Is it safe to combine nitrofurantoin and alcohol?
nitrofurantoin is a drug that is used primarily to kill organisms responsible for causing urinary tract infections. Like many other antibiotics, medical experts recommend avoiding alcohol while taking this drug. This warning is partly caused by safety problems that surround the combination of nitrofurantinum and alcohol, as well as problems with potential reduced effectiveness of antibiotics. Mixing nitrofurantino and alcohol is not as dangerous as many combinations of alcohol and drugs, but there are still safety problems that cause this combination to be undesirable. This antibiotic requires high concentrations to attack bacteria, which makes damage to their genetic information in cellular structures. For the most part, this medicine remains in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract until it is mutual in the urine and in the urinary tract reaches sufficient concentrations to kill bacteria. About three -quarters of the drug used are divided in the liver and kidneys before it reaches itHoto point, but enough nitrofurantino is excreted without being metabolized to kill bacteria in the urinary tract.
This medicine does not normally appear into the bloodstream, so most of its side effects are limited to the GI tract. These side effects are caused by slight damage to the rapid GI tract cells, although lower concentrations of this drug outside the urinary tract reduce their importance. The adverse effects of nitrofurantino often include nausea, dyspepsia or stomach on irritation, vomiting and reduced appetite. In the most extreme cases, even stomach bleeding and ulcers may occur.
The combination of nitrofurantino and alcohol can make these side effects more serious. Alcohol is an irritant to the GI tract cells and can trigger the release of other stomach acids that can even harm the surrounding tissue. Combined with the potential of stomach damage from antibiotics, this k canOmbinations lead to side effects that are much more unpleasant and even painful. The chances of bleeding the stomach and the serious side effects deteriorate when nitrofurantoin and alcohol are mixed.
Alcohol can also make this antibiotic less effective, another source of the risk of mixing these two. This combination can lead to an increase in metabolism or disintegration of nitrofurantinum in the liver and kidneys before secretion. Antibiotics will not be so effective and may not be able to successfully treat urinary tract infections.