The use of alcohol and antibiotics: why it is impossible to combine business with pleasure. Can you drink alcohol while taking antibiotics?

Antibiotics and alcohol are absolutely incompatible components, so during treatment it is worth giving up any alcohol. So tell us doctors who prescribe antibacterial drugs for the treatment of diseases. However, there is a lot of content circulating on the net that incompatibility is more of a myth invented for fearful patients. We will figure out whether it is possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics, and what to do in this case.

Why you can not drink during treatment with antibacterial drugs

Antibacterial agents are prescribed by a doctor in order to kill pathogens that a person's own immune system cannot cope with. A person undergoing treatment has serious health problems, which means that a priori he should not aggravate his condition. This means that with any treatment, drinking alcohol until complete recovery is not recommended, otherwise it can provoke negative consequences for the patient. Why can't you drink alcohol with antibiotics?

Antibiotics with alcohol are especially undesirable for several reasons:

1. when drinking alcohol during therapy with antibacterial drugs, the productivity of drugs decreases every day;
2. the use of strong drinks during treatment with antibacterial drugs can exacerbate chronic diseases and provoke allergic reactions, especially if the patient is predisposed to allergies. If you drank alcohol before and it did not cause disturbances, this does not mean that problems will not arise during treatment with antibacterial drugs;
3. with the simultaneous intake of two chemical compounds that are heavy for the body, a huge detoxification burden falls on the liver, which the body may not be able to cope with. The consequences of such an interaction may be unexpected, especially if the patient has liver pathology.

Drinking alcohol with drugs is a huge risk, chemists say. No doctor can know for sure what substance alcohol will turn into if you drink alcohol while taking antibiotics, because this process is influenced by many factors. That is why the instructions for the drugs describe whether it is possible to use this remedy with alcohol, and the warning says: antibiotics should not be combined with alcoholic beverages. Do not think: I will drink only one glass and nothing will happen - even a small amount of alcohol reacts with medicinal substances and can provoke complications.

When can you drink strong drinks after treatment?

When prescribing antibiotics, doctors limit the use of alcohol for the duration of treatment. The patient definitely needs to find out when it is possible to drink alcohol after prescribing antibiotics, since the last pill drunk does not mean at all that the drug will be excreted from the body in a day. Some medications tend to accumulate, so their effect will continue for some time after the end of the actual treatment. As a rule, patients do not delve into these details, but after the completion of treatment, the doctor warns about when it is possible to drink alcohol after taking antibiotics. Several factors influence this:

1. duration of antibiotic therapy;
2. features of the course of the disease;
3. the presence of complications and concomitant diseases in the patient;
4. tolerance to antibiotic therapy;
5. the ability of the drug to cumulation (accumulation);
6. the period of elimination of the drug from the body.

Usually, doctors note that after antibiotics, you can drink alcohol after a week - this is the most common time for the removal of drugs, after how much you can not find traces of them in the blood. This means that they will no longer interact with ethanol. Given that the standard course of antibiotic therapy is ten days, taking into account the week of excretion of drug residues, patients should not drink alcohol for at least seventeen days. With an increase in the period of taking medications, the use of alcohol is postponed for this period, unless there are special instructions from the doctor. Otherwise, the consequences of early drinking can be unpredictable.

What drugs should not be mixed with alcohol?

The ideal treatment option is to refuse to drink alcohol during the entire duration of therapy. But in some cases, the patient violates this recommendation and still drinks alcohol during treatment. Long-term observations of patients who consume strong drinks, as well as a number of medical studies, have made it possible to determine the compatibility of alcohol and antibiotics. Medicines are divided into two large subgroups:

1. those with whom it is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol during treatment;
2. those drugs with which strong drinks can be combined.

In this case, it is worth considering that such a “permission” to mix antibiotics and alcohol is very conditional, because none of the doctors knows what kind of reaction the patient may have to the use of this or that alcoholic beverage. The principle of separation is based not only on a theoretical basis, but also on practical experience based on a study of a large number of people who took drinks with a degree during treatment.
No one knows how a particular organism will behave in this situation, therefore, even in this case, the entire responsibility for one's health lies with the patient, and not a single doctor will say that alcohol can be taken during treatment.
If there is no deterioration in health, then the effect of treatment can easily decrease.

The compatibility table highlights the following drugs with which it is forbidden to take alcohol and antibiotics in any form and quantity:

• a group of tetracyclines - Doxycycline, Oletetrin, Chlortetracycline, Tetracycline;
• Levomycetin - Levomycetin, Chloramphenicol;
• lincosamides - Lincomycin, Clindamycin, Neloren, Dalacin;
• aminoglycosides - Neomycin, Monomycin, Tobramycin, Amikacin;
• cephalosporins - Cefazolin, Cefepime, Cefuroxime, Cefoperazone, Cefalexin;
• macrolides - Azithromycin, Ezithromycin, Hemomycin, Clarithromycin;
• drugs prescribed against tuberculosis - Ethambutol, Isoniazid, Streptomycin, Rifampicin, Cycloserine.

The answer to the question of whether it is possible to drink alcohol while taking this antibiotic is definitely negative. It would be much more correct to refrain from alcohol and find out after how many days you can drink drinks with a degree. As for other drugs that are not included in the list, this does not mean that against their background alcohol is allowed in any doses. There is a so-called concept of therapeutic dose, i.e. safe amount of alcohol. If you drink no more than 50 grams of alcohol per day, then this does not bring negative consequences for the body. After what time you can drink more - tell the doctor.

Consequences of mixing drugs and alcohol

The use of fortified drinks can cause undesirable consequences for the body of the person being treated. This is primarily due to the fact that some drugs can block the breakdown of consumed ethanol. For example, the well-known drug Metronidazole has this property. As a result of its impact, acetaldehyde, instead of being excreted from the body, will accumulate in tissues and organs and have a destructive effect on them. As a result of such a combination of tablets and strong drinks, the body will carry an additional toxic load, which is much harder for hepatocytes (liver cells) to cope with. After alcohol and antibiotics, the liver cannot be quickly restored, since the toxic load doubles.
The inability to remove toxins from the body is accompanied by signs of intoxication, much more painful than a hangover.
Manifestations of intoxication, if you drink antibiotics and strong drinks together, will not keep you waiting. Already after a few hours, the patient may experience sudden attacks of nausea, vomiting, a severe migraine headache, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Alcohol and antibiotics provoke reddish spots on the skin, indicating a violation of blood microcirculation. In patients, cold sweat appears, there is a fluctuation in blood pressure. In especially severe cases, a disulfiram-like reaction may occur - the most severe reaction of the body to the intake of alcohol, which can lead to serious consequences against the background of severe damage to the body. That is why you should not drink alcohol and drugs together.

Given these symptoms, we note that it is absolutely impossible to combine alcohol with antibacterial drugs for those people who suffer from hypertension - any amount of alcohol drunk can provoke a hypertensive crisis. We also note that the method of introducing the drug into the body does not play a role - complications from alcohol intake can also occur with drugs in the form of injections, tablet forms, suppositories or eye drops.

Knowing the negative consequences of the tandem of drugs and alcohol, doctors explain to each patient why antibiotics are incompatible with strong drinks. Modern medical knowledge is increasingly moving not towards the treatment of diseases, but towards the spread of methods for preventing diseases. Therefore, in this case, the prevention of complications in the treatment of antibacterial agents is the responsibility of the patient. It is the patient undergoing antibiotic therapy who should be primarily interested in his recovery. A high level of responsibility for one's health and awareness of why it is impossible to combine medicines and alcohol should become the philosophy of treating a patient in the 21st century

Disputes about the compatibility of alcohol and antibiotics have not ceased for a long time. As a result, the emergence of incorrect judgments that it is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol while taking any antibiotics. In fact, everything is not so unambiguous, although there is still some truth in the widespread opinion.

History of Delusions

According to one version, the legend about the absolute dangers of alcohol appeared in the middle of the twentieth century, but not to increase the effectiveness of treatment, but to prevent infections with sexually transmitted diseases. In other words, to prevent tipsy people from having sex and acquiring new diseases.

Studies on the negative effects of alcohol have shown mixed findings. Experimental animals and people who voluntarily agreed to participate in the experiments experienced the effects of ethanol along with various groups of drugs.

According to the results, it turned out that most antibiotics do not lose or change their properties if they are used at the same time as alcoholic products. Of course, there are exceptions.

However, the vast majority of the group showed no changes in the process of absorption, decay and excretion of substances. Also, there were no negative consequences in the body (except for natural changes).

However, stereotypical thinking had already taken shape, and the harm was considered indisputable, although few people asked why it was impossible to drink alcohol with antibiotics.

Question 1. Loss of therapeutic effect

The most harmless of the effects attributed to this combination is the reduction or complete loss of its medicinal properties by the drug. For the most part, this is not true. More often, the opposite reaction is obtained - alcohol slows down the natural breakdown of substances, which is why the antibiotic can poison the body for longer, without bringing much benefit.

Another thing is the general negative consequences of taking ethanol. Prolonged drinking of alcohol in large doses depletes the body's resources, which can significantly impair the absorption of the antimicrobial agent.

Question 2. A blow to the liver

The liver, being a "built-in filter" in the human body, passes through itself all the harmful substances that enter the body. Antibiotics have a negative effect on it, liver cells are destroyed from alcohol. Thus, their combination can significantly worsen the condition of such an important organ.

With a significant malfunction of the liver, pain is observed, a general deterioration in well-being, yellowing of the mucous membranes, in the end, hepatitis or cirrhosis is not excluded.

In fairness, it should be said that such a terrible effect occurs extremely rarely. According to the study, severe liver complications occur in less than 0.1% of people. If some drugs really have a serious effect, you should not drink alcohol until they are completely withdrawn (the period is indicated in the instructions).

Question 3. Alcohol is contraindicated with all antibiotics

The widespread belief that any antibiotics combined with alcohol can cause negative consequences is incorrect. Many of the antimicrobials prescribed by doctors do not react with ethanol, therefore, do not affect the human body in any way. The instructions for medicines should indicate the prohibition of the use of alcohol-containing products if this could create problems for any organs.

If you still have questions after reading the instructions (for example, a holiday is approaching, and the course of treatment has not yet been completed), you should contact your doctor for detailed explanations.

It is impossible to decide for yourself whether alcohol is acceptable during therapy, given the possible consequences. It is also unacceptable to interrupt during the holiday, in which case the effect of the treatment will definitely disappear.

Question 4. Allergy

Alcohol and antibiotics can also cause an allergic reaction. In this case, it is not at all necessary that the root of the problem may be in ethanol or in the active substance of the drug (the patient should know about this in advance). It is not uncommon for decay products, substances that are formed precisely when taken together, or even dyes in cocktails or capsule shells, to act as an allergen.

According to statistics, allergies are rare. It can be identified by redness (the appearance of red spots), severe itching, irritation in the nose, and other standard symptoms.

Disulfiram-like reaction

Behind such an unusual name lies a negative effect that appears when ethanol is taken simultaneously with those antibiotics with which its use is prohibited.

The essence of the reaction is a change in the assimilation of alcohol, as a result of which acetaldehyde accumulates in the body. Intoxication with this enzyme causes serious harm to humans. Symptoms of poisoning are:

Groups of drugs incompatible with alcohol

As mentioned above, the instructions or a medical professional can give accurate information about a particular drug. Nevertheless, several groups of antibiotics are known, in the treatment of which alcohol is absolutely contraindicated. It depends on the active ingredient. List of substances prohibited for mixing with alcohol and the negative consequences caused:

Other drugs that increase the risk of a disulfiram-like reaction:

• furazolidone;
• levomycetin;
• cefamandol;
• cefoperazone;
• moxalactam.

All data is provided for informational purposes only. In fact, despite the fact that antibiotics and alcohol are not so categorically incompatible, as is widely believed, it is better to refuse alcohol during treatment. It will be much easier for the body to get rid of the disease, and the drugs will not cause any, even theoretical, problems.

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It is known that antibiotics and alcohol are incompatible. Such information is contained in any instruction to

similar drugs. But what happens if you still mix the antibiotic and ethyl alcohol?

Myth of World War II

The real reason for the prohibition of the simultaneous use of alcoholic beverages and antibiotics, probably lies in the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases that hit the fighters of all armies participating in the Second World War.

The medical staff rightly believed that if the still sick patients continued to drink alcohol, the infection would spread further. And after how many days they cease to be contagious, then they did not know for sure.

Effects

The explanation for why you should not drink alcohol with antibiotics is in the possible negative consequences, uncontrollable and unpredictable.

Initially, antibiotics and alcohol interact, as a result of which the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug change: the mechanism of its binding to protein structures is disrupted, and side effects increase.

Alcohol after antibiotics leads to a change in the state of the body, after a few hours (days) you can install:

• decrease in the effectiveness of treatment, i.e. failure to receive the assigned course;
• migraines, dizziness;
• nausea and vomiting;
• increased load on the liver and kidneys;
• collapse, i.e. a sharp drop in blood pressure with a possible loss of consciousness;
• allergic reactions;
• exacerbation of chronic ailments;
• fatal outcome.

Chemical component

Antibiotics and alcohol react chemically. As a result, the medicinal properties of medicines are inhibited. Ethanol is able to change the activity of enzymes, disrupting the usual metabolism of drugs. People who drink alcohol regularly develop tolerance (resistance) to antibiotics.

Such medicines are able to overcome the blood-brain barrier. These drugs penetrate into the brain tissue. Under the influence of ethyl alcohol, biochemical processes change in it, the activity of some areas is inhibited. It is impossible to predict what effect an antibacterial agent will have on altered tissues.

Drinking alcohol leads to a decrease in the activity of biocatalysts, which accelerate the breakdown of antibiotics, which slows down the action of drugs and increases their toxicity.

Alcohol is incompatible not only with antibiotics, but also with sedatives, hypnotics and antiviral drugs.

hangover syndrome

Combining alcohol and any antibiotics means going through the strongest hangover syndrome. Such drugs slow down the formation of acetic acid. Due to this, the time for the withdrawal of alcohol from the blood increases. He lingers there, prolonging the state of intoxication, intensifying the hangover syndrome.

After ethyl alcohol enters the stomach, the body begins to produce a special enzyme that promotes the removal of metabolic products. The drugs of the described group block the synthesis of this compound, which provokes the accumulation of acetaldehyde (poison, the composition of which can be compared with the composition of formaldehyde used in embalming), i.e. a disulfiram-like reaction occurs. The consequences of toxic shock in this case:

• chills turning into fever;
• a sharp drop in blood pressure;
• vomit;
• suffocation;
• convulsions.

Such manifestations are possible after contact of medicines with the mucous membranes of a person who is intoxicated. After taking alcohol, antibacterial drugs of any form of release become potentially dangerous: injections, drops, suppositories, tablets.

It's a question of time

How many days can I drink alcohol after taking antibiotics? After complete withdrawal of drugs. The required time for the complete metabolism of drugs is at least 3 days after the end of the course. If this period has passed, you can drink alcohol-containing drinks.

Compatibility

The myth that it is not allowed to drink alcohol after antibiotics is only partially true. At the beginning of the 21st century A number of studies have shown that ethanol does not react with all groups of antibiotics.

Part of the medicines of the cephalosporin group includes a methyl-tetrazol-thiol side group, similar to part of the Disulfiram molecule. After contact with ethyl alcohol, side effects typical of the specified composition can be expected from such drugs.

Some drugs - Levomycetin, Biseptol and a number of others - in combination with ethyl alcohol cause almost asymptomatic intoxication.

Compatibility of alcoholic beverages and antibiotics (compatibility table)

Exceptions

You can take alcohol and:

- almost all drugs of the penicillin group, i.e. alcohol and the use of Amoxiclav, Amoxicillin, Ampicillin, Oxacillin, Carbenicillin, Ticarcillin, Azlocillin, Piperacillin are allowed;

– some antifungals, i.e. with ethyl alcohol, you can combine the reception of "Nystatin", "Clotrimazole", "Afobazole";

- mucolytics like Fluditec, Fluifort, Fluimucil;

- new generation broad-spectrum medicines such as Unidox Solutaba, Heliomycin, Levofloxacin, Moxifloxacin, Trovafloxacin, Cefpiroma, Ceftriaxone, Azithromycin.

If alcohol-containing preparations are prescribed simultaneously with antibiotics, they can be combined. There will be so much ethyl alcohol in the prescribed dose that it will not even affect driving, which is indicated in the instructions. It is also necessary to separate the intake of medications. No matter what time the alcohol-containing agent is taken, the use of antibiotics should be postponed for at least 1 hour.

Other

The question of the simultaneous intake of alcohol-containing drinks and antibiotics is not only the consequences of their interaction. But also in the fact that initially such drugs are prescribed during a person’s illness, when his body is weakened and exposed to the negative effects of bacteria.

Alcohol - it will always be stress, a blow to health. And if in order to recover from it, even a healthy person needs some time. A weakened organism during an illness has to fight simultaneously with the enemy, whose appearance is objective (bacteria), and with the danger to which he exposed himself - with ethyl alcohol. Accordingly, the load on the human defenses increases, the effectiveness of treatment decreases, the course of the disease will be delayed, and complications can be expected.

If the duration of the course is not a few days, but a longer time, then it is better to ignore the desire to drink. The duration of treatment means the seriousness of the situation, the severity of the disease and the high likelihood of negative effects of alcohol on health and the effect of medications.

Unfortunately, in Russia there is a stereotype of the disease of a non-drinking person. If you refuse a glass of vodka during the feast, there will always be a person who will ask - "Is it sick?" But few people understand that alcohol is very harmful to the body, and especially during treatment for other diseases. In this article, we will talk about the compatibility of alcoholic beverages and antibiotic therapy. Is it possible to drink during treatment, let's try to figure it out.

Consequences of taking antibiotics in combination with alcohol

Antibiotics are one of the most powerful, effective and efficient groups of drugs that have completely changed science and medicine. A few centuries ago, the average life expectancy of a person was about forty years, and with the introduction of antibiotics to the broad masses, a person began to live much longer. Today, antibiotics are very controversial, many young mothers talk about the horrors and consequences of frequent and prolonged use of this medicine by children. Indeed, like any potent medicine, antibiotics require careful attention and special rules for taking them. And one of them is the refusal of alcohol for the duration of treatment. Otherwise, it can lead to serious consequences.

1. Decreased drug concentration. As you know, the antibiotic does not begin to act immediately, but only after the accumulation of a certain amount of the drug in the body. And alcohol significantly reduces the absorption of the drug into the walls of the stomach and intestines. This means that alcohol simply cancels the effect of antibiotic therapy by reducing the concentration of the drug in the body. Because of this, taking the medicine becomes simply useless, and sometimes dangerous, because the lack of a therapeutic effect leads to the fact that the disease flourishes, the number of bacteria increases. In addition, small doses of an antibiotic lead to the fact that harmful microorganisms develop resistance to this antibiotic, which subsequently becomes ineffective.
Another negative consequence of the combination of alcohol with antibiotics is an extremely high load on the liver. This body is involved in the process of processing ethyl alcohol and neutralizing the products of the intermediate metabolism of drugs. That is, during the period of taking antibiotics, the liver works as actively as possible, in combination with alcohol intake, the load on the organ is high, sometimes the liver may fail.
2. disulfiram-like reaction. Sometimes taking alcohol with an antibiotic ends with a severe reaction in the form of nausea, vomiting, seizures, and feeling unwell. This occurs when certain groups of antibiotics are taken in combination with ethanol. Often such a reaction is used to code a person from drinking alcohol. A special tablet is sewn into the subcutaneous space with a substance that enters the body in equal doses for a long time - several months. If during this period alcohol enters the human body, all of the above symptoms appear. A person develops a strong dislike for alcohol.

In addition, alcoholic products thicken the blood very much, leading to dehydration. How the antibiotic will behave in such conditions is a mystery, because each organism is individual. Sometimes the consequences of such a combination can be dangerous and irreversible. Therefore, drinking alcohol during antibiotic therapy is strictly prohibited. This also applies to soft drinks.

How to take antibiotics correctly

In order for the medicine to benefit, it must be taken according to certain rules. As noted, it is impossible to combine it with alcohol, you need to wait for the complete removal of the drug from the body. This may take from several hours to several days after the last dose of the drug. Here are a few more guidelines to follow when treating with antibiotics.

Antibiotics should be taken at regular intervals, this is very important. If the doctor prescribes injections or tablets twice a day, they must be taken strictly after 12 hours. If a triple dose is prescribed, then you need to take antibiotics every 8 hours - for example, at 6.00, 14.00 and 22.00.

Antibiotics may not work if bacterial resistance to this group of drugs is high. Before starting treatment, ideally, a bacteriological culture should be taken to identify the most sensitive drug in a particular case for a given organism.

Any antibiotics should be taken only as prescribed by a doctor - this is not even worth talking about. Some diseases, with all the severity of symptoms, may not be sensitive to antibiotic therapy, for example, viral diseases.

Before prescribing, be sure to tell your doctor if you have had any previous allergic reactions to medications. You also need to inform your doctor about the medications you take constantly - hormonal contraceptives, blood thinners, antihistamines, etc. Combining certain medications with antibiotics can have unforeseen effects.

Antibiotics should not be taken for less than 5 days, usually the course is about 7-10 days. Even if on the third day of taking the medicine you feel better, you should not cancel it, otherwise the bacteria that are not completely suppressed will begin to multiply again and attack the body. Another consequence of early antibiotic withdrawal is that a given strain of bacteria will become resistant to the antibiotic taken. The next time with a similar disease, this medicine will be powerless.

Take antibiotics exactly as directed, especially with food. As a rule, most of the drugs in this group should be taken after meals with plenty of water. Medicines are not washed down with juice, coffee and milk, their effectiveness may decrease from this.

Antibiotics must certainly be combined with the intake of beneficial bacteria, because antibiotic therapy can completely kill the intestinal microflora, which leads to dysbacteriosis, diarrhea or diarrhea. To avoid this, you need to drink probiotics and prebiotics in parallel.

These are the basic rules for taking antibiotics, which must be strictly observed, regardless of the group of drugs. Sometimes the doctor may not talk about these simple rules, since they should be known to everyone.

When can antibiotics be combined with alcohol?

The first mention of the dangers of alcohol during antibiotic treatment was dated back to the 40s of the last century. During the Second World War, doctors began to actively use penicillin, which was first introduced for the first time, in the treatment of the broad masses. Then the patients were European soldiers who were very fond of drinking beer. And beer, as you know, had a pronounced diuretic effect and simply washed the drug out of the body. Then the doctors decided to "scare" the soldiers and told them about the serious consequences of the combination of treatment and alcohol. The people in white coats were intuitively right and even then protected their patients from problems. Take care of yourself, do not drink alcohol during the treatment period!

Video: is it possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics

Every person faces illness in their life. Many people in the process of treatment have to take antibiotics. The course of such therapy always differs in a certain duration. But what if the holidays are around the corner? It is widely believed in society that the simultaneous use of alcohol and antibiotics is highly undesirable.

Doctors are also warning about this. But why can't you drink alcohol with antibiotics, what will happen in this case? The people have a lot of rumors and myths about such a neighborhood. It's time to figure out what's true and what's fiction.

Certain types of antibiotics should not be taken with alcohol.

Antibiotics are designed to fight pathogenic bacteria. The active components of these drugs penetrate into the cells of microorganisms and destroy their ability to reproduce. Physicians treat the pressing issue of the simultaneous use of an antibiotic and alcohol in different ways.

Doctors explain the ban by the fact that alcohol significantly reduces the therapeutic effect of drugs and increases the load on the liver. But at the moment there are many studies that claim the opposite:

1. The pharmacology of the drug under the influence of alcohol does not change.
2. The work of the liver does not suffer either, the doctors did not reveal an increase in the load on this organ.

Then why is it impossible to combine alcohol and antibiotics if no harm from this symbiosis has been identified? Ethyl alcohol in itself negatively affects the functioning of internal organs, causing intoxication and dehydration. A weakened body does not respond well to treatment - therefore, the effectiveness of therapy decreases.

The main types of antibiotics

Doctors release a number of antibiotics, which, in combination with ethyl alcohol, enter into a disulfiram-like reaction. It is in the treatment of these drugs that the intake of alcohol is strictly contraindicated. The disulfiram-like reaction is based on global intoxication of the body and in severe cases can be fatal.

Debunking the Myths

In modern society, there has long been an opinion about the mandatory complications that a person will visit after drinking alcohol during antibiotic treatment. The main legends are:

1. Alcoholic drinks block the therapeutic effect of the antibiotic.
2. If you take alcohol and medicine at the same time, toxic damage to the liver will occur.
3. Alcohol together with antibiotic drugs several times lowers the effectiveness of the course of therapy.

In fact, all the above dogmas are only partly true. This confirms the results of large-scale studies of the compatibility of drugs and alcohol. Doctors have proven that alcohol consumption does not affect the pharmacological properties of antibiotic drugs.

Alcohol should not be consumed while taking other medications

Ongoing research

In the experiments that began to be carried out at the end of the last century, both volunteers and experimental animals were involved. The results obtained were identical in all groups.

It was found that under the influence of ethyl alcohol, the absorption time of the drug, the processes of removing its residues and the effectiveness of the antibiotic on the body did not undergo significant changes.

1982. Specialists from the Finnish Medical Center conducted a large-scale study among a number of volunteers. According to the data obtained, it was proved that the antibiotics of the penicillin series do not enter into any reaction with ethyl alcohol.

1988. Antibiotics of the amoxicillin group were tested. Spanish doctors have received direct evidence that the effectiveness of this type of antibiotic also does not depend on alcohol intake.

Medications that should not be taken with alcohol

In all cases, the subjects showed only a slight deviation from the normal rate of absorption of the drug in the body. Also, scientists received confirmation that the vast majority of antibiotics do not change their pharmacological properties in any way when taking ethyl alcohol.

Myths: truth and lies

But then why can't you drink alcohol with antibiotics, as many doctors claim? Not all antibiotics are the same in composition and effect. Doctors are guided by the opinion that it is better to choose the lesser of two evils and prohibit such a combination due to the possible development of individual side effects.

Each organism can react in its own way to such a combination, and adverse reactions are not always useful for a therapeutic course. But in order to dot the "and", let's take a closer look at the prevailing opinions.

Alcohol stops the effectiveness of the antibiotic

This statement is false. It has been proven that alcohol does not have any significant effect on the therapeutic effect of antibiotic drugs.

The only exception is the presence of chronic alcoholism in the implementation of therapy. In this case, during the research, scientists noted a violation in the processes of splitting and removing drug residues from the body.

With this pathology, the process of removing drug residues from the body slowed down, and the antibiotic accumulated in the body, provoking the appearance of unwanted symptoms. But alcohol really interferes with the healing process, because alcohol:

• exhausts the entire body;
• interferes with healthy sleep;
• worsens a person's well-being;
• increases the concentration of sugar in the blood;
• interferes with the absorption of nutrients by the body.

That is why doctors do not recommend combining alcohol and antibiotic drugs. And when asked why alcohol should not be consumed while taking antibiotics, they answer that against the background of drinking alcohol, the body's immune system is falling. And when the immune system is depleted, antibiotics become useless.

Alcohol is not compatible with all types of antibiotics

This opinion is also erroneous. Most of the common antibiotic drugs that are most often prescribed to people do not interact with alcohol at all. And this statement originates from historical myths-theories:

1. For the first time, venereologists began to express such an assumption. Experts forbade drinking alcohol in the treatment of diseases due to fear of the spread of infections. As you know, tipsy people have increased sexual desire and desire for intimacy.
2. The assertion originated from the time of the war in the northern regions of Africa. Then penicillin was in great short supply, it was mined and reused from the urine of the wounded. Soldiers during the hostilities often took alcohol on vacation. Alcohol interfered with this process, and doctors forbade drinking it.

The combination of alcohol + antibiotic causes side effects

But this statement is true. True, it does not apply to all antibiotic drugs. In the process of many years of research, doctors compiled a list of antibiotics, which, when combined with alcohol, really had a negative effect on the patient's well-being.

Antibiotics alone should be taken with extreme caution

List of incompatible antibiotics with alcohol

It is the treatment with these antibiotic agents that doctors categorically do not recommend to combine with the intake of alcohol. Moreover, after the end of the course of treatment, you will have to wait at least 3 days so that all the remnants of the medicine can leave the body. So, what applies to these medicines:

Do not forget that ethyl alcohol is found not only in alcohol, but even in harmless antitussive syrup and a number of other medicines. Therefore, when treating with these types of antibiotics, exclude any potential threat of ethanol entering the body. Be sure to study the composition of all additional medicines.

Why are these antibiotics incompatible?

These drugs have a number of active ingredients in the composition. These substances, interacting with ethanol, cause a disulfiram-like reaction. The reason is the presence of specific molecules in the composition of drugs that can affect the metabolic processes of ethyl alcohol.

As a result, the elimination of acetaldehyde (a breakdown product of alcohol) from the body occurs. This substance, accumulating in the internal systems and organs, causes a disulfiram-like reaction, the main symptoms of which are as follows:

• convulsions;
• tachycardia;
• severe head pain;
• nausea and profuse vomiting;
• difficulty breathing, shortness of breath;
• heat and congestion of limbs, neck, chest and face.

This reaction is actively used by doctors for the treatment of chronic alcoholism in order to arouse in the patient an aversion to alcohol. But this therapy can be carried out only under the strict guidance of experienced professionals. After all, a disulfiram-like reaction in severe degrees of its manifestation can lead to cardiac arrest and human death.

What antibiotics can be taken with alcohol

Not all antibiotic drugs have a negative effect in combination with alcohol. "Safe" medicines include the following medicines:

• Cleocin (clindamycin);
• Keflex (cephalexin);
• Zithromax (azithromycin);
• Cipro (ciprofloxacin);
• Avelox (moxifloxacin);
• Levaquin (levofloxacin);
• preparations of the penicillin series;
• Amoxil ("pure" amoxicillin);
• Augmentin (clavulanate + amoxicillin).

A portion of alcohol (only, of course, a small one) will not affect either your well-being or the desired effect of the treatment. But in any case, it is worth remembering about individual reactions. Therefore, in order to avoid unexpected troubles, when carrying out antibiotic treatment, you still should not lean on alcohol, but be patient and exclude any alcohol during therapy. Be careful!