For some side effects, like a disulfiram-like reaction, you might have a problem when drinking only a little bit of alcohol while on your antibiotic. This might even include over-the-counter products like mouthwash or cough syrup. For example, different pharmacies often include conflicting information about the safety of using alcohol with specific antibiotics. You may also find conflicting information from internet sources on the use of these drugs. To be on the safe side, you may need to avoid alcohol for a few days after stopping such medications. Scientists are still working to understand all the different ways alcohol affects your immune system.
Further, patients could have been concurrently consuming a multitude of drugs, which can confound hepatoxicity risk. Finally, many studies were conducted in alcoholics, leaving a gap of knowledge for the social drinker who may be taking antimicrobials. An awareness of these limitations can be used to inform future, higher-quality studies. The package labeling recommends against the use of metronidazole and alcohol within 48 h due to the risk of a disulfiram-like reaction (46).
- Patients commonly are counseled or their prescription bottles carry a warning sticker to avoid consumption of alcohol while receiving antibiotics (1) (Table 1).
- Alcohol may adversely affect the PK of erythromycin and may increase blood alcohol levels.
- If the label on your drug says not to drink alcohol during treatment, follow that advice.
- Alcohol and cycloserine should not be used together, especially during a regimen calling for large doses of cycloserine.
In rare cases, people may experience seizures with fluoroquinolone treatment. In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published updated safety warnings on all fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Additionally, never skip a dose of your antibiotics just to drink.
Alcohol, Antibiotics, and Recovery Time
Minocycline treatment in the third trimester protected against alcohol-induced neurotoxicity in the developing brain (38). To our knowledge, there are no data available on the efficacy/toxicity or ADR of penicillins. Amoxicillin isn’t known to interact very negatively with alcohol, but that’s not the case with other antibiotics. However, although it may technically be safe, it’s not a good idea to drink while taking the medication. By Rosanna Sutherby, PharmDSutherby is a community pharmacist with over 20 years of experience in medication review, counseling, and immunization. Because amoxicillin is used to treat infections, alcohol may make it more difficult for amoxicillin to treat your condition.
Erythromycin ethylsuccinate (E.E.S.)
To our knowledge, there are no data available on the PK/PD or efficacy of pyrazinamide. To our knowledge, there are no data available on the PK/PD or efficacy of ethionamide. To our knowledge, there are no data available on adult children of alcoholics screening quiz the PK/PD or efficacy of isoniazid.
Don’t: Drink Alcohol
While robust data are lacking, recent studies have determined that alcohol may be used moderately and cautiously when taking tetracyclines. Combination with alcohol may increase risk for additive sedation, drowsiness, dizziness, confusion and trouble concentrating. To our knowledge, there are no data available on the efficacy of cycloserine. Pyrazinamide is another agent used in combination therapy for the treatment of TB (116). To our knowledge, there are no data available on the PK/PD or efficacy of ethambutol.
Two Reasons You’re Probably Not Allergic to Penicillin Anymore
Testing interactions with alcohol isn’t typically part of the approval process for drugs. We might only have one or two non-confirmed case studies about a particular antibiotic causing a problem. Healthcare providers recommend avoiding alcohol with metronidazole and tinidazole within 48 hours of starting or stopping them. This is because there’s a risk of a reaction similar to taking disulfiram, a treatment for chronic alcoholism, caused by a buildup of the toxic byproduct of alcohol called acetaldehyde.
Rarely, more severe reactions may include abnormal heart rhythm, heart attack, heart failure, unconsciousness, convulsions, and even death. Inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) by the antibiotic may result in an increased concentration of acetaldehyde leading to an unpleasant response. In many cases, you only need to take antibiotics for a week or two to fully recover from an infection. Drinking alcohol while taking these antibiotics may make them less effective. Cycloserine may decrease alcohol craving, and the package inset warns of seizures with concomitant alcohol use, but data to support this warning were not identified.
This section considers the recommendations and possible side effects of consuming alcohol with different antibiotics. Nouhavandi says this is partly because when you’re sick, you need to be properly hydrated. One of the side effects of drinking alcohol can be dehydration, which can make it harder for you to get well. Benznidazole is a nitroimidazole antimicrobial drug indicated for the treatment of Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis), also called “kissing disease”, in children ages 2 to 12 years.
While not all antibiotics will negatively interact with alcohol, it’s vital to practice caution and have clear information regarding alcohol safety with the prescribed medication. Moderate alcohol consumption doesn’t usually reduce antibiotic effectiveness or cause serious interactions (although, there are a few exceptions). But alcohol can reduce your energy and delay recovery, so it’s best to avoid alcohol while on antibiotics. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if your antibiotic has an interaction with any liver enzymes.