During any treatment with medications, stop drinking alcohol. Loperamide is a medicine that is no exception. It is able to negatively affect the patient's body, if combined with ethanol.
Description
This drug is an opiate derivative. The medicine "Loperamide" is available in tablets and capsules. The drug does not have an analgesic effect, but affects the nerve endings that are located in the intestine, blocking the synthesis of prostaglandins. All this leads to a slowdown of intestinal motility, the promotion of feces. "Loperamide" tone the sphincter, reduces the urge to defecate. The effect after administration lasts for four to six hours.
The medicine does not affect the cause of diarrhea (toxins, viruses, bacteria), but only eliminates the symptoms of intestinal disease, normalizes stool. If treatment of gastrointestinal infections is necessary, then Loperamide is prescribed as an additional tool, but not the main one for fighting the infection. Is alcohol and loperamide compatible? We will talk about this below.
Structure
What does the medicine include? Capsules "Loperamide" - yellow, hard gelatin, contain a white substance (powder) with a pale yellow tint. The active component here is loperamide hydrochloride, and the auxiliary components are corn starch, lactose, magnesium stearate, talc, colloidal silicon dioxide. The capsule shell consists of gelatin, dye, titanium dioxide, quinoline dye. The medicine refers to a symptomatic antidiarrheal drug.
Instructions for use
Can Loperamide be used with alcohol or not? Of course, you should not drink medicine with strong drinks. It is better to abandon them during treatment. How to take "Loperamide"? If an adult has acute diarrhea, then the initial dose is four mg. After each loose stool, take a pill of medication. Therapy lasts until the patient is normal. If there is no improvement within two days, you should stop taking Loperamide.
If chronic diarrhea, four mg is prescribed per day, eight tablets can be taken maximum per day. Allowed to take "Loperamide" and children. Up to 8 years, the dose per day is 4 mg, up to 9-12 years - 2 mg four times a day, with chronic diarrhea - 2 mg per day. The duration of therapy is from 3 to 5 days. A capsule or tablet is swallowed with water.
Indications and contraindications
"Loperamide" is a drug that is prescribed for various kinds of diarrhea:
- acute infectious and chronic form;
- irritable bowel syndrome;
- allergic form of diarrhea;
- dosage form;
- diarrhea while traveling.
That is, the drug is used to regulate stool with diarrhea. "Loperamide" and alcohol are not recommended to be combined, since the latter exacerbates the problem, and the drug will not work at all.
It is not allowed to take Loperamide for pregnant women during lactation. Reception in the second and third trimesters is allowed, but only after consultation with the attending physician. The drug in question has other contraindications for use. So, you can not drink tablets and capsules with bowel obstruction, severe liver dysfunctions, individual drug intolerance. Since Loperamide belongs to opiates, it cannot be called absolutely safe. With prolonged and uncontrolled intake, it is able to cause cardiac arrhythmias, constipation, allergic reactions, including itching and urticaria.
Alcohol compatibility
Is it possible to "Loperamide" with alcohol? This question has yet to be answered. But without even delving into it, one should understand that it is still not worth combining a drug and alcohol. The combined use of the drug in question and ethanol adversely affects well-being and human health. Under the influence of ethanol, the liver begins to more actively decompose and remove alcohol from the body. Therefore, the therapeutic effect slows down from "Loperamide", and diarrhea intensifies, including chronic diseases worsen. When a person drinks a Loperamide tablet and then an alcoholic drink, the result is a combination that contradicts each other, mutually exclusive.
Loperamide and alcohol are not the best combination. This is indicated by both specialists and patients themselves. If you want a drink, a celebration is planned, it is better not to start treatment, but wait a while (if the condition is stable). In other cases, avoid drinking alcohol and focus on health.
Effects
What are the consequences after taking Loperamide and alcohol? Compatibility, although it exists, but you can not drink the tablet with a strong drink. The active component of the drug does not fulfill its function. In addition, the effects of Loperamide and alcohol may be as follows:
- irritated gastric mucosa;
- aggravated gastrointestinal diseases;
- increased load on the liver;
- the work of the cardiovascular system is enhanced;
- overall health worsens.
In addition, the drug does not work at 100%. It is impossible to get the desired result while taking medication and alcohol. So it is the patient who decides what is more important: to drink or undergo a therapeutic course. Doctors warn that such compatibility can adversely affect a person’s health, worsen his condition at times.
Reviews
According to those who took Loperamide, this medicine also works very quickly. The advantages of this antidiarrheal drug include effectiveness, which occurs within an hour after administration; availability in pharmacies, low price, children from six years old are allowed. Many note that the medicine does not cause side effects. "Loperamide" is a cheap analogue of "Imodium", useful in the first-aid kit of travelers, eliminates diarrhea quickly enough, normalizes the stool. However, the medicine also has drawbacks. As noted by patients suffering from intestinal upset, the drug can cause some adverse reactions, contraindications are indicated in the instructions, tablets can cause constipation, should not be taken by pregnant women. Many note that the remedy acts only with diarrhea of stressful origin.
Some argue that Loperamide and alcohol can still be combined, but do not drink the medicine with a strong drink. However, doctors warn that even if you wait a while, you can still experience adverse reactions, and the effect of therapy will not be noticeable. So everyone has the right to decide for himself whether he needs to risk his health and well-being. Only one rule applies here: for the period of drug treatment, alcoholic beverages are completely excluded.