Metronidazole can you drink alcohol

Some antibiotics are safe to consume with an occasional drink, but Flagyl and alcohol interact in several ways. Taking Flagyl and drinking alcohol can have similar effects, which may be more noticeable when a person combines the two. People may experience the following side effects of Flagyl:.

While some people do not experience the effects of combining alcohol and Flagyl, doctors and pharmacists recommend avoiding alcohol as a precaution. This can reduce the risk of Flagyl causing side effects.

Since Flagyl can cause seizures, people with a history of seizures should be especially careful to avoid alcohol while taking the antibiotic. When a person consumes alcohol, the body breaks it down in two steps.

First, it breaks alcohol into a compound called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is toxic and responsible for the unwanted effects of alcohol. Next, the body reduces acetaldehyde to acetate. It does this with an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase. Flagyl blocks the effects of this enzyme.

As a result, a person on Flagyl cannot fully digest alcohol, and drinking can cause the toxic acetaldehyde to build up in the bloodstream. Because of this, people who drink alcohol while taking Flagyl may experience a disulfiram-like reaction.

Disulfiram is a drug that helps treat alcohol addiction. Mixing disulfiram and alcohol has health effects that discourage people from drinking. A disulfiram-like reaction occurs when alcohol interacts similarly with a drug other than disulfiram, such as Flagyl. When a person combines Flagyl and alcohol, their disulfiram-like reaction may be mild to moderate and include:.

Authors of a case study report the death of a year-old woman who consumed alcohol while taking metronidazole. Reactions do not occur in all people. This may suggest that the risk of developing a disulfiram-like reaction to Flagyl and alcohol varies from person to person. The manufacturers of metronidazole-based creams, gels, and lotions cannot rule out the possibility of disulfiram-like reactions. Doctors and pharmacists should remind people using topical metronidazole products to avoid alcohol.

As a result, doctors and pharmacists generally recommend avoiding alcohol while taking Flagyl and for 3 days after the last dose because of the risk of side effects. For people applying metronidazole products to their skin or using the vaginal gel, manufacturers recommend avoiding alcohol until 24 hours after the last application. Flagyl can accumulate in the bloodstream of a person with impaired liver function, and doctors prescribe lower dosages to people with severe liver disease.

People with renal failure have a similar risk, and doctors will watch carefully for signs of accumulation. Once this period has passed, you can go back to drinking alcohol and using products that contain alcohol like mouthwash as you did before. It is very easy to use Metronidazole safely. Simply take the medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Your instructions will usually be to take one g tablet twice daily for seven days.

You may start to see improvements to your condition before your course has ended, but you should always make sure that you complete your course of treatment, even if you think your symptoms have disappeared. This will help to prevent the infection coming back. Do not take this medicine in larger or smaller doses than your doctor or the directions on your prescription label suggest.

You should also avoid taking Metronidazole for longer than recommended. Metronidazole tablets can be taken with or without food. However, as nausea can be a common side effect of taking the medication, it is generally recommended that you take the tablets on a full stomach — so should be taken with or after food. As BV is not harmful to the baby, it is usually not considered to be worth the risk to treat BV using Metronidazole tablets whilst pregnant.

You can find out more about Metronidazole and pregnancy here. Metronidazole is a safe and effective medication used to treat bacterial vaginosis BV and other vaginal infections.

It is strongly recommended that you do not mix Metronidazole and alcohol. Drinking on Metronidazole is known to cause bad reactions, and may result in a number of unpleasant side effects.

When starting any course of treatment, it is best to follow the prescription label directions to take it as safely as possible. You can buy Metronidazole at The Independent Pharmacy; we offer a fast, secure and discreet online service and delivery straight to your door. For more information on bacterial vaginosis, you can visit our BV treatment page. Or browse all treatments or conditions. Scott is one of the two founders of The Independent Pharmacy. He is a registered pharmacist and the registered manager of our service with the CQC.

Shop for sunscreen. It is best to avoid alcohol while taking metronidazole. Alcohol can cause reactions in addition to the regular side effects of this drug. Some of these reactions can be severe. In the scheme of things, this treatment is short. Waiting it out before drinking could save you a good deal of trouble. Bacterial vaginosis is an infection in the vagina. It is a common condition in pregnant women.

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