If you have low blood potassium or an abnormally slow heartbeat, levofloxacin may increase your risk of having a fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat, loss of consciousness, or fainting spells. Levofloxacin may cause diarrhea, and in some cases it can be severe. It may occur 2 months or more after you stop using this medicine.
Do you always need to avoid alcohol with antibiotics?
An observational study of 55 alcoholics with TB found that mild liver impairment in alcoholics is not a contraindication for treatment with ethionamide (114). Of the 55 patients in that study, 30 received ethionamide and three patients developed parenchymal liver damage. Two of these cases may have been related to the concurrent use of pyrazinamide (114). Drinking alcohol daily can overwhelm your liver, which is crucial because your liver processes medications like Levofloxacin. If your liver is busy with alcohol, it might not handle the medication properly. If you drink alcohol in moderation, it may not stop Levofloxacin from treating your infection, but it can make it take longer to work and may reduce your energy.
Package labeling warns that griseofulvin may potentiate the effects of alcohol, resulting in tachycardia and flushing (93). Disulfiram-like reactions have been reported in the literature (94–96). Reactions can range in pathway to recovery hazleton severity; one patient required admission to the intensive care unit (97).
- While not all antibiotics interact with alcohol, some do, and the potential side effects can range from mild to severe.
- These may be symptoms of a condition called peripheral neuropathy.
- However, the effects of occasional light use of alcohol on the immune system are more nuanced.
- Azoles are antifungals approved for the treatment of fungal infections (88).
- Ethionamide is used in the treatment of TB that is resistant to first-line agents (113).
Combination with alcohol may increase risk for additive sedation, drowsiness, dizziness, confusion and trouble concentrating. Tell your doctor right away if you or your child start having numbness, tingling, or burning pain in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. These may be symptoms of a condition called peripheral neuropathy. If your or your child’s symptoms do not improve within a few days, or if they become worse, check with your doctor.
Consumer health
Generally, it’s best to practice caution and speak with a healthcare provider about drinking alcohol while on these antibiotics. A surveillance study of 13,838 patients on isoniazid by 21 health departments found that consuming at least one drink daily appeared to increase the risk of developing hepatitis (105). Probable isoniazid-induced hepatitis was twice as common in alcoholics than in nondrinkers and four times more likely if they consumed alcohol daily (105). Conversely, a smaller retrospective study of patients on isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide found that alcohol intake did not significantly impact hepatotoxicity (103). Levaquin i.e. levofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic that is used in the treatment of bacterial infections in the skin, lung and urinary tract. Many a times, patients are prescribed Levaquin along with other treatments as well.
Can You Drink Alcohol on Antibiotics? Potential Risks
Scientists have linked heavy and binge drinking with an impaired immune system. People with an impaired immune system have a higher risk of infection. Metronidazole is a nitroimidazole antibiotic that doctors prescribe to treat abdominal infections, sexually transmitted infections, and other anaerobic bacteria-related infections. There are plenty of beverages that you can enjoy while taking antibiotics without worrying about how they might interact with your treatment.
Is your antibiotic thought to be one of the riskier ones to take with alcohol? Many of the same considerations apply to antifungals used to treat fungal infections. However, having a drink while you are taking a course of certain antibiotics might not be a huge deal. This article discusses some key things to consider about this topic. The CDC describes binge drinking as consuming four drinks for women and five drinks for men on a single occasion. Heavy drinking is eight or more drinks for women and 15 drinks or more for men per week.