Alcohol usually has a strong negative effect on the body. Using it immediately after stopping antibiotic treatment significantly increases the risk of problems. Of course, in some cases the risk will be minimal, but many medications, usually prescribed for serious illnesses, are categorically incompatible with alcohol.
During antibiotic therapy, doctors recommend that you refrain 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 reduced or minimized. Maybe the development of side effects and complications.
How long do I have to wait after antibiotic treatment before drinking wine, vodka or even beer? Read more about this.
Antibiotic - what is this drug
There are several main types of antibiotics. The simplest are made from organic ingredients, others are purely synthetic, and still others are some intermediate solution. Regardless of the group, each drug helps to slow down the development of the pathogenic microflora, suppresses and destroys it.
The medicines in question can only be used for infections of bacterial origin - they have no effect at all on viruses (even influenza, for example).
Antibiotics are available in different forms:
- capsules;
- tablets;
- ointments;
- Liquids for injection;
- syrups.
Regardless, drugs work the same way. Moreover, even when it comes to external devices, the main substance still penetrates the blood.
Can I drink alcohol after finishing my antibiotic treatment?
When a person becomes ill, the main task of doctors is to ensure a speedy recovery. In addition to medicines, the following may be prescribed for this purpose:
- diets;
- physiotherapy;
- various additional procedures.
In parallel, the physician should minimize the effects of any adverse factors that could potentially delay treatment, reduce its effectiveness, or cause complications. To this end, experts recommend abstaining from alcohol consumption.
Each disease alone puts a heavy strain on the immune system. Moreover, many antibacterial drugs do not have much effect on the internal organs. For this reason, their dosage and duration of administration should be determined as accurately as possible. Alcohol consumed orally has a negative effect on the liver and kidneys of even a completely healthy person. Accordingly, coupled with pathogens and antibiotics, it overloads these organs to an extreme extent, increasing toxicity.
Even after completing the course, it’s not worth rushing to catch up - doctors advise you to wait a while. So in case of acceptance:
- after at least 3 (preferably 5) days, the use of conventional antibiotics is allowed;
- long-acting drugs - wait at least 3 weeks.
What antibiotics should not be combined with alcohol
There are a wide variety of medications that make it completely impossible to drink alcohol.
Thus, nitroimidazoles are not compatible with alcohol. Their combination with ethanol elicits a disulfiram-like reaction, an acute poisoning used to encode people who stop drinking.
In this situation, it is better to start consuming alcoholic beverages at least two days after completing the course.
The next group is fluoroquinolones. Alcohol is allowed here after 3 days. Drugs already have an overwhelming effect on the central nervous system and, together with alcohol, can lead to serious side effects (the worst of which is coma).
Those taking cephalosporins should stop thinking about alcohol during their cycle. You must wait at least one day after finishing. If you have any kidney pathology, you can rest after 3 days at the earliest.
Taking tetracyclines is very painful for the liver. These drugs are excreted from the body for a long time. It is better to postpone alcohol consumption for 4 days.
Aminoglycosides are another rather toxic group of antibiotics. They also damage the kidneys and liver. You should not drink alcohol for about 15 days after treatment with these medicines.
Lincosamides (even if taken according to a system developed by your doctor) have a negative effect on the liver and central nervous system. They can cause a disulfiram-like reaction. Drink alcohol at the earliest after 4 days.
All macrolides increase the risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver. They are poorly excreted from the body. How long to wait? The recommended duration of abstinence is 5 days.
Antibiotics that help get rid of tuberculosis are usually taken for a long time. They have side effects - reactive drug-induced hepatitis. When it comes to such drugs, alcohol is drunk exclusively by suicides.
How long can the antibiotic last after the course of treatment
Scientists have determined how many specific antibiotic metabolites save activity in the body. If we are talking about simple drugs, the duration is 3 days. Long lasting - from 2 or more weeks.
There are several other factors that affect the duration of alcohol abstinence:
- course duration;
- drug compatibility with ethanol;
- presence of direct contraindications.
It is impossible to determine for yourself how long to wait before drinking alcohol. For this reason, it is better to seek a comprehensive consultation with a doctor.
What happens if you drink antibiotics with alcohol
Alcohol can cause many unwanted complications in the process of taking antibiotics. First, ethanol is guaranteed to weaken the efficacy of the drug, leading to the development of resistance in the pathogenic strain.
It is impossible not to talk about the possibility of the disease transitioning to a chronic form. The antibiotic is absorbed faster due to the small amount of alcohol and does not reach the infected area.
Alcohol consumed with the drug in question often causes blood clotting, which in turn can lead to heart attacks or strokes. At best, existing diseases of the cardiovascular system get worse.
Concentration of antibiotics decreases with alcohol consumption. Doctors need to increase the dose of the latter, which increases the strain on the kidneys and liver. Nor should we forget the negative effects of ethanol itself on these organs.
There is an additional risk of allergies. In simple cases, the patient descends with a rash and itching, in complex cases, Quincke's edema or even anaphylactic shock may develop.
When to drink alcohol immediately after antibiotics
The use of ethanol is permitted with many drugs. The foregoing shall not be construed as authorizing the direct consumption of the tablets with alcohol. You should wait at least 3-6 hours, but it would be better to leave the idea of breastfeeding until treatment is complete.
These relatively safe drugs include:
- penicillin and its derivatives;
- several glycopeptides;
- ansamycins and others.
Remember that if you need to drink any of the antibiotics mentioned above, do not forget the possibility of an individual reaction to their combination with alcohol.
Admission rules
Antibiotics should be taken correctly - only then will they work properly. So in particular:
- the medicine is prescribed by a doctor only;
- it also determines how much and in what doses to consume;
- wash the medicine with cold and unsweetened drinks (preferably water);
- you should follow a diet during treatment (fat is forbidden, focus on protein foods and long carbs);
- drink plenty of water while taking the antibiotic;
- even if the symptoms disappear, continue treatment for as long as your doctor prescribes it.
Can I drink alcohol while taking antibiotics?
Practice shows that many people do not know whether the combination of alcohol and antibiotics is allowed. Some people are sure that drinking alcohol is not dangerous if you do it a few hours after taking the drug. Others are convinced that it should not be mixed under any circumstances. In reality, the truth is somewhere in the middle - it all depends on the general condition of the patient and the type of medication prescribed. How does alcohol affect your body if you drink it with antibiotics? We'll talk more about that.
How strong alcohol interacts with antibiotics
Only one naive person asks doctors what antibiotics can be combined with alcohol. It will surely be said that taking them in parallel is definitely a big mistake. In fact, they are right, because the main task for them is to get them back on their feet as quickly as possible.
Why can't you drink antibiotics and alcohol at the same time? Doctors note that after taking (oral only) antibacterial drugs, their breakdown products are utilized by the liver. This organ is usually the main filter that removes toxins, meaning it also cleanses the blood of substances that get there as a result of alcohol consumption. If you mix alcohol and drugs, the load will increase by about half - leading to accelerated liver wear.
Also, when taking antibiotics, be sure to drink plenty of water, this will allow you to speed up the withdrawal process. The same is true for treating alcohol poisoning. Excess moisture increases the load on the kidneys, which is also not good.
However, alcohol changes the intensity and quality of metabolism in some ways. Here it is impossible to predict what effect it will have. If a person mixes drugs and ethanol, the former may be too weak or too strong.
However, there are antibiotics that enter the human body that bind to alcohol, which has a greater negative effect on the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract.
Thus, if you are consuming the drugs in question, it is worthwhile to find out how they interact with strong alcohol and whether their combination is allowed in principle.
Why not drink alcohol
If everything is more or less clear with strong alcohol, there are some difficulties with weak alcohol. Many patients are confident that they can drink the latter even while taking antibiotics, as the strength of the negative effect depends solely on the strength of the alcohol.
In fact, it's a delusion. Both vodka and wine contain ethyl alcohol, which has the same effect in both cases. Moreover, the amount of mild alcohol consumed is usually greater than that of strong alcohols, meaning that they all increase the strain on the liver and kidneys.
The combination of weak alcohol and antibiotics is also dangerous for others, as 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 antibiotics with alcohol - the likely consequences
The main consequence of people consuming both antibiotics and alcohol is poisoning. The severity of the latter may vary. In general, mild symptoms often occur in healthy people, while the opposite is common in chronic patients. Poisoning is always accompanied by:
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- loss of coordination;
- What number;
- diarrhea
- migraine;
- hyperthermia;
- convulsions;
- faint.
In severe situations, a person should be taken to a hospital urgently.
Unpleasant consequences can definitely not be avoided when combined with alcohol:
- Almost all drugs of tetracycline and this series;
- cephalosporins;
- Nitroimidazoles.
These antibiotics interact quite actively with ethanol, even if they are not disturbed, but are taken with a break of 6 or 8 hours. As a result, a disulfiram-like reaction begins in the body. Simply put, there are signs of severe poisoning.
Normally, this effect helps to codify those who stop drinking, but here the process is controlled by narcologists, and if the health condition deteriorates excessively, the patient is immediately stabilized with medication. It is not possible to provide adequate help at home - that is why alcohol should not be mixed with these substances.
These medicines should not be combined with any other chemicals at all. It is not recommended to mix ethanol with antibacterial agents that help fight tuberculosis and leprosy.
Never drink alcohol if your doctor has prescribed sulfonamides.
Antibiotics are conditionally compatible with alcohol
What medications can be combined with alcoholic beverages? It all depends on their inherent pharmacodynamics.
Factors such as the half-life of the drug and the residence time of its metabolites in the body are considered here. If these indicators do not change significantly during alcohol consumption, you can take antibiotics and not deny yourself alcohol.
Drink small amounts of ethanol without fear when it comes to penicillin-related medications.
How much to drink? If we are talking about vodka, the dose is about 50 ml. A maximum of 150 ml of dry wine and 100 ml of dessert is permitted.
The types of antibiotics not mixed with alcohol are listed in the table:
| Group | Effect |
|---|---|
| Lincomycins | CNS damage |
| Macrolides | Strong negative effect on the liver |
The effects listed in the table often occur during long-term medication, even in people who do not consume alcohol at all. Moreover, if there are no negative manifestations (this is usually normal in healthy people), taking any of these antibiotics is not a contraindication. However, it is worth noting that it is better not to mix the medications listed in the table with alcohol if you want to heal faster.
After how many days you can drink alcohol without any special restrictions
So you stopped taking the antibiotic and wonder, after how long you should drink without fear? The primary excretion of most drugs is complete after one day (18-24 hours). At the end of this period, 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, you can try to catch up after 2 weeks.
Another question is important: how long should you stay before taking antibacterial medications? If it is not an acute illness, it is better to wait 4 days, in urgent cases one day is enough.
If we are talking about antibiotics belonging to the tetracycline group, the patient must wait at least 72 hours.