Everyone knows that under no circumstances should you combine alcoholic beverages and antibiotics, but now the course of treatment has been completed and the last pill has been taken and it is not clear how long it is possible to drink strong alcohol after taking antibiotics? Do I have to wait a few days or can I have a few glasses tonight? To answer this question, you need to understand in more detail how antibacterial drugs and alcoholic beverages act on the body and how long after treatment should pass, so that drinking does not harm health.
How many days after antibiotic treatment can you drink alcohol?
Drugs from this group are prescribed to treat inflammatory diseases that the body cannot cope on its own. Antibiotics attack pathogens, destroying their cellular structure so that the disease recedes and the patient feels better.
However, there is another side to taking antibacterials. As their removal from the body falls entirely on the liver, it must take a significant blow. The experts also showed that in people who consumed alcohol during antibiotic therapy, the effectiveness of treatment was significantly lower than in patients who completely gave up alcohol.
It all depends on the medicine used to treat it. It is best to consult your doctor about this. He will tell you in detail after how long you can return to your normal lifestyle and take alcoholic beverages. If it is not possible to contact a doctor, then you can carefully review the instructions for the drug.
It should be marked there:
- Duration of treatment;
- This medicine is compatible with ethanol;
- The period during which you should not drink alcohol even after the end of therapy.
The ban usually lasts from three to seven days. It all depends on the type of drug and the duration of its elimination from the body.
If the annotation does not contain information about the compatibility of a drug with alcohol at all, this does not mean that you can start drinking immediately after the end of the course of treatment.
In any case, it is recommended to wait at least a day for the residual components of the drug to leave the body.
It is important to remember that even if the instructions for the drug do not mention the interaction with ethyl alcohol, you should still not drink alcohol immediately after antibiotics. This can harm the body, which is still immature after the disease, and cause unwanted side effects.
What antibiotics should never be combined with alcoholic beverages?
Despite all the doctors' prohibitions, some patients treated with antibacterial drugs still manage to drink strong drinks. At the same time, they do not even think about the possible consequences and refer to the fact that all the bans on doctors are nothing more than an unnecessary precaution. In fact, if the concomitant use of alcohol and drugs has not in any way affected the well-being of the patient, it does not mean that everything has passed without a trace for the body.
The components of ethyl alcohol and the drug may not interact directly, but ethanol may significantly reduce the therapeutic properties of the drug and the effectiveness of the treatment. The disease will not go away anywhere and will require an additional course of therapy, which will create a heavy burden on the liver and other organs of the urinary system.There is also a group of antibacterial drugs against which it is strictly forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages. The annotation to these drugs provides information on incompatibility with alcohol, in addition, the patient should be warned about this by the attending physician responsible for prescribing the drug.
Drugs that are completely incompatible with ethyl alcohol include:
- Tetracyclines.They are widely used in medical practice for the treatment of various infectious diseases.
- Chloramphenicol.Drugs in this group can cause serious side effects on their own and taking them with strong drinks can worsen the toxic effect of the drug.
- Lincosamides.Drinking alcohol while taking these antibiotics has a negative effect on the central nervous system and liver.
- Aminoglycosides.Some of the most powerful antibacterial agents that do not work well with other drugs. It is strongly contraindicated to drink strong drinks during treatment with these drugs.
- Cephalosporins.Disulfiram-like reactions may occur due to the concomitant use of these drugs with strong drinks. The person will experience symptoms of severe intoxication, which will lead to a significant deterioration in his health.
- Anti-tuberculosisantibiotics.
- Macrolides.The interaction of these substances with ethanol has a highly toxic effect on the brain and liver.
- Antibioticsused to treat leprosy.
There are some groups of antibacterial drugs, the annotations of which do not show how they interact with ethyl alcohol.
These medicines include:
- Antifungals;
- Penicillin drugs and others.
The fact that the instructions for use do not contain information on the effects of combining these drugs with alcohol does not mean that their combination is permissible. It should be borne in mind that each person's body is unique and someone after a combination of alcohol and antibacterial agents will remain healthy and healthy, and someone will be at great risk.
So, how long after treatment with antibacterial drugs can you afford to drink alcohol? It all depends on the type of antibiotics and the patient's physical condition. If the annotation shows that it is forbidden to drink alcohol while taking the drug, then it is better to wait until the residual components of the drug are completely removed from the body. This usually takes about two weeks, so it is better to wait until the end of this period with strong drinks.
If the instructions for the medicinal product do not indicate the specificity of its interaction with ethanol, it is still better not to drink alcoholic beverages for at least three days after the end of therapy.
If you have any further questions, ask your doctor. He will explain in detail whether it is possible to consume alcohol while taking one or another antibacterial drug and will tell you how long after the end of therapy it is better not to drink alcohol.
Possible consequences of the combination
Drinking alcohol after taking antibiotics can provoke side effects and negative side effects from the body. The fact is that there are a number of antibiotics that can block the breakdown of ethanol in the body. As a result, acetaldehyde ceases to be released from tissues and organs and begins to accumulate in them.
In this case, the body is poisoned and the person experiences painful symptoms of intoxication:
- Nausea and vomiting;
- An unbearable headache that even painkillers can't relieve;
- Dizziness;
- Difficulty breathing;
- Compressive chest pain;
- Redness of the skin;
- Sweating;
- Increase or decrease in blood pressure.
This is far from a complete list of the terrible consequences of combining alcohol and drugs.
It is important to remember that only a few antibiotics have been shown to be incompatible with ethanol in clinical trials to date. The rest are either not yet fully understood or remain in doubt.
In any case, one should know that heavy drinking has a negative effect on the healing process. Ethanol interferes with the normal absorption of drugs and significantly reduces their effectiveness. Therefore, during therapy, you should refuse to drink any type of alcohol, even the weakest.
This will help you avoid unpleasant side effects and maintain good health. After all, no one can say for sure how the simultaneous use of alcohol and antibacterial drugs will affect a person's health.