Can you drink alcohol while taking antibiotics?

To understand why drinking alcohol with antibiotics is dangerous, we need to clarify what these drugs are. Antibiotics are drugs that are given for various infectious diseases caused by bacteria. They block and destroy 'bad' bacteria. It must be understood that antibiotics kill not only harmful bacteria, but also those that are beneficial to the body, which is why antibiotics can sometimes cause gastrointestinal side effects (e.g. upset stomach or diarrhea).

Multiple antibiotics, namely amoxicillin, do not interact with alcohol. Moreover, these products do not carry any specific warnings on their packaging. Although consumption of alcoholic beverages is not particularly recommended, the risk of serious interactions is low.

Some antibiotics can cause unpleasant reactions when mixed with alcohol. Thus, metronidazole, tinidazole, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, some cephalosporins should never be mixed with alcohol, as there is a risk of causing nausea, low blood pressure, headache, palpitations, sweating, flushing and flushing.

Effect of alcohol on antibiotics

As mentioned above, not all antibiotics interact with alcohol. Depending on the type of antibiotic, your doctor may recommend limiting or even avoiding alcohol. Alcohol can interact directly with some antibiotics, cause dangerous side effects, or make antibiotics less effective at killing bacteria.

When alcohol breaks down, the body produces acetaldehyde, and this can cause nausea, so many people with sensitive stomachs may experience digestive side effects. Nausea is a side-effect of both antibiotic use and alcohol abuse, so this adverse effect is experienced in most cases.

The following side effects may also occur during the consumption of alcoholic beverages:

• Dysfunction of the liver with inhibition of the organ's functioning, when metabolism of alcohol and antibiotics takes place. The liver accumulates toxins in its cells and thus decreases its ability to remove waste.
• Severe allergic reactions can occur.
• Intoxication of the body occurs, its symptoms are nausea, unbearable headaches, convulsions, dizziness and vomiting.
• Decreased or increased blood pressure.
• Skin flushing and sweating.
• Hangover syndrome on the background of taking antibiotics, its consequences are mental disorders.

All these factors can really slow down the healing process.

After how long can you drink alcohol after antibiotics?

No doctor can answer the question how long after antibiotics you can drink alcoholic beverages. Antibiotics represent such a different mechanism of action that it is impossible to calculate the body's response to alcohol. In addition, the conditions for which antibiotics are taken impose some dietary restrictions. Some types of antibiotics specify a time during which you must avoid drinking.

Alcohol after antibiotics is prohibited a few hours after taking the drug and several days (or better still weeks) after treatment is finished.

It should be noted that the drugs are left on the body for at least another day, and some remain in the blood for up to a week.

Therefore, after a waiting period of at least seven days, you can drink alcohol or, even better, extend this period to two or even three weeks to completely eliminate the occurrence of negative side effects.