On the compatibility of antibiotics with beer (alcoholic and non-alcoholic)

Symptoms of serious diseases, for which doctors usually prescribe antibiotics, are unpleasant in themselves. But for beer lovers, there is an additional test – the need to refuse the drink for the duration of treatment.

Some patients, without objection, put up with the prohibition of physicians. Others are beginning to figure out what is the maximum dose of alcohol allowed in the case of taking antibiotics. You can understand the logic of such people: beer is a low-alcohol drink, and an extra glass of it, it would seem, should not harm your health. To understand whether antibiotics and beer are compatible, consider how they affect the liver and other organs.

Attention! There are contraindications, consult your doctor.

The reaction of the body to beer and antibiotics

100 ml of beer on average contains from 3 to 6 ml of ethanol (in strong varieties – up to 8-10 ml). Accordingly, in a half-liter bottle of beer – from 15 to 30 ml of ethyl alcohol, and if the beer is strong – then up to 50 ml. This amount of alcohol is equivalent to a glass of vodka.

For the body, ethanol, even in small quantities, is a poison. It burns the intestinal mucosa, causes vasospasm, which causes pressure surges. The liver is responsible for the neutralization of ethyl alcohol. Under the action of enzymes, alcohol is first converted into an extremely toxic substance – acetaldehyde, then into vinegar essence.

If a person is healthy, drinks quality beer in reasonable amounts and not every day, the liver copes well with ethyl alcohol, and the vitamins contained in good beer even benefit. But if a person is sick and forced to take medication, the picture changes.

Modern antibiotics are potent substances that kill not only pathogens, but often beneficial intestinal microflora. Taking such drugs is a serious burden for the liver and kidneys. After a course of antibiotics, doctors usually prescribe drugs that restore the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. The body perceives antibiotics as toxins, their neutralization occurs in the liver.

Ethanol is a universal solvent. If you drink beer after antibiotics, these two toxic substances will immediately enter into a chemical reaction, and the carbon dioxide contained in the beer will accelerate the absorption of the resulting mixture into the blood. Ethyl alcohol in combination with antibiotics can seriously burn the gastric mucosa, cause inflammation and even erosion.

In addition, ethanol weakens the beneficial effect of the drug. It turns out that the dose of the drug prescribed by the doctor simply does not work, and it cannot be increased due to the toxicity of the drug. As a result, the healing process slows down, and the intestinal microflora dies in vain. The beneficial effect of the drug is reduced to zero, and the harm from side effects remains the same.

Pathogens that survive because the effect of the drug has been weakened do not die, but adapt to it. The doctor has no choice but to choose an even stronger antibiotic for the patient.

Once in the liver, ethanol prevents the production of enzymes that break down antibiotics and neutralize their toxic effects. Antibiotics, on the other hand, slow down the action of alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of acetaldehyde. Because of this, acetaldehyde accumulates in the liver, contributing to serious and long-term alcohol poisoning of the body. The patient begins to have headaches, nausea, vomiting, increased sweating, heart rhythm is disturbed, pressure drops sharply, and hallucinations may appear.

Antibiotics, when taking which it is strictly forbidden to drink beer

Not all antibiotics work equally when combined with beer. Usually, the instructions for the drug indicate whether it is possible to drink alcohol when taking it and what the consequences of such an act will be. For example, the consequence of drinking beer while taking antibiotics prescribed for the treatment of purulent wounds is often gangrene. Some drugs, mixed with beer, can provoke an allergy attack, heart attack or stroke.

Scientists have found that the most serious consequences (up to death) are caused by drinking beer when taking the following antibiotics:

• chloramphenicol group;
• ketoconazole;
• a nitroimidazole group;
• macrolide group;
• lincosamide group;
• tetracycline group;
• aminoglycoside group;
• co-trimoxazole;
• bleomycin;
• cephalosporin group;
• anti-tuberculosis drugs.

As a rule, the instructions for the drug indicate how long after the end of its intake it is necessary to stop drinking alcohol. Usually this period is from one to ten days. Additional recommendations from the attending physician will help to more accurately determine the duration of the period of complete abstinence from all types of alcohol (including non-alcoholic beer).

Combining antibiotics with non-alcoholic beer

Non-alcoholic beer does contain a small amount of ethanol. The strength of such a drink can be from 0,5 to 2 degrees. A bottle of non-alcoholic beer, depending on the strength, contains from 2,5 to 10 ml of ethyl alcohol.

As a result of chemical reactions, the so-called endogenous alcohol is formed: approximately 0,1 ml per 1 kg of body weight. The content of endogenous alcohol in the human body, which weighs 60 kg – 6 ml. Just one bottle of non-alcoholic beer increases the natural alcohol background by 50-150%. Therefore, you should not drink non-alcoholic beer after the antibiotics listed in the previous section.

But there are several drugs that are less dangerous when combined with non-alcoholic beer:

• rifamycin;
• vancomycin;
• heliomycin;
• penicillin antibiotics;
• antifungal drugs.

Afterword

There are only two reasons why a patient who knows how dangerous the combination of antibiotics and beer can decide to break the taboo.

1. For company with friends. Indeed, it is difficult to resist and not treat yourself to a seductively foaming amber drink in the company of friends. In such cases, it is imperative to remember that it is easy to lose health, but it is difficult to restore it. Willpower and common sense are the best protection against rash acts.

2. I really want beer. I want it so much that the patient is ready to ignore all prohibitions and risk his health. Perhaps the reason for this desire is the first stage of beer alcoholism. If the craving for an intoxicating drink is irresistible, it makes sense to consult with your doctor, as well as with a narcologist. The sooner alcoholism treatment is started, the more effective it will be.

Attention! Self-medication can be dangerous, consult your doctor.