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 several drugs commonly 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 take to wait after antibiotic treatment before drinking wine, vodka or even beer? Read more about it.
Antibiotic - what is this medicine
There are several main types of antibiotics. The simplest ones are made from organic raw materials, others are purely synthetic, and still others are some sort of in-between 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 don't work on viruses (even like the flu).
Antibiotics are available in several forms:
- capsules;
- pills;
- ointments;
- injection liquids;
- syrups.
Regardless, 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 falls ill, the main task of doctors is to ensure their speedy recovery. For this, in addition to medications, the following can be prescribed:
- diets;
- physiotherapy;
- several additional procedures.
At the same time, the physician is obliged to minimize the effect of any negative factors potentially capable of delaying the treatment, reducing its effectiveness or causing 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 don't work very well on internal organs. For this reason, your dosage and duration of administration are determined as accurately as possible. Alcohol, taken by mouth, has a negative effect on the liver and kidneys, even in a completely healthy person. Thus, combined with a pathogenic agent and antibiotics, it extremely overloads the aforementioned organs and increases intoxication.
Even when the course is completed, it is not worth rushing to catch up - doctors advise to wait a certain time. So, 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.
Which antibiotics cannot be combined with alcohol
There are many varieties of drugs, in the process of ingestion it is absolutely impossible to drink alcohol.
Thus, nitroimidazoles are incompatible with alcohol. Its combination with ethanol causes a disulfiram-like reaction, an acute intoxication used in coding people who want to stop drinking.
In this situation, it is best to start drinking alcohol at least two days after finishing the course.
The next group is fluoroquinolones. Here alcohol is allowed after 3 days. Drugs 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 taking cephalosporins should give up the idea of drinking alcohol during their cycle. It is necessary to wait at least one day after its completion. If there is any renal pathology, 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. Drinking alcohol is better to postpone for 4 days.
Aminoglycosides are another very toxic group of antibiotics. They harm the kidneys and 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 central nervous system. They can cause a disulfiram-like reaction. Drink alcohol not earlier than 4 days.
All macrolides increase the risk of developing liver cirrhosis. 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 consumed exclusively by suicides.
How long the antibiotic can last after completing the course
Scientists have determined how much specific antibiotic metabolites spare activity in the body. If we are talking about simple medicines, the period is 3 days. In the case of extended - of 2 or more weeks.
Several other factors also affect the duration of alcohol withdrawal:
- duration of the course;
- 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 comprehensive consultation with a doctor.
What happens if you drink an antibiotic with alcohol
Alcohol in the process of taking antibiotics can cause 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 disease transitioning to a chronic form. Even because of the small amount of alcohol, the antibiotic is absorbed more quickly and does not reach the infected area.
Alcohol with the drug in question often causes the blood to clot, and this, in turn, is fraught with heart attacks or strokes. At best, existing diseases 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. Nor should we forget the negative effect of ethanol itself on these organs.
There is also an added risk of allergies. In simple cases, the patient will come out with a rash and itching, and in complex cases, Quincke's edema or even anaphylactic shock may occur.
When Can You Drink Alcohol Immediately After Antibiotics?
There are several drugs with which the use of ethanol is allowed. The foregoing cannot be considered as permission to drink pills 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;
- various glycopeptides;
- ansamycins and others.
Keep in mind that if you need to drink any of the antibiotics mentioned above, don't forget about the likelihood of an individual reaction to the combination with alcohol.
admission rules
Antibiotics must be taken correctly - only in this case they will have the proper 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 cool, unsweetened drinks (preferably water);
- during treatment, you must 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 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 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 lies somewhere in the middle - it all depends on the general condition of the patient and the type of drug prescribed to him. What effect does alcohol have on the body if you drink it with antibiotics? We'll talk about that later.
How strong alcohol interacts with antibiotics
Only a naive person will ask doctors which 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 to his feet as quickly as possible.
Why can't you take antibiotics and drink alcohol at the same time? Doctors note that after taking antibacterial drugs (oral only), their breakdown 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 got there as a result of alcohol consumption. If you mix alcohol and drugs, the load increases by about half - this leads to accelerated wear and tear of the liver.
Also, when taking antibiotics, make sure you drink plenty of water, this allows you to speed up the withdrawal process. The same is true for treating alcohol intoxication. Excess moisture increases the load on the kidneys, which is also not good.
At the same time, alcohol somehow alters the intensity and quality of metabolism. Here it is impossible to predict what its influence will be. If a person mixes drugs and ethanol, as a result, the former can act too weak or too strong.
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.
So, if you drink the drugs in question, 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, certain difficulties arise with weak alcohol. Many patients are sure that you can drink the latter even when taking antibiotics, believing that the strength of the negative impact depends only on the strength of the alcohol.
In fact, this is an illusion. Both vodka and wine contain ethyl alcohol, which in both cases works in the same way. In addition, the volume of light alcohol ingested is usually greater than in the case of strong alcohol, meaning that as a result, we all have an increased load on the liver and kidneys.
Combining 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 antibiotics and alcohol is intoxication. The severity of the latter may be different. In general, healthy people usually have mild symptoms, while people with chronic illnesses often have the opposite. In all cases, poisoning is accompanied by:
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- loss of coordination;
- vomiting;
- diarrhea
- migraines;
- hyperthermia;
- convulsions;
- faint.
In serious situations, a person is hospitalized urgently.
Definitely, it will not be possible to avoid unpleasant consequences if combined with alcohol:
- Tetracyclines and almost every drug in this series;
- Cephalosporins;
- Nitroimidazoles.
These antibiotics interact quite actively with ethanol, even if they are not interfered with, but taken with an interval of 6 or 8 hours. As a result, a reaction called disulfiram-like starts in the body. Simply put, there are signs of severe intoxication.
In normal cases, this effect helps to code people who stop drinking, but here the process is controlled by narcologists, and if the state of health deteriorates excessively, the patient is immediately stabilized with medication. At home, it is impossible to provide adequate care - therefore, alcohol should not be mixed with the aforementioned drugs.
These drugs cannot be combined with any other chemicals. 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.
Conditionally compatible antibiotics with alcohol
What drugs can be combined with alcoholic beverages? It all depends on your inherent pharmacodynamics.
Here, a factor such as the drug's half-life and the length of time its metabolites remain in the body are important. If these indicators do not change significantly when drinking alcohol, then you can take antibiotics and not refuse to drink alcohol.
Drink ethanol in small amounts without fear when it comes to penicillin-related drugs.
How much is allowed to drink? If we are talking about vodka, the dose is about 50 ml. Dry wine cannot exceed 150 ml, and dessert - 100.
The types of antibiotics that are not mixed with alcohol are shown in the table:
| Group | It is made |
|---|---|
| lincomycins | CNS damage |
| macrolides | Strong negative effect on the liver |
The effects listed in the table often occur during long-term drug treatment, even in people who do not drink alcohol. Also, when there are no negative manifestations (for healthy people this is usually normal), taking any of the aforementioned antibiotics is not a contraindication. At the same time, it is worth remembering that it is best not to mix the drugs listed in the table with alcohol if you want to recover faster.
After how many days is it allowed to drink alcohol without special restrictions
So, you stopped taking an antibiotic and you're wondering: after how long is it allowed to drink without fear? Primary excretion of most drugs is completed within one day (18-24 hours). When this period ends, 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 it comes to a non-acute illness, it is better to wait 4 days, in cases of 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.