With the invention of antibiotics, humanity has significantly increased its chances of survival when faced with diseases from which there was no escape before. In the treatment of certain diseases, antibiotics simply cannot be dispensed with. But powerful drugs are not so harmless to the body; after antibiotic therapy, it is necessary to restore the body, in particular the digestive microflora. And many people are interested in the problem: is it possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics? After all, life does not stand still, and the prescribed course of these drugs may well coincide with some kind of joyful or significant event: a wedding, anniversary, or at least the arrival of a close friend who lives far away and does not often come.
Interaction mechanism
The main contradiction between antibiotics and alcohol is that they affect a person in exactly the opposite way. If alcohol inhibits the activity of some organs, then drugs, on the contrary, stimulate it so that the sick body copes with the infection as quickly as possible.
The second contradiction is that these drugs slow down the rate of alcohol breakdown. Alcohol while taking antibiotics "gets stuck" at the stage of acetaldehyde, which begins to accumulate in the body and poison it.
In addition, alcohol-containing liquids are processed by the liver, and it is also responsible for the processing of antibiotics. Doubled load is by no means useful to this body. In addition, he may simply not be able to cope with two tasks at the same time. That is why doctors say a decisive “no” to the frequent question of whether it is possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics.
Laboratory Confirmations
And doctors are so categorical not without reason. They have every reason to be careful about combining the incompatible. Animal experiments were carried out to determine whether it is possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics. Subjects partially blind or stalled. Many lost their teeth, baldness was observed. And almost all animals became significantly more aggressive and unbalanced.
The most frequent and possible consequences
First of all, taking antibiotics and alcohol give intestinal disorders: diarrhea, vomiting, at least nausea. In second place - dizziness and increasing headache. Coordination may be impaired, brain activity is difficult, up to and including temporary insanity. If you are allergic, then expect exacerbation. Moreover, your allergy can change its cause and direct its action already on the medicine, which threatens very unpleasant results. At the same time, antibiotics increase the effect of alcohol - you get drunk instantly, and the “hangover” will not leave for several days.
After treatment
Sobriety should be the rule of life for some time after completing the prescribed course. The duration of forced abstinence after taking various antibiotics is not the same. After some, it is allowed to drink the very next day; and some require a two-week break. The doctor will warn about these nuances, and the instructions must be written.
Alternative opinion
Some doctors believe that the dangers of combining alcohol and drugs are too exaggerated. The question of whether it is possible to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics, in their opinion, has generated many myths, prejudices and prejudices. But even doctors with such broad views are still advised to at least limit the amount of strong drinks. After all, it’s not so difficult to avoid the need to knock over a glass for a couple of weeks.