A friend asked Hua Zi, is the saying that “Cefs go with wine, just leave when you say it” is false? He had a sore throat a while ago and took cephalosporins, but when he went out to socialize, he forgot about taking cephalosporins and drank a lot of alcohol until he got home. As a result, I was anxious all night and nothing happened.
Hua Zi told him that Drinking after taking cephalosporins is life-threatening, not a lie, but not all cephalosporins are dangerous when taken with alcohol, but It is difficult for people who have not received professional studies to distinguish which cephalosporins will react, so they simply set all cephalosporins as “cannot be taken with alcohol”, anyway, alcohol has no benefit to the human body at all.
It should be noted that in addition to cephalosporins, there are other drugs that can be fatal when taken with alcohol.
First, cephalosporin and “disulfiram-like reaction”
The danger of cephalosporins in wine is that most cephalosporins cause a “disulfiram-like reaction”.
Disulfiram is an alcohol withdrawal drug that inhibits acetaldehyde dehydrogenase after taking it, resulting in the rapid accumulation of acetaldehyde produced by the metabolism of ingested alcohol (ethanol), causing nausea, Uncomfortable symptoms such as chest tightness and vomiting force alcoholics to give up drinking.
However, the discomfort after drinking alcohol caused by disulfiram is essentially human-induced alcohol poisoning, which is dangerous. If you drink too much, it may cause breathing difficulties or even death .
Most cephalosporin antibiotics contain a “tetrazolium group” in their structure or in their hydrolyzed products, which can have a similar effect to disulfiram
strong>, inhibits the activity of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, which can also cause symptoms of alcoholism after ingesting alcohol, which is called “disulfiram-like reaction”.
Disulfiram-like reactions can cause the human body to be abnormally sensitive to alcohol, such as eating alcoholic chocolate, drinking Huoxiangzhengqi water, and even sensitive people use alcohol to disinfect the skin There will also be a reaction.
Commonly used cephalosporins with tetrazolium group include cefoperazone, cefotiam, cefamandole, cefmenoxime, ceftriaxone, cefazolin, ceftriaxone Metazole, Cefminox, etc.
And cefixime, ceftizoxime, cefotaxime, cefradine, cefaclor and other cephalosporins that do not contain a tetrazolium group, disulfiram will not occur sample reaction.
II. Disulfiram-like reactions to other drugs
Drugs, not only cephalosporins, but also other drugs when taken with alcohol, also have a disulfiram-like reaction, which may be fatal. There are nitroimidazole antibiotics (metronidazole, tinidazole, ornidazole, etc.); nitrofuran antibiotics (nitrofurantoin, furazolidone, etc.);< strong>Glycide-type hypoglycemic drugs (such as glyburide, glimepiride, glipizide, gliclazide, glipizide, etc.).
In addition to the antibacterial chloramphenicol, the anticoagulant warfarin, the antifungal ketoconazole , anti-tuberculosis drug Isoniazid, etc., may cause disulfiram-like reactions.
Third, other alcohol pairings are also deadly and dangerous drugs
1. Sedative-hypnotics: sedative-hypnotics (such as diazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, Drugs such as phenobarbital, zolpidem, zopiclone, etc.) exert an effect on the brain by inhibiting the brain, and alcohol also has an inhibitory effect on the brain. There will be coma, shock, respiratory depression, etc., and severe cases will be life-threatening.
2. Antidepressants: Sertraline, citalopram, foxetine, paroxetine and other antidepressants cannot be taken with alcohol, Alcohol can aggravate the central inhibitory effect of antidepressants and increase adverse drug reactions. andAlthough there is a saying of “borrowing to relieve anxiety”, it is often “worrying when drinking alcohol”, which leads to aggravation of depressive symptoms.
3. Hypoglycemic drugs: Drugs used to control blood sugar, especially insulin injections, insulin secretagogues (“glitide”, “glitinide”) ” class), will directly lower blood sugar. And Alcohol also has the effect of lowering blood sugar. When taken with it, severe hypoglycemia may occur, causing brain damage and even death in severe cases.
4. Antihypertensive drugs: The long-term effects of alcohol can increase blood pressure, counteract the effects of antihypertensive drugs. The short-term effect of alcohol will cause vasodilation and lower blood pressure. After taking it with antihypertensive drugs, severe hypotension may occur, or even shock, which can be life-threatening.
5. Lipid-lowering drugs: Statins may affect liver function during use, while alcohol can damage the liver. Use both together It may aggravate liver damage and increase transaminases.
6. Antipyretic and analgesic drugs: Paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin, diclofenac and other drugs are commonly used antipyretic and analgesic drugs. Such drugs can easily cause damage to the gastric mucosa. Alcohol can also damage the gastric mucosa, the combination of the two may cause adverse reactions such as gastric ulcer and gastric bleeding.
To sum up, there will definitely be friends who say that there are too many drugs that cannot be taken with alcohol, and they cannot be remembered at all. Hua Zi teaches everyone a simple memory method, that is, “Don’t drink while taking medicine”. A study in the world’s top medical journal “The Lancet” has confirmed that every drop of alcohol is harmful to the human body, and there is no claim that a small amount of alcohol is good for health. So don’t worry, it’s safest to avoid alcohol while taking medicine. I am Huazi, a pharmacist. Welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.