Almost all of us had to deal with diseases that require the use of antibacterial drugs to achieve a therapeutic effect. They are drugs that are aggressive against microflora. Therefore, the question arises about how soon you can drink alcohol after antibiotics, because many people do not want to give up wine, cognac, beer or vodka for a long time.
The question is ambiguous and there is no direct monosyllabic answer. There are different opinions in the media. Some people consider it more correct to give up alcohol during a holiday with a party, based on intuition rather than reliable information from reliable sources. In a company, such a person evokes sympathy and understanding, usually no onedoes not persuade him to drink. However, there are times when someone cites an article in which a doctor explains things in folk that do not always interfere with the healing process.
Why you should not take medicine with alcohol
As you know, there is no smoke where there is no fire. Doctors can scientifically justify the prohibition of the use of antimicrobial substances and the consumption of vodka or beer at the same time. Moreover, they claim that you can take antibiotics after drinking alcohol after a strictly defined period. Experts refer to the following facts:
- at the biochemical level, ethanol significantly reduces the therapeutic effect of antimicrobial agents;
- the combination of alcohol with antibacterial drugs causes toxic damage to liver cells, as well as other internal organs;
- Alcohol consumption weakens the immune system and has a devastating effect on health during drug treatment.very undesirable.
There is a grain of rationality in the above arguments. Biochemical processes occurring in the body are extremely complex and balanced, therefore saturation of the tissues of internal organs with a biologically active compound such as ethyl alcohol cannot affect metabolism. Alcohol can actually significantly reduce the therapeutic effect of drugs. It either destroys the atomic structure of the active substance or prevents the drug from reacting with the proteins of pathogenic microorganisms. In addition, alcohol can cause rapid elimination or make it difficult to absorb drugs. That's how it happensdecrease in the effectiveness of therapy, or develop unwanted side symptoms.
Effects on liver function and condition
Scientific studies and the experience of clinical medicine confirm the destructive effect on the liver of the combination of antimicrobial drugs with alcoholic beverages. Therefore, the instructions for the use of drugs indicate contraindications and side effects for this extremely important organ. There are not many drugs for patients with chronic liver diseases. If you combine antimicrobial drugs and alcohol, the negative effect will be doubled. How soon should you drink alcohol after a course of antibiotics?depends on the general conditionbody and its ability to recover.
Under the influence of enzymes, ethanol breaks down into water and carbon dioxide, but not immediately, passing through the intermediate stage of the formation of an extremely toxic compound - acetaldehyde, which is a tissue poison. The faster alcohol breaks down, the less harmful it is to the body. However, with the simultaneous presence of antimicrobial drugs in the tissues of internal organs, the catabolism of alcohol is significantly slowed down due to the inhibition of the production of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which is necessary to complete the reaction of breaking down ethanol into simple compounds. .
Ethanol does not directly interact with antibiotics
To find out how alcohol affects the medicine, as well as how many days after finishing the course of antibiotics you can drink alcohol,laboratory experience. First, scientists conducted experiments on animals, and then invited volunteers who were asked to undergo a therapeutic course using antibacterial drugs. Participants were equally divided into two groups. During the experiment, representatives of the first group were offered alcoholic beverages, but not the second group. The main goal that the organizers tried to achieve was to determine the effect of ethanol on the biological activity of drugs.
The results of the experiment showed that most antibacterial drugs have a slight interaction with ethyl alcohol or not at all - this practically did not reduce the effectiveness of the drugs used. After studying and comparing the results of antibacterial drug treatment between the two groups, a similar conclusion was reached. They turned out to be the same. The difference did not exceed the permissible error. Absorption, distribution in the tissues of internal organs, as well as the rate of excretion of active substances.about the same.
HoweverIt is impossible to hastily conclude that the simultaneous use of antibiotics and alcohol is completely safe. Experts ask to take into account some nuances:
- the experiment was isolated and not confirmed by other studies, so the safety of the combination of drugs and alcohol should not be insisted on;
- experimental subjects were offered small doses of alcoholic beverages, but moderation in the consumption of vodka and beer is extremely rare in real life;
- The studies were only related to the interaction of drugs with ethanol, the effect of this combination on the state of internal organs has not been studied, so a negative effect cannot be ruled out.
This was the first preliminary step to fully answer the important question of how long can you drink alcohol after a course of antibiotics.no clear results.
Reasons to avoid drinking during treatment
Clinical medicine is right to say that the combination of alcohol and drugs should be avoided. Even if their interactions are not properly studied, there is enough information about ethanol's health effects to draw certain conclusions. It cannot be denied:
- alcohol disrupts metabolic processes when drunk regularly;
- ethanol causes an increase in the level of sugar in the blood;
- alcohol consumption causes physical and nervous exhaustion;
- the risk of an allergic reaction increases exponentially.
Each person has individual characteristics of internal biological processes, so it is possible to predict the reaction of the bodyalmost impossible, but it is unlikely to be positive.
Interaction of alcohol with antimicrobial drugs
According to experience, alcohol-containing beverages do not affect the pharmacological properties of most antimicrobial agents and do not cause significant side effects. However, there are antimicrobial drugs that absolutely cannot be taken with alcoholic beverages, because such a combination leads to really dangerous consequences.
Only a few days laterAfter taking antibiotics, you can drink alcohol, which affects the metabolism. For example, such drugs against fungal infections and analogues require the participation of an enzyme in a biochemical reaction that is also necessary for the breakdown of ethanol. Its supply is limited. When ethanol is consumed in significant doses, a conflict arises. There simply isn't enough enzyme to interact with the drug or react with the ethyl alcohol. In the first case, we will definitely observe a decrease in the therapeutic effectiveness of the drug, as well as possible allergic reactions and increased side effects of the drug. If you do not break down ethanol, then acute intoxication with all the subsequent consequences cannot be avoided. Therefore, you should not take this type of antimicrobial agents at the same time as alcohol.
The main reason for the prohibition of alcohol consumption during antimicrobial therapy is a disulfiram-like reaction. Interference with the catabolism of ethanol in the body leads to the accumulation of the previously mentioned acetaldehyde - acetaldehyde. It is a powerful toxin that has a global negative effect on the body. The most common andunpleasant symptoms of intoxication:
- nausea with vomiting attacks;
- upset stomach;
- acute headache;
- profuse sweating;
- general weakness, dizziness;
- tachycardia;
- pressure increase.
Agree that this physical condition most clearly proves the thesis that antibiotics should be used after a course of alcohol a few days later, so that ethanol and its toxic decomposition products have time to leave the body naturally.
By the way, the disulfiram-like reaction is so called because of disulfiram, a drug for therapy that prohibits drugs for chronic alcoholism. Its use forces alcoholics to refrain from drinking alcohol due to the fear of developing panic attacksacute intoxication. The drug is injected (implanted) into the subcutaneous layer, from where it gradually enters the body and blocks the production of the enzyme responsible for breaking down ethanol.
What complications can be expected
How long it takes to drink alcohol again after a course of antibiotics depends on the antimicrobial drug (its absorption and elimination rate), as well as the individual characteristics of a person's metabolism.
Doctors emphasize that the prohibition does not apply only to a glass of cognac or vodka. You need to forget about wine, beer, soft drinks. Moreover, ethyl alcohol is often found in other foods as well as medicines, so you should pay attention to this aspect.
You may often hear that someone you know has consumed alcohol and taken antimicrobials with no ill effects. But no one knows what happened to this man's body,how effectiveIt became known how long the treatment lasted and how is his health now. At the same time, in the practice of clinical medicine, many cases have been recorded where people did not follow the recommendation of how much alcohol to drink after antibiotics, but drank during treatment and became victims as a result:
- violationsliver function;
- anaphylactic shock;
- disorders in the work of the brain and the central nervous system in general (severe headaches accompanied by dizziness, nausea with vomiting, convulsive attacks);
- gastrointestinal diseases;
- sleep disorders;
- high blood pressure;
- adverse skin reactions (dermatitis);
- heart rhythm disturbance;
Our natural filter, the liver, suffers the most. Despite its ability to renew cells, it has such a negative effect that it eventually loses its functionality.
The last word in the debate about the combination of alcohol and antibiotics
After completing the drug treatment, you should wait a few days before drinking alcohol. This is due to the removal of the products of drug catabolism from the body, which takes some time. All drugs have different times to reach the maximum concentration in the blood and to be eliminated. It always isspecified in the instructions.
It is not recommended to consume alcoholic beverages at the same time not only with antimicrobial agents, but also with other drugs. However, antimicrobial drugs are one of the few types that are strictly prohibited. If you are going to undergo a course of drug treatment, be sure to ask your doctor how long you can drink alcohol after taking antibiotics.
Despite the division of expert opinion on the inadmissibility of simultaneous use of alcoholic beverages and antibacterial drugs (with the exception of these drugs)the limitations are clear), most doctors tend to conclude that it is better for patients to stop drinking alcohol during treatment.
In any case, alcoholic beverages, even if the risk seems insignificant, are far from being a product worth risking your health for. If you become an avid hunter for 2 weeks, nothing bad will happen. Even a healthy person's body adapts to alcohol consumption over time. Long-term use of alcoholic beverages leads to the development of a large number of different somatic and mental disorders. If a person does not give up alcohol during illness, then we can say with certainty that it is physical and mentaldegradation will accelerateduring this time. Even if you can drink alcohol at the same time as taking medicine, you still should not do it. Ethanol is a poison, but it is impossible to count how much vodka has ruined its fate