Is it okay to drink alcohol while on antibiotics?

I have a question: is it ok to drink alcohol while on antibiotics? Because some people say it is and other that it isn’t. I am on antibiotics at the moment for throat infection.

It is best for you or anyone else to refrain from alcohol while on antibiotics. If you take your antibiotic at the same with alcohol, it can possibly cause an upset stomach and other similar symptoms. The consumption of alcohol decreases the effectiveness of antibiotics and even a single drink or several drinks of alcohol can inhibit a drug's metabolism by competing with the drug for the same set of metabolizing enzymes. Alcohol reduces production of white blood cells, those that fight against infection, so you are working against the antibiotic by drinking while on it.

Hi.

You answered to question ...is it ok to drink alcohol while on antibiotics?... by ...The consumption of alcohol decreases the effectiveness of antibiotics and even a single drink or several drinks of alcohol can inhibit a drug's metabolism by competing with the drug for the same set of metabolizing enzymes...

This is not logical because if something (alcohol) is competing with some other thing (antibiotics) for the same set of the metabolizing enzymes then the metabolizing of the antibiotics will be slower with alcohol than without alcohol. By that, the antibiotics will be longer active, i.e. their time of "living" will be longer.
I know that this is not OK to spread this to public because some of the people will misuse this information and start to drink more, but I don't like to see when somebody is telling the wrong information even with good purpose.

Tomislav

The effects of combining antibiotics and alcohol can vary, depending on the specific antibiotic.

Alcohol doesn't diminish the effectiveness of most antibiotics. However, antibiotics and alcohol can cause similar side effects, such as stomach upset, dizziness and drowsiness. When you combine antibiotics and alcohol, these side effects may increase.

A few antibiotics — such as metronidazole (Flagyl), tinidazole (Tindamax) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim) — should not be mixed with alcohol because this may result in a more severe reaction. Drinking any amount of alcohol with these medications can result in side effects such as flushing, headache, nausea and vomiting, rapid heart rate, and shortness of breath. Keep in mind that some cold medicines and mouthwashes also contain alcohol. So check the label and avoid such products while taking these antibiotics.

Rarely, alcohol can reduce the effectiveness of certain antibiotics — such as doxycycline (Vibramycin, Doryx) — which means a higher dose may be required to achieve the same treatment benefit.

Keep in mind that alcohol can reduce your energy and delay how quickly you recover from illness. So, it may be best to avoid alcohol until you have finished your antibiotics and are feeling better.

Question, what if I eat a decent meal post drinking, quite a bit, and then have the antibiotic ? Am I fooling myself?

I was on antibiotics before and i drank probably 4 beers that night. I didn't feel that inebriated that night. The next morning was absolutely awful though. So my experience with mixing the two is to expect a vicious hangover the next day.

I took my antibiotics after a night of hard drinking, and boy do I regret it. I was sick as dog; I couldn't even keep water down. I'll never do that again.

I drank while i was on Azithromycin for bronchitis and it completely diminished the medicine in my body and all my symptoms came back even worse.

i took antibiotics and drank, i was a normal drunk at night but then the next day was still drunk and then one that wore off felt awful for the rest of the day! couldn't eat, couldn't throw up, just awful, wouldn't recommend it

I have drank while taking Azithromicin and it didn't affect me at all. I also drank while taking Amoxicillin and no ill affects at all. Both times the antibiotics worked and I was just fine.