Antibiotics are now one of the most common and effective ways to treat many different diseases. Thanks to antibacterials, a series of diseases that before, just over 100 years ago, were often life-threatening, are now treated successfully and without consequences. Modern pharmacology is releasing a large number of antibacterial drugs designed to be successfully taken even in childhood: some of the antibiotics, if nothing else, are used successfully even to treat babies.
Of course, antibacterials are among those agents whose random and unauthorized use is excluded. Thus, the use of this group of medications must always be justified, and also agreed with the physician: their uncontrolled use instead of the healing effect always carries serious risks. But what can I say - the risks are present even when antibiotics are used as instructed, because each of these drugs has its own side effects, which in some cases manifest unpleasant consequences.
And one of the warnings that applies to absolutely all antibacterial agents, without exception, is a warning about the impossibility, harm and high risk of combining such drugs with alcohol. In the instructions for any of the antibiotics, you will certainly read in black and white: the use of alcoholic beverages in the context of therapy with such drugs is strictly prohibited. And this is not an empty ban: drinking alcohol along with a "snack" of medication can have extremely negative consequences.
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited for use not only as a means of "washing" medications. Alcohol after antibiotics is prohibited and a few hours after taking the medication and for several days (or better weeks) after the end of treatment. Unless, of course, the person being treated doesn't want to have health problems of a slightly different kind later, having healed a "wound, " and with that they are no less serious and complicated.
Refraining from alcohol after taking antibiotics should be done for the simple reason that each of these medications has its own elimination period from the body. That is, even at the end of treatment, active drug substances still remain in the blood, tissues and liver. And until the process of its elimination from the body is over, antibiotics, in the case of drinking alcoholic beverages after treatment, will react with alcohol in the same way they react to alcohol directly ingested during the therapy period.
And these reactions may be completely different, but at the same time, in each individual case, they are unmistakably negative. Thus, one of the reasons why alcohol after antibiotic therapy, in fact, as well as for the duration of the treatment, is not recommended, is explained by the property of alcoholic beverages in significantly reducing the effect of drug use. Thus, when alcohol and antibiotics are taken together, the active substances of the latter, instead of being absorbed into the blood and providing a therapeutic effect, accumulate in the liver. As a result, the burden on the liver of a pronounced mixture of drugs and alcohol is colossal, and the long-awaited cure is postponed indefinitely.
Alcohol after antibiotics is also contraindicated because it additionally overloads the liver: the natural "filter", and so on during the use of antibacterial drugs, works in an intensified way and the additional load in the form of alcoholic beverages inflicts an even greater blow. in the organ. Going into a chemical reaction with alcohol, antibiotics, which are trying to break down and process the liver, may in this case not provide a healing service, but cause very unpleasant conditions in the form of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache or even mental clouding. In some cases, a "cocktail" of antibiotics and alcohol can cause shortness of breath and, in extremely severe cases, lead to death. And such cases, unfortunately, have occurred more than once in medical practice.
The body's response to the mixture of alcohol and antibiotics is unpredictable. In the context of the joint ingestion of these drugs and alcohol, there are cases, for example, of exacerbations of chronic diseases due to severe reactions in the nervous, digestive and cardiovascular systems.
Combining alcoholic beverages with antibiotics can also become an important factor in the development of allergic reactions, even if the patient has never suffered from an allergy of any kind before. Therefore, if during the period of antibacterial treatment, the immune system is still able to provide protection to the body at "greater speed", then alcohol consumption is quite capable of interrupting the functions of the immune system, which is manifested by the onset of allergies.
Summing up the intermediate result, we can safely say: antibiotics and alcohol are simply not compatible at all. The reasons for this prohibition, given above, also support the assertion that it is better to exclude any alcoholic beverages from life for some time after this treatment. If you don't want to risk your life and your health in vain and in vain, of course.
When to drink alcohol after taking antibiotics
The question of when you can drink alcohol after antibiotics does not have a definitive answer. Each of the antibacterial medications has its own individual elimination period from the body. Thus, in each individual case, the decision about when to drink alcohol after antibiotics is made individually.
The minimum period during which alcoholic beverages must be given up after the end of antibiotic therapy is three days. At the same time, there are drugs that are excreted from the body for a much longer period, in which case the period of abstinence from alcohol can be 10, 14 days or even several weeks. This is necessary for the liver to be able to remove even the residual effects of ingesting antibiotics from the body, without an additional burden in the form of alcohol.
In fact, doctors adhere only to this last opinion, recommending that all patients practice sobriety at the end of treatment with antibacterials for as long as possible. The more time the patient gives his liver to removing antibiotics and then restoring work to a normal mode, the lesser the risk of conflict between alcohol and antibacterial.
This is most important for people taking antibiotics for liver and kidney problems. In these cases, the period of alcohol prohibition after the end of antibiotic therapy is extended: a liver that is no longer completely healthy must be neutralized and the antibiotic residues must be removed from the body. If, with these increased loads on the liver, it is even more loaded, it is unlikely to work without complications.
For many people who are used to having the luxury of at least one glass of good red wine a day, it is very difficult to give up their favorite habit, even during antibiotic treatment. These people often reject reminders of the dangers of combining alcohol and antibiotics, for some reason justifying themselves as "nothing will come out of a glass of wine. "And it's totally in vain: not even experts will take responsibility for reflecting on the possible seriousness of the consequences. In some cases, a glass of wine after taking antibiotics may not really show serious results. But in another situation, even at first glance, a negligible amount of alcohol ingested while using antibacterial drugs can lead to serious consequences. So before dismissing supporters warning of the impossibility of combining alcohol and antibacterials, it's best to think a hundred times - is a glass of wine really more important than our own health?