Discover The Risks Of Drinking Alcohol And Antibiotics

Are you taking antibiotics and fancy an alcoholic drink? We tell you the reasons why you should wait and avoid that drink.

If you’ve been prescribed medication for an infection, you may wonder about the safety of ordering a drink while you’re on treatment. Contrary to many speculations, the truth is that drinking a single drink will almost never change the effect of the drug. However, it will always be more convenient and prudent to abstain from drinking alcohol while using antibiotics.

Avoiding alcohol intake reduces the chances of side effects and favors your body’s response to infections. Additionally, no amount of liquor, wine or beer is considered safe for your health.

Why Should You Avoid Alcohol While Taking Antibiotics?

Drinking a glass of alcohol along with one of the commonly prescribed antibiotics may not interfere with the effectiveness of the drug. However, it can cause side effects and hinder the body’s natural ability to replenish itself.

Has your doctor told you not to drink alcohol until you finish treatment? Let’s see the reasons.

Alcohol can reduce the effectiveness of the antibiotic

In general, alcohol does not directly interfere with the way antibiotics work against bacteria. Even so, its consumption could cause situations that affect the levels of the medication in the bloodstream , altering its effectiveness.

For example, consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time modifies the metabolism of some antibiotics. As explained in an article published in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine , most drugs are metabolized in the liver, thanks to the action of liver enzymes.

But there are antibiotics that use the same enzymes that metabolize alcohol. If instead of performing their function with the medication, they are occupied with another substance, the decomposition of the antibiotic slows down. This could result in higher levels of the drug in the blood, increasing the risk of toxicity and side effects, without enhancing antimicrobial results.

On the other hand, when there is chronic alcohol consumption, the liver produces many liver enzymes, which speeds up the metabolism and elimination of antibiotics from the body. Thus, it is possible that, with the usual doses, the medication is not enough to combat the infection.

A review published in  Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy notes that erythromycin, in particular, may have reduced efficacy with concomitant alcohol consumption . The same researchers explain that doxycycline is also less efficient when the person suffers from chronic alcoholism.

The response to the combination of alcohol and antibiotics varies between people. Factors such as genetics, liver health, and the use of other drugs influence how the body processes both substances.

Alcohol has side effects

Another risk of drinking alcohol while using antibiotics is the development of side effects . Many medications, in themselves, can cause unwanted symptoms, such as gastritis, nausea and vomiting, headache or dizziness. These manifestations tend to worsen when drinking alcohol.

Antibiotics such as rifampicin can cause liver damage as an adverse effect. Especially if the person already suffers from liver problems . Since excessive drinking also damages this organ, it makes sense to avoid alcohol during treatment.

Specific antibiotics, when combined with alcohol, carry an increased risk of a type of side effect called a “disulfiram-like reaction.” It includes the following symptoms:

• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Tachycardia
• Headache
• Excessive sweating
• Redness of the face

Rarely, the reaction becomes severe. Then, very low blood pressure, shock and even the possibility of a heart attack appear .

Metronidazole is the antibiotic most associated with the disulfiram-like effect. For this reason, the medication label advises stopping the consumption of alcohol or products containing propylene glycol during and for at least three days after treatment.

Another antibiotic with a severe reaction when combined with alcohol is linezolid. In some people, it can cause a large rise in blood pressure. The risks are greater for patients with underlying hypertension problems or who are heavy alcohol consumers.

Alcohol consumption affects the body’s ability to heal, heal, and recover from illness. The substance is a depressant of the immune system and, as such, reduces the effectiveness of white blood cells to mobilize and act against external agents. A review in Alcohol Research indicates that the effect occurs even with moderate amounts.

Alcohol also causes dehydration , prevents the body from absorbing some nutrients, increases blood sugar and increases fatigue. These situations, together, reduce the body’s abilities to heal from an infection.

You Should Never Drink Alcohol With These Antibiotics.

A drug interaction occurs when the combination of two or more substances changes the individual effects of each on the body. This situation could modify the effectiveness, absorption, metabolism or elimination of medications, resulting in undesirable consequences.

Specifically, these are the antibiotics that should never be combined with alcohol due to the high risk of interaction:

• Isoniazid (Hyzyd ®)
• Cefotetan (Cefotan ®)
• Cefamadol (Mandol ®)
• Erythromycin (Erymax ®)
• Ceftriaxone (Rocefina ®)
• Cefmetazole (Zefazone ®)

For the following list, the data is less clear and conclusive, but there is evidence that demonstrates the danger of combining them with alcohol in some people:

• Linezolid (Zyvoxid ®)
• Isoniazid (Cemidon ®)
• Tinidazole (Tindamax ®)
• Metronidazole (Flagyl ®)
• Ethionamide (Trecator ®)
• Ethambutol (Myambutol ®)
• Cycloserine (Seromycin ®)
• Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim ®)

What To Do If You Want To Drink Alcohol While Using Antibiotics?

Taking a drink with some of the antibiotics that we did not include in the previous list may not be a problem. In any case, for the reasons we mentioned at the beginning, it is always preferable to avoid alcohol.

Your doctor will warn you not to consume alcoholic beverages when prescribing medications. The professional, in addition to your ongoing condition, will consider your age and general health to advise you.

Still, despite the warnings, if you prefer to continue drinking while using an antibiotic, it’s important to do your research. Read the product label to make sure that manufacturers do not mention proven adverse effects associated with alcohol use. If they are detailed there, then change your mind.

You can also talk to your doctor to consider other options. For example, if you find yourself in the situation where you have a mild infection and you have a celebration scheduled during the week. In some contexts it will be feasible to switch to a different antibiotic, with a better safety profile.

Your baseline health status is key. If you already have liver problems, alcohol is not an option, whether you are taking antibiotics or not.

The amount of alcohol ingested is also important. For some side effects, such as a disulfiram-like reaction, you only need a little. And you may not get it in a drink, but rather through over-the-counter products that contain alcohol, such as mouthwash or cough syrup.

It is best to wait

The safety recommendation is to avoid alcohol while undergoing antibiotic treatment. Some people may experience side effects when combining both substances and, in certain cases, it could slow down the healing process.

Keep in mind that antibiotics are usually prescribed for one to two weeks. So consider waiting until you’re completely done with treatment and recovering well to order a drink.