Antibiotics

[b3n87]

Im on a 5 day course of antibiotics and ive just been told i cant have alcohol

ouch!
anyone drank alcohol while they were on the tablets? and if so what happened?

[jrusso2]

Yes it makes you ill and you vomit

[Tomosaur]

Depends entirely on the antibotic I suppose.

[bapoumba]

Check with the doctor who gave you the antibiotic :)

[marco123]

I think because alcohol is a poison it kills the antibiotics, so they can't work.

Edit: Not scared of the DTs are you? They can be quite fun. - Or so I'm told. :-\"http://ubuntuforums.org/images/smilies/eusa_whistle.gif

[starcraft.man]

Your asking a forum for Ubuntu Linux for medical advice on should you drink while taking medication? That, isn't well thought out I'd say. I will say though, all the doctor's I've known say when your on medication you don't drink. They have their reasons, they also have degrees and I (and I assume you and most other people here) don't have said degrees. That's enough for me, is 5 days without drinking too much?

[b3n87]

haha ive been warned by friends to not drink

i was also told that i could stop taking it a day or so before, drink when im at the beach at the weekend, then finish the dosage when i get home haha :D

[ice60]

alcohol stops the antibiotics from working.

[starcraft.man]

i was also told that i could stop taking it a day or so before, drink when im at the beach at the weekend, then finish the dosage when i get home haha :D

I assume whoever told you this is a medical professional or better yet the doctor who prescribed the antibiotics. If not, good luck with that.

I know that living and not being sick, is more important to me than the liquor at the bottom of a bottle on a beach. I guess different priorities...

[prizrak]

That's a medical myth, alcohol has nothing to do with antibiotics. The reason for that myth is that first antibiotics were used to treat STD's and people who would get drunk would get into situations where they get those STD's again or aggravate them, hence it seemed like antibiotics don't work right. On the other hand alcohol does weaken your organism so it's a good idea to not drink it while you are sick.

[Biochem]

Without any specifics it is hard to have the right picture. If you really want to take alcohol on the beach go see your doctor too change your medication. That is really the best thing to do.

However:


i was also told that i could stop taking it a day or so before, drink when im at the beach at the weekend, then finish the dosage when i get home haha :D

I don't know who told you that, but my guess is that he is not a md nor a pharmacist (not a competent one at least) or he is a very good antibiotics salesman (but with very little ethics). Stopping, even temporarily an antibiotic treatment is the best way to develop a drug resistant disease that will result in either:

A) A longer antibiotic treatment
B) The use of a stronger more expensive antibiotics
C) The use of a stronger antibiotic with adverse affect
D) All of the above (that is the correct answer)

So if you do decide to stop early, I HOPE YOU WON'T TRANSMIT YOUR DISEASE TO SOMEONE ELSE.


That's a medical myth, alcohol has nothing to do with antibiotics. The reason for that myth is that first antibiotics were used to treat STD's and people who would get drunk would get into situations where they get those STD's again or aggravate them, hence it seemed like antibiotics don't work right. On the other hand alcohol does weaken your organism so it's a good idea to not drink it while you are sick.

Actually, that's false. Alcohol is considered à drug and therefore can influence an antibiotic metabolism. Of course it probably won't kill you but it can render it less effective. Some antibiotic can also be affected by daily consumption product like milk or grapefruit. So the best approach is to follow the instruction on the label.

Now I'm not an md. but I do have a graduate degree in microbiology. My post only reflect very basic medial microbiology that I wished was more common knowledge.

[Humoristic-sarcasm]
But thinking again if people knew that i would be out of job. Might not be such a good idea after all.[/Humoristic-sarcasm]

[prizrak]

Actually, that's false. Alcohol is considered à drug and therefore can influence an antibiotic metabolism. Of course it probably won't kill you but it can render it less effective. Some antibiotic can also be affected by daily consumption product like milk or grapefruit. So the best approach is to follow the instruction on the label.

Now I'm not an md. but I do have a graduate degree in microbiology. My post only reflect very basic medial microbiology that I wished was more common knowledge.
My info came from a medical website, don't ask me which one cuz I can't remember.

[smoker]

i've heard 'dangly bits' fall off if you drink on antibiotics :-)

[thisllub]

Alcohol has no effect on some antibiotics but does have some effect on your immune system.
Some antibiotics, however react badly with alcohol and will cause nausea and vomiting.

Dr Karl has a good article on the subject here.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1380836.htm

[Tundro Walker]

What they might be worried about is the antibiotic clearing out any and all bacteria in your system, leaving it open for the yeast leftover in the alcohol to potentially take hold and propogate. That's a really far-fetched, long-shot excuse, but it's the best I can think of.

It's like how they tell candida patients to stop consuming yeasty foods, like cheese, alcohol, bread...the yeast can feed the yeast infection, or at least hamper the re-growth of friendly bacteria.

But, for antibiotics, if they don't say stop eating cheese, bread, etc, then stopping alcohol consumption sounds kinda stupid. Sounds like generic "doctor" advice to me...you know, like "you need to eat better, and get more exercise". It sounds fine, but what does it really mean? How should I eat better? What kind of exercise should I do? Doctors give out stupid advice sometimes just because it's dogma. It may have just been force of habit to say "stop drinking" when using the antibiotic. Or, if it's on the label of the bottle, it may be there to try to avoid possible lawsuit if you have a bad reaction.

An actual good reason to lay-off the alcohol would be to give your system a rest. If you're taking antibiotics, it's because something is infected. You need to give your body as much of a break as possible to help clear it up with the antibiotics. By cutting out alcohol, you reduce the stress on your liver, letting it spend more time doing other things..you know, other than filtering all the alcohol your drinking.

But, this is a catch-22. A lot of cultures use alcohol in and of itself as a medicine. A "sip of scotch" seems to cure quite a bit, because the alcohol is so strong it can help kill off things inside you...plus open the cardiovascular system for better circulation. As always, moderation is key, though. EG: a shot of whiskey..probably not so bad. Half a bottle...probably not so good.