I know most of you aren't doctors, but... (Augmentin + Alcohol)

Drez

Okay, so there seems to be a prevalent train of thought that antibiotics + alcohol is a bad idea.

I've done some internet research (read: googled and read dozens of websites) that all suggest something of the following:

1) That this mode of thought is largely an "old wives' tale" that isn't just prevalent among people who have no medical training, but also among many physicians and pharmacists.

2) That there is either no or negligible effect between alcohol and most antibiotics, either in a "dangerous" or "it weakens the antibiotic" sense.

3) That the ONLY reason it may validly be "not a good idea" is because alcohol is a depressant and weakens your immune system, so doing so (even slightly) while sick is generally not a good idea. But it has nothing specific to do with drinking and taking antibiotics (or any particular antibiotic).

I am having an argument with someone about this. Despite pointing out that I've done a fair amount of research, all of which substantiates my claim that there is no link between penicillin/antibiotics and alcohol, and after I acquiesced that large amounts of alcohol consumption while sick or whatever is not a good idea anyway, this other person insists that it is a monstrously bad idea. We went so far as to call a pharmacist, which at first said "well, it's not recommended" but then when I explained my research, she said something to the effect of "well there is no known risk between Augmentin and alcohol but...heavy drinking is not recommended" and then kind of trailed off with no further explanation or clarification on why.

I'm curious what others here think, or your experiences. I know most of you aren't doctors but I'm not really asking for medical advice here anyway. I'm just curious if you've come across this mode of thinking, or if you share this mode of thinking yourself (and you think I'm wrong/crazy), or what.

FeatherBlade

Heavy drinking is probably not recommended because it's heavy drinking, and kills your liver.

You're highly unlikely to have a doctor or pharmacist prescribe alcohol to you, unless you have rheumatoid arthritis.

Is it possible that people are conflating antibiotics with all the other kinds of drugs (narcotics, stimulants, etc.) that you aren't supposed to consume with alcohol because of the resulting reactions?

Drez

FeatherBlade wrote: »

Heavy drinking is probably not recommended because it's heavy drinking, and kills your liver.

You're highly unlikely to have a doctor or pharmacist prescribe alcohol to you, unless you have rheumatoid arthritis.

Is it possible that people are conflating antibiotics with all the other kinds of drugs (narcotics, stimulants, etc.) that you aren't supposed to consume with alcohol because of the resulting reactions?

Nope. A lot of people firmly believe that alcohol either nullifies the beneficial/healing effect of antibiotics, or that it can actually lead to serious complications. In fact, I think I've yet to meet a single person in real life that has suggested otherwise, when the topic comes up. This includes my own peers.

If anything, I think they are conflating antibiotics with something like cold medicine or strong pain medicine (which can make you drowsy). The last thing you want to do is mix a strong cold tablet with alcohol, especially if you're out drinking. You might as well roofie yourself.

edit: And yeah what I always say is "heavy drinking isn't recommended anyway, even if you're totally healthy and not on any medication. Of course a doctor/pharmacist is going to recommend you don't drink while sick. It has nothing to do with the antibiotics." But this doesn't seem to ever get past this bias against antibiotics + alcohol.

Popices

Alcohol diminishes the effect of antibiotics which means it can make doses you take worth nil...and some antibiotics require a steady state above a particular threshold to function (concentration dependent kill) so the longer you are not at that threshold, the more the bacteria grows and the sicker you get.

If you take Flagyl (metronidazole) with any kind of alcohol it can precipitate a disulfuram reaction which means your body will force the alcohol from your body (read: projectile vomiting with copious heaving).

Word to the wise: don't drink while on antibiotics. Unless you like being sick.

Raif Severance

While I wouldn't wash down your Augmentin with a shot of vodka, there is no interaction between ethanol and Augmentin. Sometimes the interactions consist of what the capsule/tablet is made of. If you're taking any kind of extended-release, sustained-release, controlled-release, or delayed-release tablet/capsule the ethanol may actually erode the coating of the tablet/capsule in your stomach. This may either cause the active ingredient to degrade in the acidic environment or cause a large bolus of medication to release -- neither of which are beneficial and can possibly be deadly with narcotic type medications (oxycontin, ms-contin, etc.).

While heavy drinkers do have decreased liver function this will actually cause the Augmentin to remain in circulation longer but you would be hard-pressed to OD on amoxicillin. Anything under 250mg/kg isn't going to cause much of a problem.

Trillian

Unless, like with other beta lactam antibiotics, you can get violently nauseous when you mix them with alcohol.
The penicillin families can all be fairly hard on the stomach and lead to unpleasant consequences on their own, let alone when mixed with a barf catalyst.

cabsy

I asked an EMT friend of mine about this once because the label says not to mix alcohol and antibiotics and I was going to a party and wanted to know if I was stuck being the DD all night. His advice was that in general antibiotics can be dehydrating, which can cause you to become more intoxicated more quickly, and be more hung over the next day than you would normally be. There's also the vomiting concern and alcohol suppressing your immune system (to an extent) concern.

lunatoones

From what i have read drinking while taking antibiotics can make the side effects of the antibiotic and the side effects of alcohol worse this is what it said on the website i read it off of

"Antibiotics are among the drugs that should not be mixed with alcohol. Alcohol does not make an antibiotic less effective at treating an infection, but alcohol may make the side effects of both alcohol and antibiotics worse. These side effects can be dangerous."