strokes. In the best case, existing diseases of the cardiovascular system will worsen.
When alcohol is consumed, the concentration of antibiotics decreases. Doctors should increase the dose of the latter, which increases the burden on the kidneys and liver. We must also not forget about the negative effect of ethanol itself on these organs.
There is an additional risk of allergies. In simple cases, the patient will develop a rash and itching, and in complex cases, Quincke's edema or even anaphylactic shock may develop.
When you can drink alcohol immediately after antibiotics
There are several drugs that allow the use of ethanol. The above cannot be considered as permission to drink tablets directly with alcohol. It is necessary to wait at least 3-6 hours, but it would be better to abandon the idea of breastfeeding until treatment is over.
These relatively safe drugs include:
- penicillin and its derivatives;
- a number of glycopeptides;
- ansamycins and others.
Keep in mind that if you have to take any of the antibiotics mentioned above, do not forget about the possibility of an individual reaction to their combination with alcohol.
Admission rules
Antibiotics must be taken correctly - only then will they have the right effect. So, in particular:
- the drug is prescribed exclusively by a doctor;
- it also determines how much should be consumed and in what doses;
- the drug is washed down with cold and unsweetened drinks (preferably water);
- during treatment you should follow a diet (fats are prohibited, the emphasis on protein foods and long carbohydrates);
- drink plenty of water while taking the antibiotic;
- even if the symptoms disappear, continue treatment for a period determined by your doctor.
Can I drink alcohol while taking antibiotics?
As practice shows, many people do not know whether it is allowed to combine alcohol and antibiotics. Some people are sure that drinking alcohol is not dangerous if you do it a few hours after taking the drug. Others are convinced that they should never mix. In reality, the truth is somewhere in the middle - it all depends on the general condition of the patient and the type of medication prescribed to him. What effect does alcohol have on the body if you drink it with antibiotics? We will talk about this later.
How strong alcohol interacts with antibiotics
Only a naive person will ask doctors what antibiotics can be combined with alcohol. They will certainly say that taking them in parallel is definitely a big mistake. In fact, they are right, because for them the main task is to get a person on his feet as quickly as possible.
Why can't you drink antibiotics and alcohol at the same time? Doctors note that after taking (only oral) antibacterial drugs, the breakdown products are used by the liver. This organ is usually the main filter that removes toxins, that is, it also cleanses the blood of substances that get there as a result of drinking alcohol. If you mix alcohol and drugs, then the load increases by about half - this leads to accelerated wear of the liver.
Also, when taking antibiotics, be sure to drink plenty of water, this allows you to speed up the process of withdrawing them. The same applies to the treatment of alcohol intoxication. Excess moisture increases the load on the kidneys, which is also not good.
At the same time, alcohol in some way changes the intensity and quality of metabolism. Here it is impossible to predict what its impact will be. If a person mixes drugs and ethanol, as a result, the former may act too weakly or too strongly.
At the same time, there are antibiotics that get into the human body, bind to alcohol, which leads to a greater negative impact on the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract.
Thus, if you take the drugs in question, then it is worthwhile to understand how they interact with strong alcohol and whether it is permissible in principle to combine them.
Why you should not drink alcohol
If everything is more or less clear with strong alcohol, then certain difficulties arise with weak alcohol. Many patients are sure that you can drink the latter even while taking antibiotics, believing that the strength of the negative effects depends solely on the strength of alcohol.
In fact, this is a delusion. Both vodka and wine contain ethyl alcohol, which acts in both cases in the same way. In addition, the volume of drunk light alcohol is usually higher than in the case of strong alcohol, that is, as a result we all get an increase in the load on the liver and kidneys.
The combination of weak alcohol with antibiotics is dangerous for others, as this alcohol contains many additional ingredients:
- yeast residues;
- dyes;
- sweeteners;
- aromatic compounds;
- preservatives;
- carbon dioxide, etc.
All these substances increase the risk of unwanted side effects.
Taking an antibiotic with alcohol - the likely consequences
The main consequence that threatens people who drink both antibiotics and alcohol is intoxication. The severity of the latter may be different. In general, healthy people often have mild symptoms, while chronically ill people often have the opposite. In all cases, the poisoning was accompanied by:
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- loss of coordination;
- vomiting;
- diarrhea
- migraine;
- hyperthermia;
- convulsions;
- seizure.
In severe situations, a person is urgently hospitalized.
It will definitely not be possible to avoid unpleasant consequences if combined with alcohol:
- Tetracyclines and almost all drugs in this series;
- Cephalosporins;
- Nitroimidazoles.
These antibiotics interact quite actively with ethanol, even if they do not interfere, but are taken at intervals of 6 or 8 hours. As a result, a reaction called disulfiram-like begins in the body. Simply put, there are signs of severe intoxication.
Normally, this effect helps to code people who stop drinking, but here the process is controlled by narcologists, and if the health condition deteriorates excessively, then the patient is immediately stabilized with drugs. It is impossible to provide adequate help at home - so alcohol should not be mixed with these drugs.
These drugs cannot be combined with other chemicals at all. Mixing ethanol with antibacterial drugs that help against tuberculosis and leprosy is not recommended.
Never drink alcohol if your doctor has prescribed sulfonamides.
Antibiotics conditionally compatible with alcohol
What drugs can be combined with alcoholic beverages? It all depends on their inherent pharmacodynamics.
What matters here is such a factor as the half-life of the drug and the length of stay of its metabolites in the body. If these indicators do not change significantly when drinking alcohol, then you can take antibiotics and not give up alcohol.
Drink ethanol in small amounts without fear when it comes to penicillin-related medications.
How much is allowed to drink? If we talk about vodka, then the dose is about 50 ml. Dry wine is allowed no more than 150 ml, and dessert - 100.
The types of antibiotics that do not mix with alcohol are presented in the table:
> zxtable border = "1" cellpadding = "0" >The effects listed in the table often occur with long-term drug treatment, even in people who do not drink alcohol at all. In addition, when there are no adverse effects (for healthy people this is generally normal), then taking any of these antibiotics is not a contraindication. At the same time, it is worth remembering that it is better not to mix the drugs listed in the table with alcohol if you want to recover faster.
After how many days it is allowed to drink alcohol without special restrictions
So, you stopped taking an antibiotic and wondered: after what period of time is it allowed to drink without fear? The primary excretion of most drugs ends after one day (18-24 hours). When this period is over, it is generally not dangerous to take a little on the chest. Antibiotics are completely eliminated from the body after 14 days. That is, in the absence of other contraindications, it is possible to try to catch up after 2 weeks.
Another question is also important: how long should you abstain before taking antibacterial drugs? When considering a mild illness, it is better to wait 4 days, in emergencies a day is enough.
If we are talking about antibiotics belonging to the tetracycline group, then the patient must wait at least 72 hours.