Can alcohol and antibiotics be used together?Even doctors don't have a definite answer to this popular question.While some people are adamantly opposed to this duet, others believe it's important to consider what kind of alcohol you drink and how much you drink.A third view is that by dealing with the problem wisely, you can successfully undergo treatment while remaining socially active.
Is it really necessary to take antibiotics while giving up alcohol?Let's clear this up.
A lot depends on the active ingredient of the drug.Some types of antibiotics are not friendly to alcohol at all, while others interact normally.Of course, after reading this article, you should not mix alcohol with drugs.However, knowing certain things will help you not to panic if you are still drinking for some reason during antibiotic treatment, but to understand the problem wisely.
Antibiotics and Alcohol: Myths and Legends
One version of the horror story about not combining alcohol with antibiotics began to circulate after the war.The first legend states that during this period, venereal disease clinics at home and abroad were overcrowded.These patients are soldiers and officers who have fully experienced the "fun" of martial law.Medical staff deliberately scare patients, talking about the dire consequences of combining alcohol and antibiotics, because after drinking, the patient may indulge in all serious behaviors again, and the result of this "exploitation" is likely to be a new sexually transmitted infection.
Another legend states that due to the difficulty of obtaining penicillin, it was evaporated from the urine of the soldiers being treated.Therefore, soldiers were prohibited from drinking beer during treatment.
The dangers of drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics are in the air, and modern people prefer to avoid this mix.But what does evidence-based medicine say about this?
What does the research show?
At the beginning of the 21st century, people began to study the impact of ethanol on various antibiotics.In experiments on laboratory animals and human volunteers, most types of antibiotics have been shown to be unaffected by alcohol intake.
Therefore, the antibiotics studied were equally effective in the experimental and control groups.No significant deviations in absorption mechanisms, systemic distribution, or elimination of putrefaction products were found.
By the way, there is a hypothesis that drinking alcoholic beverages enhances the adverse effects of antibiotics on the liver.Such cases are rarely described in the medical literature due to their extremely low incidence (up to 10 cases per 100,000 people).At the same time, no additional research in this area has been conducted.Are all fears unfounded?
Which antibiotics cannot be combined with alcohol?
No, this fear is not unfounded: Many antibiotics can produce extremely unpleasant symptoms when in contact with alcohol, the so-called disulfiram-like reaction.This reaction occurs when ethanol chemically reacts with certain antibiotic molecules, causing changes in the metabolism of ethanol in the body.In particular, the intermediate substance acetaldehyde accumulates.Symptoms of poisoning with this substance include:
- severe headache
- nausea and vomiting
- increased heart rate
- Redness and “heat” on the face, neck, and chest
- intermittent heavy breathing
- limb spasm
Drinking alcohol in large doses can be fatal!
These symptoms are very excruciating and often lead to fear of suffocation or death.Disulfiram-like reactions are used clinically to treat alcoholism ("coding").
Antibiotics that may cause the following symptoms:
- Active ingredient metronidazole
- Active ingredient Ketoconazole (for oral thrush, e.g. in suppository form)
- Active ingredient furazolidone (used to treat food poisoning or unexplained diarrhea)
- Active ingredient chloramphenicol (toxic, rarely used: for urinary tract, bile duct infections and some other conditions)
- Active ingredient Cotrimoxazole (can be used to treat respiratory, kidney and ureteral infections, prostatitis)
- Active ingredient Lornoxicam (used to treat bacterial infections of the respiratory tract and ear, nose and throat organs, kidneys, urinary tract, etc.)
- Active ingredient tinidazole (commonly used to treat Helicobacter pylori infection that causes stomach ulcers)
- Active ingredient cefamandole (injection used to treat infections of unknown nature)
- Active ingredient cefoperazone (injection, treatment of respiratory tract, including pneumonia, genitourinary bacterial diseases and other diseases)
- Active ingredient moxifloxacin (broad-spectrum antibiotic, used in serious conditions, including fever, if bacterial infection is suspected)
Be sure to avoid drinking alcohol while taking these medications (oral medications and suppositories or eye drops)!
To make sure that your antibiotic does not fall into the group of medications that are prohibited with alcoholic beverages, talk to your doctor and read the medication instructions carefully.
wise decision
When treating any disease with antibiotics, the body should not be overloaded with alcoholic beverages under any circumstances.After all, like any toxic substance, ethanol needs to be "neutralized" in the body.The body uses extra reserves to fight poisons, often the last poisons, especially if the disease is long-standing.Spending energy cleaning your body can compromise your immune system and significantly prolong recovery time.
In addition, research and medical practice have confirmed that both alcohol and antibiotics have inhibitory effects on the liver.
Although experts disagree on the compatibility of alcoholic beverages and antimicrobial drugs (except for drugs with express restrictions), most tend to believe that alcoholic beverages are best avoided during antibiotic treatment.You should also know: If you do have a glass of wine during treatment, you should not refuse the next dose of antibiotics (of course, if it is a drug that does not have a contraindication to alcohol).