For as long as I can remember people have been telling me that I shouldn’t drink and antibiotic. Well it turns out that’s a complete load of bullshit. Dr Keith Hopcroft, GP, recently wrote an article for the TimesOnline debunking the top 10 medical myths and mixing alcohol and antibiotics happened to be one of them. To be fair there was one exception, metronidazole, which will make you puke if you drink even a small amount of booze. Here is what the good doctor had to say:
How wrong is this? Totally, with the exception of the antibiotic metronidazole.
What are the facts? Any interaction of alcohol with virtually all antibiotics is nonexistent, or so small as to be irrelevant. Metronidazole, an antibiotic used for a variety of infections, is the exception to this rule. When mixed with even small amounts of booze, it causes vomiting.
While this is awesome it doesn’t have a huge effect on me personally. I very rarely go to the doctor so I very rarely end up with any antibiotics. When I was little and got sick my mom would always tell me “Drink and pee. Drink and pee.” You know, to flush the system. I’ve found now in my later years that nothing generates pee and flushes the system like 15 beers. Shit, my pee is clear after number four so all the rest are just gravy.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
You drink gravy? Is that what they teach in IT?
I also subscribe to the “Drink and Pee” cure.
I also like take a shot of whiskey or dark rum, get under some extra blankets and get some rest.
I feel like the alcohol raises my body temp (i know it doesn’t actually) and helps me “sweat out” the sickness.
BTW, what happened to the comments roll on the bottom right of the page?
When I had surgery a little while back, they put me on metronidazole. After being in the hospital/sick for so long, I wanted to drink so badly. But the doc pretty much scared the shit out of me with his description of what would happen if I drank while taking that medication. Now I wish I would have at least tried it.