Is it possible to combine alcohol and antibiotics? Even doctors do not give an exact answer to this popular question. And if some are categorically against such duets, others believe that it is important to consider what kind of alcohol you drink and how much. There is also a third opinion that by competently approaching the issue, one can successfully be treated, while maintaining social activity.
Is it really necessary to abstain from alcohol in combination with a course of antibiotics? Let's figure it out.
Much depends on the active substance of the drug. Some types of antibiotics are not friends with alcohol at all, while others can interact normally. Of course, mixing alcohol with pills after reading this article is not worth it. However, knowing certain things will help not to panic, but to correctly understand the issue, if for some reason you still drank alcohol during antibiotic therapy.
Antibiotics and alcohol: myths and legends
There is a version that frightening stories that alcohol and antibiotics should not be combined began to spread after the war. The first legend says that during this period, venereal clinics in our country and abroad were simply overcrowded. Patients are soldiers and officers who have fully tasted the "charms" of martial law. The medical staff deliberately intimidated patients, talking about the dire consequences of the combination of alcohol and antibiotics, because after drinking, the patients could again go into all serious trouble, and the result of such "exploits" could well be a new sexual infection.
Another legend says that due to the laboriousness of obtaining penicillin, it was evaporated 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 mixes. But what does evidence-based medicine think about this?
What do the studies say?
At the beginning of the 21st century, studies were carried out on the effects of ethanol on various types of antibiotics. During experiments on laboratory animals and human volunteers, it was proved that alcohol intake does not affect most types of antibiotics.
So, in the experimental and control groups, the studied antibiotics were equally effective. Significant deviations in the mechanisms of absorption, distribution throughout the body, as well as the excretion of decay products were not identified.
By the way, there is a hypothesis that the intake of alcoholic beverages enhances the adverse effect 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, the exchange of ethyl alcohol in the body changes. In particular, there is an accumulation of an intermediate substance - acetaldehyde. Intoxication with this substance gives the following symptoms:
- severe headache
- nausea and urge to vomit
- 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. Disulfiram-like reaction is used in clinics in the treatment of alcoholism ("coding").
Antibiotics that can cause these symptoms:
- active ingredient metronidazole
- active ingredient ketoconazole (prescribed for thrush, for example, in the form of suppositories)
- active ingredient furazolidone (prescribed for food poisoning or diarrhea of an unspecified nature)
- active substance chloramphenicol (toxic, rarely used: for infections of the urinary tract, bile ducts 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 cefamandol (injections for infections of an unspecified nature)
- active ingredient cefoperazone (available in injections, they treat the respiratory tract, including pneumonia, bacterial diseases of the genitourinary system and other diseases)
- active substance moxifloxacin (broad-spectrum antibiotic, prescribed for severe conditions, including fever, if a bacterial infection is suspected)
During therapy with these drugs (both oral medications and suppositories or eye drops), alcohol should be avoided!
To be sure that your antibiotic is not included in the group of drugs that are forbidden to be combined with alcohol, check with your doctor and carefully read the instructions for the drug.
Rational decision
When treating any disease with antibiotics, in any case, you should not overload your body with alcoholic beverages. After all, like any toxic substance, ethanol requires "neutralization" in the body. To fight the poison, the body throws additional reserves, often the last ones, especially if the disease is protracted. Spending energy on cleansing the body can damage the immune system and significantly increase the recovery period.
In addition, studies and medical practice confirm that both alcohol and antibiotics have a depressing effect on the liver.
Despite the fact that the opinions of experts regarding the compatibility of alcoholic beverages and antibacterial agents are divided (with the exception of those drugs for which restrictions are categorical), most tend to believe that it is better to refuse alcohol during a course of antibiotic therapy. You should also know: if during therapy you still drank a glass of wine, you should not refuse the next antibiotic (of course, if it is a drug for which there is no contraindication for alcohol).