Everyone knows that it is forbidden to combine alcohol and antibiotics, but few people know when you can drink alcohol after antibiotics. It is not clear how many days should be expected after the last pill of the drug. Many more wonder what will happen if you miss a few glasses during the treatment period or immediately after its completion. With these questions we will try to understand it, for which you will first need to get acquainted with the effect that alcohol and antibiotics have on the body.
Treatment and contraindications for alcohol
Antibiotics are not only very effective drugs, but also dangerous. Their intake must be agreed with the attending physician. The main indicator of the need for their use is the presence of a bacterial infection that the body cannot cope on its own.
If a specialist has prescribed antibiotics, then during such treatment you must adhere to certain rules:
- Strictly adhere to the time and time of taking the drug, which will maintain a constant concentration of certain substances in the blood.
- How long it takes to take medication should be determined by your doctor. The course usually does not exceed 2 weeks, and some drugs are sufficient for use for 3 days.
- It is recommended to drink the antibiotic with clean water without gas.
- You must adhere to proper nutrition during treatment. You should exclude fatty foods and, of course, alcohol intake, even in small amounts.
The latter rule must be taken into account, especially with regard to non-drinking. In addition, it is forbidden to consume alcohol immediately and after a course of treatment for a certain period of time. But why shouldn't alcohol be consumed after antibiotic treatment? When ethanol and its constituents enter the body, they break down into small elements, turning into simple compounds. And some of the molecules of the alcoholic beverage will begin to coincide with the molecules of the drugs, which can cause a serious malfunction in the body.
It has been repeatedly proven that after drinking alcohol the effectiveness of antibacterial drugs is significantly reduced. In addition, such a mixture will put a heavy load on the liver, which reacts adversely not only to the work of this organ, but also to the condition of the body as a whole. Drinking alcohol after antibiotics or during treatment can give an unpredictable reaction to systems and organs.
Possible consequences
As already noted, the consumption of alcohol together or immediately after taking antibacterial drugs affects the whole body, not just its individual area, making it impossible to predict the consequences. However, the most common are the following:
- If you drink alcohol when there are antibiotics in the body, an acute form of allergy can occur.
- A great danger when taking a drug is the exacerbation of intoxication and hangover. Subsequently, the usual amount of drinking can lead to loss of control. At the same time, there is a risk of mental disorder as a result.
- Alcohol after taking antibiotics significantly reduces the medicinal effect of the latter, which may lead to the need to repeat the course of treatment or to increase the dose of drugs, which will also adversely affect the body. In addition, increasing the dose of drugs helps to reduce their effect in the future and thus the adaptation of the infection to the drug. The infection with the weakening of the antibiotic has time to become stronger and more resistant to it. Thus, after a course of antibiotics, the infection will reappear over time and stronger medications will be needed to eliminate it.
- Also possible consequences include such traditional symptoms as: headache, nausea, mental blurring, liver damage and dizziness.
All of the above effects can be avoided if you know when you can drink alcohol after an antibiotic.
What deadlines do you have to meet?
There is no exact statement as to how long it is possible to consume alcoholic beverages after taking antibiotics. For each antibacterial drug is determined individually how many days after treatment you can drink alcohol and this should be determined by your doctor. As a rule, this period is at least 10 days. This is the minimum period during which a person's kidneys and liver return to normal and the intestinal microflora recovers. However, these are general recommendations, it all depends on the characteristics of the organism.
If the patient has chronic kidney or liver disease, then the time after which it is possible to drink alcohol increases slightly. And to avoid mistakes, it is better to consult a specialist on this issue. The longer you do not consume alcoholic beverages after the course of treatment, the better it will be for the body. After all, alcohol does not bring anything useful to the body and even more so during the period of weight loss.
Today, the main contraindications to whether it is possible to drink alcohol during the period of treatment with antibiotics were studied, as well as general conditions regarding abstinence from alcohol that must be observed.
Following these recommendations and rules, it will turn out not only to quickly get rid of the disease with the help of antibiotics, but also not to harm the body. But it is important to remember that taking over-the-counter antibiotics is also prohibited.