Everyone knows that it is forbidden to combine alcohol and antibiotics, but few people know when you can drink alcohol after antibiotics. It is unclear how many days should be expected after the last pill of the drug. Many others wonder what will happen if you skip a couple of drinks during the treatment period or right after the end. With these questions, we will try to figure it out, for which you will initially have to familiarize yourself with the effect that alcohol and antibiotics have on the body.
Treatment and contraindications for alcohol
Antibiotics are not only very effective, but also dangerous drugs. Their reception must necessarily be agreed with the attending physician. The main indicator of the need for their use is the presence of a bacterial infection, which the body cannot cope with on its own.
If a specialist prescribed antibiotics, then during the period of such treatment, you should adhere to some rules:
- Strictly adhere to the time and timing of taking the drug, which will maintain a constant concentration of certain substances in the blood.
- The length of time it takes to take the medications should be determined by the doctor. Usually the course does not exceed 2 weeks, and some drugs are enough for use for 3 days.
- It is recommended to drink the antibiotic with clean water without gas.
- During the treatment period, it is necessary to stick to proper nutrition. From the diet, it is necessary to exclude fatty foods and, of course, alcohol intake, even in small quantities.
The last rule should be especially considered, especially regarding not drinking. In addition, it is forbidden to consume alcohol immediately and after a course of treatment for a certain period of time. But why shouldn't alcohol be consumed after antibiotic treatment? When ethanol and its constituent substances enter the body, they break down into small elements, turning into simple compounds. And some of the molecules of the alcoholic drink will begin to coincide with the molecules of the medicines, which can cause a serious malfunction in the body.
It has been repeatedly shown that after taking alcohol, the effectiveness of antibacterial drugs is significantly reduced. In addition, such a mixture will give a large load on the liver, which responds unfavorably not only to the work of this organ, but also to the state of the body as a whole. Alcohol intake after antibiotics or during the course of treatment can give an unpredictable reaction of systems and organs.
Possible consequences
As already noted, taking alcohol together or immediately after taking antibacterial drugs affects the whole body, not limited to its individual area, which is why it is impossible to predict its consequences. However, the most common are the following:
- If you drink alcohol when there are antibiotic substances in the body, an acute form of allergy may appear.
- A great danger when drinking medicine is an exacerbation of intoxication and a hangover. Subsequently, the normal amount of drinking can lead to a loss of control. At the same time, there is a risk of getting a mental deviation as a result.
- Alcohol after taking antibiotics significantly reduces the medicinal effect of the latter, which can lead to the need to repeat the course of treatment or to an increase in the dose of drugs, which will also adversely affect the body. In addition, an increase in the dose of the drugs helps to reduce their effect in the future and thus the adaptation of the infection to the drug. Infection with the weakening of the antibiotic has time to strengthen and become resistant. Therefore, after a course of antibiotics, the infection will reappear over time and stronger medications will be needed to clear it.
- In addition, the possible consequences include traditional symptoms such as: headache, nausea, mental confusion, liver damage and dizziness.
All the above consequences can be avoided if you know when you can take alcohol after an antibiotic.
What deadlines do you have to meet?
There is no exact statement on how long after taking antibiotics it is possible to consume alcoholic beverages. For each antibacterial drug, it is individually determined how many days after treatment it is possible to drink alcohol, and this must be determined by the doctor. As a rule, this period is at least 10 days. This is the minimum period during which a person's kidneys and liver return to normal and the intestinal microflora is restored. However, these are general recommendations, it all depends on the characteristics of the organism.
If the patient has chronic kidney or liver disease, the time after how long it is possible to drink alcohol increases slightly. And in order to avoid mistakes, it is better to consult a specialist about this problem. The longer after the course of treatment alcoholic beverages are not consumed, the better it will be for the body. After all, alcohol and so on do not bring anything useful for the body, and even more so during the period of its weakening.
Today, the main contraindications on the possibility of drinking alcohol during the period of antibiotic treatment, as well as the general terms related to abstinence from alcohol, which should be respected, have been studied.
Observing these recommendations and rules, it will turn out not only to quickly get rid of the disease with the help of antibiotics, but also not to harm the body. But it is important to remember that it is also forbidden to drink antibiotics without a prescription.