On coming upon a bacterial infection, a condition where a person meets a bacterial infection or suffers from one, the doctors or the medics prescribe them to take the Antibiotic Amoxicillin. It takes several days to get treated with amoxicillin. So, some specialists say that out of all the antibiotics, amoxicillin is the one that is least likely to interact or react with alcohol in any case.
Still, it is advised not to take in alcohol alongside amoxicillin. If your treatment days are falling on some occasions or parties, and you are being offered a glass of wine, drink it but only in moderation. Binge or heavy drinking can be very harmful and fatal to your life.
Amoxicillin: A Treatment for Bacterial Infections
Amoxicillin is being sold under the brand name of Amoxil. Now we would be wondering which group of antibiotics has amoxicillin as a member. Well, it belongs to the group of antibiotics, which is the oldest one, named Penicillin. Back in 1972, it was introduced as a semi-synthetic antibiotic.
The FDA has approved it as a treatment for bacterial infections like those of the nose, ear, throat, and the lower respiratory tract, skin infections, and infections in the urinary tract. You can find them in various forms like chewable tablets, regular tablets, and suspensions in oral form.
When it is prescribed by the doctors, it is advised to take them two to three times daily for a week or seven days. In some cases, doctors prescribe it for more than one week, which can be up to two weeks. All the durations of medications specifically depend upon the factor of the type of infection being treated.
You can never be advised by a doctor to take in the amoxicillin antibiotic to treat fungal or viral infections. This shows that it can only treat the bacterial infections caused in the body.
Side Effects of Amoxicillin
The side effects of taking Amoxicillin can vary from mild to severe. For most of the cases, it is reported that Amoxicillin has mild and short-timed side effects or for a temporary time period. The side effects that are common while taking amoxicillin include; side effects of gastro intestine like diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea.
Whereas if we talk about the serious or severe side effects, those would include; clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, causing severe pain in the abdomen and cramps to the body. You might also encounter problems in the liver and kidneys on taking amoxicillin.
Is Mixing Alcohol with Amoxicillin Harmless?
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If you are addicted to alcohol and have faced a bacterial infection and a doctor has advised you to consume amoxicillin, then don’t worry. Experts say that one will not have to avoid drinking completely in order to take in amoxicillin. After a heavy meal at dinner, it would not create a problem to drink wine aside. But, if you have planned to take in several glasses of alcohol with it, then you are harming yourself.
For example, you were out in the streets at night with your friends, and you were taking amoxicillin as an antibiotic against your bacterial infections; your friends have asked you to drink three to four glasses of wine, and so you did; you yourself would welcome the trouble. All the nights after that would turn into a night of recurrent vomiting and nausea.
Alcohol in Moderation
As long as you are stuck with your moderate behavior of drinking, the serious side effects won’t ever touch you. For example, you are fighting a bacterial infection, and the doctor has told you to take tablets of amoxicillin for two weeks.
During the time span of two weeks, you get stuck with your habit of drinking two glasses of wine or two drinks per day. This will not affect you on a serious note. For women, it is advised to drink only one glass per day and seven per week.
HealthCare
The health care centers advise their patients not to even consume alcohol when they are sick. The sickness can be related to any disease, infection, virus, or high temperature. If you would still drink alcohol, it can affect your sickness badly and can weaken your immune system by snatching away its ability to fight against harmful infections, viruses, and bacteria. So, for this reason, it is a very good thing to stay away from alcohol during the days of sickness.
Effects on Side Effects
There is no clear evidence that alcohol can react or interact with amoxicillin, but many experts say that the harmful effects or side effects of amoxicillin can be worsened by the consumption of alcohol. The intensity of various side effects like nausea, vomiting, headaches, and diarrhea can be increased once you take in alcohol. People who consume alcohol with amoxicillin can face diarrhea or bloody stool.
A bloody stool is the excretion of the body covered with blood or excreting out with blood. The face and throat can also swell. You can witness your face turning bigger and more painful when it comes in contact with your hands. People might get troubled with breathing and can face shortness of breath.
Here the overall oxygen which the body requires won’t be provided as alcohol can block the air channels inside the body. This can also form wheezing sounds at night when the patient tries to sleep. The body might feel itchy and covered with rashes. Rashes are the red spots on the body linings that are painful to touch and often make it painful for the patient to survive.
Uses of Amoxicillin
Amoxicillin is prescribed by experts for those patients that are suffering from bacterial infections and diseases like bronchitis (it is verily an inflammation that is appeared or is caused in the bronchial tubes of the body. It is basically an airway that transfers the air from the tubes to the lungs.
Due to this, patients often cough out mucous. If you are watching someone who is constantly coughing with a wheezing sound and also is facing shortness of breath, then he might be suffering from bronchitis), ear infections (an infection occurring in the middle ear of a person which is an air-filled space present behind the eardrum constituent of tiny vibrating bones of the ear.
These infections might be caused due to bacteria or viruses in the middle ear), and urinary tract infections (an infection that occurs in any of the urinary parts of the human body. It can be any part from your kidney to the ureters or any bladder or urethra.
It mostly affects the lower parts, like the bladder or urethra. Women are said to be more prone to this than men. The symptoms might include the sensation of burning during urination, increased recurrent urination without the passage of much urine, formation of cloudy urine, pungent odor of urine, and pain in the pelvic region in women, and in males, the pain is in the rectal region.)
Side Effects of Amoxicillin
The side effects of amoxicillin vary from mild to severe. In most cases, the side effects are temporary and mild. One of the most common side effects of consuming amoxicillin is the Gastrointestinal Effect which includes diarrhea, nausea, and often vomiting. These are the mild and temporary side effects.
Whereas the most severe ones include Clostridium Difficile-Associated Diarrhea. Due to this, the patient feels severe abdominal pain and cramps. Some people who use amoxicillin may also face problems related to kidneys and livers. Some allergic reactions might also take place with the symptoms of hives, swelling of the face, and short breath.
Alongside these effects, people who use amoxicillin may also face the problems listed in the table below;
| Side Effects | Descriptions |
| Black Hairy Tongue | Small bumps on the tongue just elongate with either black or brown discoloration and give an overall hairy appearance. |
| Colitis | It is the inflammation or swelling of the large intestine. Symptoms include; ulcers, bloating, and diarrhea. |
| Agitation | It is a feeling of restlessness, nervousness, and annoyance with aggravation. People often protest or argue in such a situation. |
| Insomnia | It is also known as a sleep disorder commonly found in people. It snatches away the sleep from people and makes it hard for them to sleep. It may cause people to wake up too earlier than required. |
| Alteration in Blood Counts | The alteration occurs if one is suffering from anemia, leukemia or any infection. |
Can One Mix Alcohol with Amoxicillin?
It is said by the experts that one really doesn’t have to stop drinking alcohol in order to take amoxicillin. If you are at a dinner table and you have taken a glass of red wine, then it will not react with amoxicillin, and you will stay fine afterward. But, in the case of planning for several glasses of wine or beer, you are planning for trouble all by yourself.
For example, at night, if you binge drink, then you will face nausea and vomiting for the whole night. As long as you are a moderate drinker, you are less likely to get affected by any harmful effects of the amoxicillin or alcohol or their mixing.
This means that one male shouldn’t drink more than 2 drinks a day, and a female shouldn’t drink more than 1 drink per day. Many doctors will never recommend one to drink alcohol when one is sick. It may also decrease the ability of the body to fight against the diseases.
It means that it can weaken the immune system of the body. Therefore, if one wants to fight against infections and harmful bacteria and viruses, then he should keep himself away from alcohol.
Amoxicillin’s Interaction with Alcohol
It is never said that amoxicillin and alcohol can react with one another. It is not known to cause a reaction when mixed with one another. Moreover, amoxicillin will never be affected by alcohol intake. Other antibiotics are more likely to react with alcohol as compared to amoxicillin. Severe problems might arise after their mixing, so it is advised not to take in alcohol if you are taking medications through antibiotics.
The Severity of Side Effects
There are many side effects caused by the intake of amoxicillin. The side effects include; diarrhea, swelling of the throat or face, trouble breathing (lack of oxygen), wheezing, rashes, itches, and hives. All these side effects worsen when alcohol is taken in because alcohol also possesses the ability to make the human body face all these symptoms.
This might cause severe diarrhea with recurrent nausea and vomiting, swelling of the whole body, wheezing sounds throughout the day, lack of breath, bloody stool and blackish stool, feelings of sadness and anxiety, and a blackish hairy tongue.
Conclusion
As mentioned above, there is no interaction between amoxicillin and alcohol in the body. This means that one can take in alcohol with amoxicillin but only in moderate amounts. If the amount of alcohol increases, then the patient would have to suffer from severe consequences afterward.
Problems like diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headaches, etc., might arise afterward with more severity. It is advised not to consume alcohol while taking any antibiotics. So, it can be concluded that even if there is no direct interaction of alcohol with amoxicillin, it is still said to be harmful to the body because the side effects of amoxicillin intake can become denser and worse for those who are consuming alcohol.
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