Fluconazole is one of the most common treatments for fungal infections of the skin and mucous membranes. Due to its distribution, accessibility and frequency of prescriptions, the drug is considered to be well studied and even almost harmless. However, as is usually the case, many holidays fall during the treatment, where alcoholic beverages will invariably be present. This begs the question: is it possible to combine fluconazole and alcohol.
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The composition of the drug
To begin with, it is worth noting that the medicine can be found in any pharmacy in the form of tablets, capsules, suspensions or solutions. Despite the fact that fluconazole is dispensed without a prescription, only a doctor should prescribe it, based on the diagnosis, the course of the disease and the individual characteristics of the person. The doctor also indicates the necessary dosage, and it is one of the most important components of competent therapy.
The composition of Fluconazole contains the active substance of the same name in a dosage of 50 or 150 mg. The amount of excipients depends on the manufacturer and is described in more detail in the instructions for use.
Usually inside the capsule / tablet are lactose, starch, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, starch, etc. These components are necessary for better absorption of the active substance in the stomach and intestines. The pill shell consists of gelatin, titanium dioxide and various dyes.
Pharmacological features
According to the pharmacological action, Fluconazole is an antifungal drug with a wide spectrum of action. It is prescribed for the treatment of the following conditions:
- eliminate skin mycosis,
- treatment of systemic and local candidiasis,
- dealing with the main symptoms of cryptococcosis.
Moreover, the effect of the drug is so strong that it helps in advanced stages of the disease. What can I say if the symptoms of ailments disappear even in cases where fungal infections are caused by cancer or HIV.
By its nature, the drug is similar to an absorbent: it dissolves in liquids, binds and removes certain substances with itself. How fast it depends on the state of the genitourinary system. It usually takes 2-4 days.
Once in the body, the medication penetrates into all body fluids and almost immediately begins to affect a special type of enzyme - cytochrome P450 (responsible for the metabolism of drugs and foreign compounds), thereby inhibiting the spread of fungi and inhibiting their vital functions. But it should be noted that this type of enzyme is present in the human body. The presence and activity of cytochrome P450 determines the course of processes in liver microsomes.
Of course, when this organ is absolutely healthy, then a single dose of an antimycotic drug will practically not affect its condition and general well-being of a person, but the modern lifestyle of the average patient claims the opposite.
And although drug manufacturers assure that the pills act selectively, that is, they suppress only the mushroom system, completely “human” protein enzymes, which are responsible for the functioning of the liver, are partially affected.
What does compatibility depend on?
The degree of influence of the drug and alcohol on human organs is higher, the lower the protective functions of the body. If we take as a basis that Fluconazole is prescribed for thrush (mainly), this fact already indicates a weakening of the patient’s immunity.
In addition to immune processes, the severity of negative symptoms directly depends on the following factors:
- dosage of the drug
- duration of fungus treatment,
- the patient’s health status
- age of a person
- the severity of the disease,
- mushroom resistance to the drug,
- lifestyle, diet,
- the presence of concomitant chronic diseases (heart or liver),
- the amount of alcohol consumed,
- time after taking the medicine, etc.
The interaction of an antifungal drug with alcohol
Doctors unanimously claim that Fluconazole is completely incompatible with alcohol. Ethanol toxins impede the work of many organs, in particular the liver, kidneys and heart, and in a tandem with the drug have a devastating effect.
Firstly, drinking alcohol with a medicine, you can feel the manifestation of adverse reactions, among which:
- allergies, up to Quincke's edema,
- in rare cases, anaphylactic shock,
- unsteadiness of gait,
- imbalance
- blurred consciousness
- vision problems
- vertigo (a syndrome in which a person experiences severe and prolonged dizziness).
Secondly, the medicine itself has a negative effect on the heart:
- the appearance of arrhythmia,
- pressure increase
- sharp narrowing of blood vessels,
- circulatory disturbance.
If under normal conditions such symptoms can go unnoticed, that is, the heart will cope with overloads, when interacting with alcohol, the picture changes dramatically. In humans, the following manifestations may occur:
- sharp tachycardia,
- acute hypertension
- abnormal work of the heart ventricles, which can develop into a heart attack.
Thirdly, the harmful compatibility of the drug and alcohol can lead to toxic liver damage, which is characterized by excessive bilirubin and is easily established by a blood test.
The appearance of a suspicion of liver failure is also indicated by more obvious manifestations:
- drowsiness,
- weakness,
- causeless increase in body temperature,
- yellowing of the eye sclera,
- darkening of the discharge,
- staining the skin in a yellowish tint.
Fourth, fluconazole, like other medicines, as well as alcohol are excreted by the kidneys. Therefore, if they work incorrectly, the substance will linger in the body longer than usual. This fact will only increase the negative impact on other organs and systems.
Fifth, alcohol weakens the effect of the drug, as a result of which the disease will not be completely cured. This is fraught with the emergence of resistance of the fungus to the active component. Given the fact that fluconazole has the least contraindications among other antimycotic drugs, it will be difficult to choose a new medicine.
After how much you can drink alcohol
To understand when you can skip a glass for health, you should find out the period of complete elimination of fluconazole from the body. This medicine is quickly absorbed into the digestive tract, and then enters the bloodstream. After that, it penetrates into all body fluids and stays there for a relatively long time.
The elimination half-life makes from 30 to 36 hours. The exact number depends on the condition of the kidneys. If a person has any diseases of the internal organs - time may increase.
Therefore, alcohol can be taken after 3-4 days from the end of the course of treatment. And with weakened immunity, kidney problems or the patient’s old age, you will have to wait longer with alcohol - from 5 to 8 days.
Possible consequences
A frivolous attitude to one’s own health and well-being can lead to serious consequences. When mixing Fluconazole with alcoholic beverages (in the most severe cases), you can get:
- coronary heart disease
- cirrhosis of the liver,
- pre-infarction condition and heart attack,
- encephalopathy
- hepatonecrosis (disruption of the liver, due to the death of cells),
- persistent change in heart rate,
- chronic candidiasis or mycosis.
