Is it safe to combine metronidazole and ethanol?
It is generally not safe to combine metronidazole and ethanol. Metronidazole pharmaceutical agent, antibiotic treatment, inhibits the disintegration of ethanol, commonly referred to as alcohol, leading to the accumulation of a chemical species called acetaldehyde in the body. High levels of this chemical can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headache, skin ripping and dizziness. Although metronidazole used by the mouth or intravenous line may cause these side effects, the administration of the drug on the skin usually does not cause these symptoms.
To understand why it is not safe to combine metronidazole and ethanol, helps to understand how the body metabolizes or disintegrates ethanol. The substance, which is popularly referred to as "alcohol", is officially called ethanol, which is made of atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen tied together. This molecule is converted into acetaldehyde primarily by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase. It is converted to a molecule called acetate by the enzyme aldehyd dehydrogenase. People are withCopen to decompose acetate for energy, and thus supply the functioning of the body. Specifically, it inhibits aldehyd dehydrogenase, the enzyme responsible for the transformation of acetaldehyde into acetate. As a result, high aldehyde levels can accumulate in the blood when metronidazole and ethanol are combined.
The side effects that are experienced from the use of metronidazole and ethanol may include nausea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations and skin rinsing. Some patients could also develop low blood pressure due to a combination of these two substances that could be dangerous or even fatal. Rare side effects may include blurred vision, confusion and shortness of breath.
Interaction between metronidazole and ethanol is usually significant only when metronidazole is served by mouth or through an intravenous line. Sometimes it is prescribed as a local medicine, which means that it is appliedand on the skin in the form of gel or milk. When the drug is administered in this way, patients usually do not have characteristic side effects found when metronidazole and ethanol are combined.
substances that have a similar mechanism of action to metronidazole are sometimes used to discourage people with alcohol addiction from drinking more alcohol. For example, these patients are often administered by a drug called Disulfiram. If patients try to drink alcohol on disulfiram, they can gain symptoms similar to those observed in the combination of metronidazole and ethanol, including nausea, vomiting, rinse of the skin and headache.