Alcohol in general has a strong negative effect on the body. If it is used immediately after the antibiotic is finished, then the risk of problems increases significantly. Of course, in some cases the danger will be minimal, but a number of drugs 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 the therapy 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? Read more about this.
Antibiotic - what is this drug
There are several main types of antibiotics. The simplest 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 slow down the development of pathogenic microflora, suppress it and destroy it.
The drugs in question can only be used for infections of a bacterial nature - they do not work at all on viruses (even such as the flu).
Antibiotics are available in various forms:
- capsules;
- pills;
- ointments;
- liquids for injection;
- syrups.
Regardless of this, the drugs work the same way. Moreover, even when it comes to external means, the main substance still penetrates 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 medicines, the following can be prescribed:
- diets;
- physiotherapy;
- various additional procedures.
In parallel, the doctor is obliged to minimize the effect of any negative factors potentially capable of delaying treatment, reducing its effectiveness or provoking complications. It is for this purpose that experts recommend refraining from drinking alcohol.
Any disease in itself is a strong burden on the immune system. Moreover, many antibacterial drugs do not work very well on the internal organs. For this reason, their dosage and duration of administration is determined as accurately as possible. Alcohol, taken orally, has a negative effect on the liver and kidneys of even a completely healthy person. Accordingly, coupled with a pathogenic agent and antibiotics, it extremely overloads the mentioned organs and increases intoxication.
Even when the course is completed, it is not worth rushing to catch up - doctors advise waiting a certain time. So, in the case of acceptance:
- it is permissible 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 quite a lot of 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 provokes a disulfiram-like reaction, an acute intoxication used in coding 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 fluoroquinolones. Here alcohol is allowed after 3 days. The drugs already have an overwhelming effect on the central nervous system, and together with alcohol can lead to the development of severe side effects (of which the worst 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 any renal pathology, then 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.
Aminoglycosides are another rather toxic group of antibiotics. They harm both the kidneys and the liver. After treatment with these drugs, you can not drink alcohol for about 15 days.
Lincosamides (even when they are taken according to the system developed by the doctor) have a negative effect on the liver and central nervous system. They can provoke 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 need to wait? The recommended period of abstinence is 5 days.
Antibiotics that help get rid of tuberculosis are usually taken for a long time. They have a side effect - reactive drug-induced hepatitis. When it comes to such drugs, alcohol is drunk exclusively by suicides.
How long the antibiotic can last after the course is completed
Scientists have determined how much specific antibiotic metabolites save activity in the body. If we are talking about simple drugs, then the period is 3 days. In the case of prolonged - from 2 or more weeks.
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 better to get a comprehensive consultation with a doctor.
What happens if you drink an antibiotic with alcohol
Alcohol in the process of taking antibiotics can cause a lot of 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 transition of the disease into a chronic form. Even because of the small amount of alcohol, the antibiotic is absorbed faster and does not reach the infected area.
Alcohol with the drug in question often provokes blood clotting, and this, in turn, is fraught with heart attacks or strokes. At best, the existing ailments of the cardiovascular system will worsen.
When alcohol is consumed, the concentration of antibiotics decreases. Doctors have to 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 also an additional risk of allergies. In simple cases, the patient will get off with a rash and itching, and in complex cases, Quincke's edema or even anaphylactic shock may develop.
When can you drink alcohol immediately after antibiotics
There are several medicines with which it is permissible to use ethanol. The foregoing cannot be regarded as 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 completed.
These relatively safe drugs include:
- penicillin and its derivatives;
- a number of glycopeptides;
- ansamycins and others.
Keep in mind, if you have to drink any of the antibiotics mentioned above, 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 proper effect. So, in particular:
- the medicine is prescribed exclusively by a doctor;
- he also determines how much it should be consumed and in what doses;
- the drug is washed down with cool and unsweetened drinks (preferably water);
- during treatment, you should follow a diet (fat is prohibited, emphasis on protein foods and long carbohydrates);
- while taking the antibiotic, drink plenty of water;
- even if the symptoms disappeared, continue treatment for a period determined by the physician.
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 sure 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 under any circumstances. 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 along with antibiotics? We will talk about this further.
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 put a person on his feet as quickly as possible.
Why can't you drink antibiotics and drink alcohol at the same time? Doctors note that after taking (only oral) antibacterial drugs, their decay products are utilized by the liver. This organ is generally the main filter that removes toxins, that is, it also cleans the blood from substances that have got 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.
In addition, 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 intoxication. Excess moisture increases the load on the kidneys, which is also not good.
At the same time, alcohol in a certain way changes the intensity and quality of metabolism. Here it is impossible to foresee what its influence will be. If a person mixes drugs and ethanol, then as a result, the former may act either too weakly or too strongly.
At the same time, there are antibiotics that, once in the human body, bind to alcohol, which leads to a greater negative effect on the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract.
Thus, if you drink the drugs in question, then it is worth finding out how they interact with strong alcohol and whether it is permissible in principle to combine them.
Why You Shouldn't 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 last one even while taking antibiotics, believing that the strength of the negative impact depends solely on the strength of the alcohol.
In fact, this is a delusion. Both vodka and wine contain ethyl alcohol, which acts in both cases in the same way. Moreover, the volume of light alcohol drunk is usually larger 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 also dangerous for others, because such 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 may be different. In general, healthy people often have mild symptoms, while chronically ill people often have the opposite. In all cases, poisoning is accompanied by:
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- loss of coordination;
- vomiting;
- diarrhea
- migraines;
- hyperthermia;
- convulsions;
- fainting.
In severe situations, a person is urgently hospitalized.
Definitely it will not be possible to avoid unpleasant consequences if combined with alcohol:
- Tetracyclines and almost all drugs of this series;
- Cephalosporins;
- Nitroimidazoles.
These antibiotics interact quite actively with ethanol, even if they are not interfered with, but taken with a gap 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.
In normal cases, this effect helps to encode people who stop drinking, but here the process is controlled by narcologists, and if the state of health worsens excessively, then the patient is immediately stabilized with medication. At home, it is impossible to provide adequate assistance - that is why alcohol should not be mixed with the drugs mentioned.
These drugs cannot be combined with any other chemicals at all. It is not recommended to mix ethanol with antibacterial drugs that help against tuberculosis and leprosy.
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.
Here such a factor as the half-life of the drug and the length of stay of its metabolites in the body matters. If these indicators do not change significantly when drinking alcohol, then you can take antibiotics and not deny yourself alcohol.
Drink ethanol in small amounts without fear when it comes to drugs related to penicillins.
How much is allowed to drink? If we are talking 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 are not mixed with alcohol are presented in the table:
| Group | Effect |
|---|---|
| Lincomycins | CNS damage |
| macrolides | Strong negative effect on the liver |
The effects indicated in the table often occur during long-term treatment with drugs, even in persons who do not drink alcohol at all. Moreover, when there are no negative manifestations (for healthy people this is generally normal), then taking any of the mentioned 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 is alcohol allowed to drink without special restrictions
So, you have stopped taking an antibiotic and are wondering: after what period of time is it permissible to drink without fear? The primary excretion of most drugs is completed after a day (18-24 hours). When this period is over, in principle, it is 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 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 a non-acute disease is meant, it is better to wait 4 days, in emergency cases a day is enough.
If we are talking about antibiotics belonging to the tetracycline group, then the patient must wait at least 72 hours.