Alcohol in general has a strong negative effect on the body. If you use it immediately after finishing the antibiotic, 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 illnesses are categorically incompatible with alcohol.
During antibiotic therapy, doctors recommend refraining from drinking alcohol. Similar restrictions are described in the instructions for use of each antimicrobial agent. If you drink alcohol after antibiotics, the effect of treatment may be weakened or minimized. Perhaps the development of adverse reactions and complications.
How long does it cost to wait after antibiotic treatment before drinking wine, vodka or even beer? Learn more about this.
Antibiotic - what is this medicine
There are several major types of antibiotics. The simplest ones are made from organic raw materials, others are purely synthetic, and still others are some kind of intermediate option. Regardless of the group, all drugs help to slow down the development of pathogenic microflora, suppress and destroy it.
The drugs in question can only be used for infections of a bacterial nature - they do not work on viruses at all (even like the flu).
Antibiotics are available in different forms:
- capsules;
- pills;
- ointments;
- liquids for injections;
- syrups.
Regardless of this, medications work the same way. Moreover, even when it comes to external means, the main substance still gets into the blood.
Can I drink alcohol after completing a course of antibiotics?
When a person falls ill, the main task of doctors is to ensure his speedy recovery. For this purpose, in addition to medication, 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 may delay treatment, reduce its effectiveness or cause complications. It is for this purpose that experts recommend abstaining from drinking alcohol.
Any disease in itself is a heavy burden on the immune system. Also, many antibacterial drugs do not work very well on internal organs. For this reason, their dosage and duration of administration are determined as precisely as possible. Alcohol, taken orally, has a negative effect on the liver and kidneys, even in a perfectly healthy person. As a result, coupled with a pathogen and antibiotics, it extremely overloads the mentioned organs and increases intoxication.
Even when the course is over, it is not worth rushing to catch up - doctors advise waiting some time. Thus, in case of acceptance:
- it is allowed to drink conventional antibiotics after at least 3 days (preferably 5);
- long-acting drugs - you need 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.
Thus, nitroimidazoles are incompatible with alcohol. Their association 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 taking alcoholic beverages at least two days after the end of the course.
The next group is the fluoroquinolones. Here alcohol is allowed after 3 days. Medicines already have an overwhelming effect on the central nervous system and, together with alcohol, can lead to the development of serious side effects (the worst of which is coma).
People who take cephalosporins should give up the idea of taking alcohol during their cycle. It is necessary to wait at least a day after its completion. If there is a kidney pathology, it will be possible to relax no earlier than after 3 days.
Taking tetracyclines is very painful for the liver. These drugs are excreted from the body for a long time. Drinking alcohol is better to postpone for 4 days.
Another group of rather toxic antibiotics are aminoglycosides. They damage both the kidneys and the liver. After treatment with these drugs, you cannot drink alcohol for about 15 days.
Lincosamides (even when taken according to the system developed by the doctor) have a negative effect on the liver and the central nervous system. They can cause a disulfiram-like reaction. Drink alcohol no earlier than after 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 - drug reactive hepatitis. When it comes to such drugs, alcohol is consumed exclusively by suicides.
How long the antibiotic can last after the end of the course
Scientists have determined how many specific antibiotic metabolites rescue activity in the body. If we are talking about single drugs, then the period is 3 days. In case of extension - from 2 weeks or more.
A number of other factors also affect the duration of abstinence from alcohol:
- course duration;
- drug compatibility with ethanol;
- the presence of direct contraindications.
It is impossible to independently determine how long to wait before drinking alcohol. For this reason, it is best to get a full consultation with a doctor.
What happens if you drink an antibiotic with alcohol
Alcohol in the process of taking antibiotics can lead to many unwanted complications. First, 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 transition of the disease into a chronic form. Even due to the low amount of alcohol, the antibiotic is absorbed faster and does not reach the infected area.
Alcohol with the drug in question often causes blood clotting, which, in turn, is fraught with heart attacks or strokes. At best, existing ailments of the cardiovascular system worsen.
When alcohol is consumed, the concentration of antibiotics decreases. Doctors have to increase the dose of the latter, which increases the load on the kidneys and liver. One should also not forget about the negative effect of ethanol itself on these organs.
There is also an additional risk of allergies. In simple cases, the patient will come out with a rash and itching, and in complex cases, angioedema or even anaphylactic shock may develop.
When can you drink alcohol immediately after antibiotics
There are several drugs with which it is allowed to use ethanol. The above cannot be considered permission to drink tablets directly with alcohol. It is necessary to wait at least 3-6 hours, but it would be more correct to abandon the idea of breastfeeding until the treatment is finished.
These relatively safe drugs include:
- penicillin and its derivatives;
- a number of glycopeptides;
- ansamycins and others.
Keep in mind that if you have to drink any of the above mentioned antibiotics, do not forget about the likelihood of an individual reaction to their combination with alcohol.
Admission rules
Antibiotics must be taken correctly - only in this case they will have the right effect. Thus, in particular:
- the drug is prescribed exclusively by a physician;
- it also determines how much to consume and in what doses;
- the drug is washed down with cool, unsweetened drinks (preferably water);
- during treatment, you need to follow a diet (fats are prohibited, the emphasis is on protein foods and long carbohydrates);
- while taking the antibiotic, drink plenty of water;
- even if the symptoms have disappeared, continue the treatment for a period determined by the doctor.
Can I drink alcohol while taking antibiotics?
As practice shows, many people do not know whether it is permissible to combine alcohol and antibiotics. Some are convinced that drinking alcohol is not dangerous if you do it a few hours after taking the drug. Others are convinced that they should not be mixed in any way. In reality, the truth lies 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'll talk about it again later.
How strong alcohol interacts with antibiotics
Only a naive person will ask doctors what antibiotics can be combined with alcohol. They will surely 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 back on their feet as quickly as possible.
Why not drink antibiotics and drink alcohol at the same time? Doctors note that after taking antibacterial drugs (only orally), their decay products are used by the liver. This organ is usually the main filter that removes toxins, that is, it also cleans the blood of substances that have entered it as a result of alcohol consumption. If you mix alcohol and drugs, the load increases by about half, which 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 their withdrawal. The same is true in the treatment of alcohol poisoning. Excess moisture increases the load on the kidneys, which is also not good.
At the same time, alcohol somehow changes the intensity and quality of metabolism. Here, it is impossible to predict what its influence will be. If a person mixes drugs and ethanol, the former may act too weakly or too strongly.
At the same time, there are antibiotics that, once in the human body, bind with alcohol, which leads to a greater negative effect on the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract.
So, if you drink the drugs in question, it is worth knowing how they interact with strong alcohol and whether in principle it is permissible to combine them.
Why you shouldn't drink alcohol
If everything is more or less clear with a strong alcohol, certain difficulties arise with a weak alcohol. Many patients are convinced that you can drink the last even while taking antibiotics, believing that the strength of the negative impact depends only on the strength of alcohol.
In fact, it is an illusion. Both vodka and wine contain ethyl alcohol, which both act in the same way. In addition, the volume of light alcohol drunk is usually greater than in the case of strong alcohol, that is, we all get an increased load on the liver and kidneys.
The combination of weak alcohol with antibiotics is also dangerous for others, because this alcohol contains many additional ingredients:
- yeast residues;
- dyes;
- sweeteners;
- aromatic compounds;
- preservatives;
- carbon dioxide, etc. .
All of 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 can be different. In general, healthy people often have mild symptoms, while people with chronic conditions often have the opposite. In all cases, intoxication is accompanied by:
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- loss of coordination;
- vomiting;
- diarrhea
- migraine;
- hyperthermia;
- seizures;
- fainting.
In serious situations, a person is urgently hospitalized.
It will certainly 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, although they are not interfered with, but taken with an interval of 6 or 8 hours. As a result, a reaction called disulfiram-like begins in the body. That is, there are signs of severe poisoning.
In normal cases, this effect helps to encode people who quit drinking, but here the process is controlled by narcologists, and if the condition worsens excessively, the patient is immediately stabilized with medication. At home it is impossible to provide adequate assistance - therefore alcohol should not be mixed with the mentioned drugs.
These drugs cannot be combined with any other chemicals. It is not recommended to mix ethanol with antibacterial drugs that help with tuberculosis and leprosy.
Never drink alcohol if your doctor has prescribed sulfa drugs.
Conditionally compatible antibiotics with alcohol
What drugs can be combined with alcoholic beverages? It all depends on their inherent pharmacodynamics.
Here, such a factor as the half-life of the drug and the length of stay of its metabolites in the body are important. If these indicators do not change significantly when drinking alcohol, you can take antibiotics and not deprive yourself of alcohol.
Drink ethanol in small amounts without fear when it comes to drugs related to penicillins.
How much is it allowed to drink? If we talk about vodka, the dose is about 50 ml. Dry wine is allowed no more than 150 ml, and dessert - 100.
Types of antibiotics that are not mixed with alcohol are shown in the table:
| Group | Effect |
|---|---|
| Lincomycins | CNS damage |
| Macrolides | Strong negative effect on the liver |
The effects shown in the table often occur during long-term drug treatment, even in people who do not drink alcohol at all. Also, when there are no negative manifestations (for healthy people this is usually normal), taking one of the mentioned antibiotics is not a contraindication. At the same time, it should be remembered 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 is alcohol allowed to drink without special restrictions
So, you stopped taking an antibiotic and you wonder: after what time is it allowed to drink without fear? Primary excretion of most drugs is complete after one day (18-24 hours). When this period has passed, in principle, it is not dangerous to take a little on the chest. Antibiotics are completely eliminated from the body after 14 days. In other words, in the absence of other contraindications, it is after 2 weeks that it is possible to try to catch up.
Another question is also important: how long should you abstain before taking antibacterial drugs? When it comes to a non-acute disease, it is better to wait 4 days, in an emergency one day is enough.
If we are talking about antibiotics belonging to the group of tetracyclines, the patient must wait at least 72 hours.