Is it possible to combine alcohol and antibiotics? Even doctors do not give an exact answer to this popular question. And while some are adamantly against such duos, others think it's important to think about what alcohol you drink and how much. There is a third opinion that with a competent approach to the problem can be treated successfully while maintaining social activity.
Is it really necessary to abstain from alcohol in combination with a course of antibiotics? Let's find out.
Much depends on the active substance of the drug. Some types of antibiotics are not friends with alcohol at all, while others may interact normally. Of course, mixing alcohol with pills after reading this article is not worth it. However, knowing some things will help you not to panic, but to understand the problem correctly, if for some reason you still drank alcohol during antibiotic therapy.
Antibiotics and alcohol: myths and legends
There is a version that after the war, frightening stories began to spread that alcohol and antibiotics should not be combined. The first legend says that during this period the venereal clinics at home and abroad were simply overcrowded. The patients are soldiers and officers who have fully tasted the "charms" of martial law. Medical staff are particularly intimidated by patients, talking about the terrible consequences of the combination of alcohol and antibiotics, because after drinking patients can get into serious trouble again, and the result of such "feats" can be a new sexually transmitted infection.
Another legend says that due to the complexity of obtaining penicillin, it evaporates from the urine of treated soldiers. For this reason, soldiers were forbidden to drink beer during therapy.
The danger of drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics is in the air and modern people prefer to avoid such mixtures. But what does evidence-based medicine think about that?
What do the studies say?
At the beginning of the 21st century, research was conducted on the effects of ethanol on various types of antibiotics. During experiments on laboratory animals and human volunteers, it was shown that alcohol does not affect most types of antibiotics.
Thus, in the experimental and control groups, the studied antibiotics were equally effective. No significant deviations in the mechanisms of absorption, distribution in the body and excretion of degradation products were found.
By the way, there is a hypothesis that alcohol intake enhances the adverse effects of antibiotics on the liver. In the medical literature, such cases are rarely described due to their rare occurrence (up to 10 cases per 100, 000). At the same time, no further studies have been conducted in this regard. Are all fears unfounded?
What antibiotics can not be combined with alcohol
No, the fears are not unfounded: there are a number of antibiotics that, when in contact with alcohol, give extremely unpleasant symptoms - the so-called disulfiram-like reaction. The reaction occurs during the chemical interaction of ethanol with some specific antibiotic molecules, as a result of which the metabolism of ethyl alcohol in the body changes. In particular, there is an accumulation of an intermediate - acetaldehyde. Intoxication with this substance gives the following symptoms:
- strong headache
- nausea and vomiting
- increased heart rate
- redness of the face, neck, chest area, "heat" in them
- intermittent heavy breathing
- limb cramps
Large doses of alcohol can be fatal!
These symptoms are very difficult to tolerate, often causing fear of suffocation or death. A disulfiram-like reaction is used in clinics to treat alcoholism ("coding").
Antibiotics that may cause the following symptoms:
- active ingredient metronidazole
- active substance ketoconazole (prescribed for thrush, eg in the form of suppositories)
- active ingredient furazolidone (prescribed for food poisoning or diarrhea of unspecified nature)
- active substance chloramphenicol (toxic, rarely used: in urinary tract infections, biliary tract and some other diseases)
- active substance co-trimoxazole (may be prescribed for infections of the respiratory tract, kidneys and ureters, prostatitis)
- active ingredient lornoxicam (used to treat bacterial infections of the respiratory and ENT organs, kidneys, urinary tract, etc. )
- active ingredient tinidazole (often prescribed for infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes stomach ulcers)
- active ingredient cefamandole (injections for unspecified infections)
- active ingredient cefoperazone (available in the form of injections, treat airways, including pneumonia, bacterial diseases of the genitourinary system and other diseases)
- active substance moxifloxacin (a broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribed for severe conditions, including fever if a bacterial infection is suspected)
Alcohol should be avoided during therapy with these drugs (both oral drugs and suppositories or eye drops)!
To make sure that your antibiotic is not included in the group of drugs that are prohibited from being combined with alcohol, consult your doctor and read the instructions for the drug carefully.
Rational decision
When treating any disease with antibiotics, you should never overload your body with alcohol. After all, like any toxic substance, ethanol requires "neutralization" in the body. To fight the poison, the body throws extra reserves, often the latter, especially if the disease is prolonged. Consuming energy to cleanse the body can damage the immune system and significantly increase the recovery period.
In addition, research and medical practice confirm that both alcohol and antibiotics have a depressant effect on the liver.
Despite the fact that experts' opinions on the compatibility of alcoholic beverages and antibacterial agents are divided (except for those drugs for which restrictions are clear), most tend to believe that it is better to give up alcohol during a course ofantibiotic therapy. You should also know: if you still drank a glass of wine during therapy, you should not refuse the next antibiotic (of course, if it is a drug for which there are no contraindications to alcohol).