Mixing doxycycline and alcohol can be dangerous, as the combination may worsen the side effects of both the antibiotic and the alcohol. If you are prescribed doxycycline to treat a bacterial infection, please discuss your history of addiction and substance use with your doctor. You may require an alternative treatment to treat your infection without disrupting your addiction recovery.
The effectiveness of doxycycline as a bacterial infection treatment may lessen with the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol often speeds up the rate at which the stomach empties, so the medication may not be absorbed by the body to effectively treat your infection. Liver damage is another concern, as taking antibiotics with alcohol can place excess pressure on the liver, which may interfere with how effectively the medication works to treat the infection.
Whenever you begin taking medication, there’s always the possibility of adverse interactions with other drugs and foods. It is essential to talk to your doctor about these possibilities so that you can stay safe and avoid adverse health outcomes. For more information on the risks of mixing doxycycline and alcohol, continue reading.
Mixing doxycycline and alcohol causes adverse reactions.
The adverse reactions you may experience by combining doxycycline and alcohol may include worsening side effects of the medication, such as increased nausea, dizziness, and stomach pains. By combining these substances, you also increase the side effects of alcohol. You can experience extreme dizziness, impaired judgment, and poor coordination by mixing these drugs.
The risk of liver damage significantly increases when taking doxycycline and alcohol together. Your liver will also have more difficulty metabolizing the drug, interfering with the effectiveness of your antibiotic treatment. All in all, the combination of these drugs wreaks havoc on your overall health.
You might stay sick for longer or become sicker.
The risk of liver damage is even greater if you’re already dealing with liver damage from substance abuse. Likewise, your digestive system is central to how well your body processes the drugs you take to treat bacterial infections. Since alcohol can disrupt effective digestion, you run the risk of improperly treating your bacterial infection, causing you to stay sick for longer. You may need to be prescribed another round of antibiotics, which come with their own set of side effects that may negatively impact your health.
Prolonged toxicity in the body can increase the side effects.
Since the liver metabolizes doxycycline and alcohol, combining them can keep these substances in your body for longer. This can increase the severity and duration of side effects, drastically harming your health. Prolonged toxicity in the body, along with impaired judgment and dizziness, is unsustainable and may put your health in jeopardy.
Get the care you need without harming your health.
There are many risks of mixing doxycycline and alcohol. Talk to your healthcare provider before beginning any antibiotic regimen and discuss your history of alcohol and substance use. By understanding the risks, you can get the treatment you need without failing to protect your overall health.