Before prescribing antibiotics for treatment, the doctor warns that it is absolutely impossible to drink alcohol during therapy. But now the necessary course of treatment has been completed, and the question arises as to how long you can drink alcohol after antibiotics.
How many days, maybe hours, should it take for the body to get rid of the remnants of aggressive drugs? Or can you immediately note the successful completion of treatment? The problem is urgent and must be solved.
The essence of the effect of antibiotics
Antibiotics are used to treat many infectious and inflammatory pathologies. With such diseases, aggressive bacteria attack the internal organs, and the body's immune system sometimes cannot fight them on its own.
The action of antibiotics is their effect on the cellular bacterial structure.. This reduces the ability of pathogenic microflora to multiply rapidly and gradually kills the entire colony of pathogenic bacteria.
Antibiotics improve the patient's condition and help him get rid of bacterial diseases quickly.
But antibiotics have another side to the coin: the main burden of removing them from the body falls on the liver. It is the liver organ that cleans the internal organs from the remnants of drug decay.
The liver, which receives the main blow, can no longer cope with the additional load. If you load the body with alcohol at the same time (during antibiotic treatment), you can expect the following:
- Complete disappearance of the expected effect of therapy.
- Appearance of unpleasant symptoms in the form of nausea, profuse vomiting, general weakness. This is the intoxication of the body with antibiotics mixed with alcohol.
- Diseases of the liver (especially if the liver is already weakened). This option is fraught with the development of additional and sometimes life-threatening pathologies.
How exactly the body reacts depends on the degree of aggression of the antibiotic. This nuance will be better explained by the attending physician who prescribes one or the other antibiotic.
Which drugs should not be combined with alcohol?
However, many people, especially non-serious ones, still take risks during antibiotic treatment and take alcohol in their breasts, despite medical bans. People do not think about the possible negative consequences of such neglect of their health.
Even if all goes well and the simultaneous intake of alcohol and antibiotics does not affect your well-being, the use of such a cocktail for the body never goes unnoticed.
The components of ethanol that react with the components of antibiotics can react "slowly". Such effects may suddenly "appear" years after treatment.
There are antibiotics that are completely incompatible with ethanol. They are the ones who cause the most sad and sad consequences after encountering alcohol in the treatment process.. These are the following tools:
- Tetracyclines. Used to treat diagnosed infectious diseases.
- Chloramphenicol. Aggressive antibiotics are noted for their "rich" list of all kinds of side effects. Alcohol greatly increases the manifestation of side effects and intensifies the intoxication of the body.
- Lincosamides. If you combine this series of antibiotics with alcohol, you can pay for the health of the liver and central nervous system.
- Aminoglycosides. They are considered the most powerful drugs. They not only do not combine with alcohol, but also do not tolerate the presence of other drugs in the body. The effects of alcohol during treatment with such drugs can have the most serious health consequences and, in some cases, can lead to heart failure.
- Cephalosporins. Even low-grade alcohol can cause a disulfiram-like reaction with such drugs. A patient who dares to diversify treatment with alcohol and cephalosporins is guaranteed to experience severe intoxication.
- Macrolides. The combination and ingestion of drugs of this antibiotic series have a particularly strong and destructive effect on the state of brain receptors and hepatocytes (liver cells).
Antibiotics used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis are also banned. All strict prohibitions must be mentioned in the annotations of medicines. But manufacturers do not always write about such a taboo. For example, the instructions for the following medications do not say that you will not be able to drink alcohol:
- an antibiotic from the group of ansamycin;
- tricyclic glycopeptide antibiotic;
- an antibiotic for external use produced by a bright fungus;
- antifungal drugs;
- penicillin series antibiotics.
To worry about those who suffer from alcoholism, the fact that there is no ban does not mean that it is possible to combine alcohol and this drug. Remember that man is a unique creation. Someone's body doesn't really "see" any outside alcohol intrusion, and for others it will react with severe poisoning.
When can I drink alcohol after taking antibiotics?
Usually, the period after which you are allowed to drink alcohol after taking antibiotics is indicated in the instructions attached to the drug.. On average, this period is 10-14 days. The doctor may change this time taking into account the following factors:
- A person's weight, structure and age.
- Drug aggression and duration of its application.
- Primary state of the patient's health, the presence of additional chronic diseases.
The rate at which antibiotic residues are eliminated from the body and, accordingly, how long you will not be able to take them after antibiotics depend on this information. If there is nothing about this nuance in the instructions, you should not rush with intoxicating clothes. In this case, you should wait at least 2-3 days after the end of the therapeutic course.
Consequences of seriousness
Even if the patient is familiar with the instructions and knows when to drink alcohol after taking antibiotics, he may sometimes ignore the ban. Or do not wait for the specified "quarantine" time. Residues of the antibiotic that do not have time to leave the body safely will begin to actively inhibit the absorption of ethyl alcohol.
What can be expected from a situation where ethanol accumulates in all internal tissues and organs? Intoxication of varying severity - it all depends on the state of health. The following unpleasant symptoms are guaranteed to occur in a person:
- vomiting profusely;
- increased sweating;
- severe nausea attacks;
- shortness of breath, difficulty breathing;
- jumps in blood pressure;
- dizziness and disorientation;
- allergic reactions (urticaria, itching, swelling);
- squeezing (squeezing) type pain in the sternum;
- severe migraine-type headache that cannot be stopped by painkillers.
This is not a complete list of the calamities that befall a person who neglects common sense. After taking antibiotics, wait until you can really drink alcohol. Otherwise, a person is simply at risk of being hospitalized with symptoms of severe poisoning.
It should be noted that not all antibiotic agents have undergone specific clinical trials.The incompatibility of all modern antibiotics with alcohol has not yet been proven.. But this does not mean that you should be the subject of the exam.
Do not risk your health! Alcohol goes nowhere, but with carelessness, health can deteriorate significantly and irreversibly. It is better to wait for all the expiration dates after the end of antibiotic treatment and not to take any glasses.Cheers to you!