Drinking on Doxycycline: Everything You Should Know

Table of Contents

Share Post

What is Doxycycline?

Doxycycline is a potent antibiotic used to treat health conditions like intestinal infections, eye infections, acne, chlamydia, and many other bacterial infections.

Doxycycline can come in three different forms, a generic drug, an oral prescription drug, or a solution for injection. Before you use any form of this drug, it is advised that you consult a professional healthcare practitioner. Read more to find out more about this drug and the effects of drinking on Doxycycline.

It is also sometimes used as a malaria prevention medication for people who plan to travel to countries where malaria is prevalent. In addition, it can also be used in treatment therapy for anthrax and infections caused by ticks, lice, and mites. There are two types of Doxycycline: doxycycline hyclate and doxycycline monohydrate

Need prescription for Doxycycline?

Get access to a licensed medical professional.

Alcohol and antibiotics

Drinking alcohol while using antibiotics may not be advisable as both can trigger similar side effects like drowsiness, stomach discomfort, and dizziness. If you mix alcohol and antibiotics, the mixture can significantly increase the risk of these side effects. In addition, alcohol usually has adverse effects on the body’s immune system.

Some antibiotics, specifically linezolid, interact with some alcoholic drinks and can cause a critical increase in blood pressure when mixed. In addition, antibiotics like metronidazole (Flagyl), tinidazole (Tindamax), sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim (Bactrim) are known to trigger severe reactions like flushing, headache, nausea and vomiting, and rapid heart rate when mixed with alcohol.

You should consider avoiding alcohol while using some antibiotics, even though drinking a small quantity will not reduce the potency of the drugs. However, alcohol can diminish your strength and affect how quickly your body recovers from sickness when you’re on antibiotic medications.

Drinking on doxycycline: Is it safe to combine alcohol and antibiotics?

As previously noted, drinking alcohol with antibiotics may not be safe for some valid reasons. Drinking alcohol on these medications can cause severe tiredness, chronic headache, anxiety, increased pressure on the blood, and chest pain.

Alcohol can also negatively impact the digestive side effects of antibiotics, causing nausea, fever, chronic stomach ache, blood and mucus in stool, and severe diarrhea.

Drinking alcohol with antibiotics can also cause damage to vital organs like the liver and kidneys. For example, the kidneys remove toxic waste, including medications, from the body through urine. Alcohol can increase the burden antibiotics put on the kidneys, leading to an infection.

Another factor to consider is how alcohol can impair some immune system processes and reduce the body’s ability to recover from an infection. So, in addition to putting you at risk of developing another disease, alcohol slows down your body’s healing process and recovery window.

Drinking on Doxycycline

We’ve established that Doxycycline is a type of antibiotic in the class of tetracyclines used to treat bacterial and parasitic infections. Many people on this drug usually have one recurrent question- how safe is drinking on Doxycycline?

As noted previously, some antibiotics like metronidazole and tinidazole interact with alcohol to cause some potentially dangerous side effects when used together. Drinking on Doxycycline, however, can be a bit different.

While you are advised to avoid alcohol consumption while using antibiotics, there isn’t enough information to suggest that drinking alcohol on Doxycycline would affect you adversely.

However, alcohol can delay the absorption of Doxycycline in some patients, increasing the timeframe of the drug’s effectiveness.

Doxycycline may also interact with alcohol and increase your system’s drug elimination, making it less productive. In addition, regular alcoholics may need to take an increased amount of the drug to be effective.

It is essential that you ask a professional healthcare provider to get the most accurate answer before mixing alcohol with Doxycycline. It is usually best to avoid drinking alcohol while using Doxycycline to treat your condition.

4 side effects of drinking on doxycycline

Side effects of drinking alcohol on Doxycycline

Doxycycline and alcohol usually have similar side effects. However, these effects can be amplified when used together and cause significant bodily discomfort.

Some of these side effects include:

  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Headache
  • Fatigue

More severe side effects may include:

  • Migraine
  • Uncontrollable vomiting

Symptoms of an allergic reaction

If you experience any of these conditions, you should contact a healthcare professional immediately. In addition, using additional medications while on doxycycline can exacerbate symptoms.

People drinking should also consider medical help to reduce the risk of severe health complications.

How does Doxycycline interact with alcohol?

Even though drinking on doxycycline isn’t known to be potentially dangerous, the drug interacts with alcohol when taken together. Research has revealed that using doxycycline with alcohol reduces the blood level of the drug and may reduce its effectiveness.

In addition, the effect of mixing doxycycline with alcohol can last for days even after you stop drinking.

How long do I wait to take alcohol after using doxycycline?

It is recommended that you get a bit of personalized advice from your healthcare provider, but usually, it’s best to avoid drinking until 48-72 hours after your last dose of doxycycline.

What can I drink while on doxycycline?

While it is best to stay away from alcohol while on doxycycline, it is also essential to ensure that you stay hydrated while on the drug.

Take a lot of water or fluid to keep hydrated. You can also take coffee, mineral water, and milk to keep your fluid level up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Drinking a glass of wine while on doxycycline should not have any significant adverse effect on you. While it is recommended that you stay away from alcoholic beverages while using this drug, suppose you find yourself drinking a glass of wine.

Your best bet would be to not drink alcohol until 48-72 hours after completing your doxycycline dose. In addition, make sure you inform your doctor or healthcare professional.

Avoid taking medications with lemon water often because some drug interactions can occur with food and supplement. Lemon juice can impact how quickly doxycycline is broken down in the liver. This can reduce drug absorption and cause more side effects. If you have to drink lemon juice, you can do so 30 minutes before or after taking doxycycline to be on the safe side. However, do not combine lemon juice with drugs unless instructed by your doctor.

Most beverages are carbonated and acidic in nature. As a result, they can reduce the antibacterial action of most antibiotics and reduce effectiveness. In addition, combining carbonated drinks with some antibiotics can lead to adverse patient symptoms.

Therefore, it is recommended that you don’t drink alcohol or soft drinks until you complete your doxycycline therapy.

Some juices and drinks can also hamper the effects of antibiotics in your body. These drinks impair the drug’s absorption, making them less effective and slowing your recovery.

You should particularly avoid grape juice when using doxycycline. This is because grape juice contains furanocoumarins, which affect the absorption of the drug and can cause adverse effects stopping doxycycline from being effective.

The content on Doctor Alexa’s blog is reviewed by Advanced practice registered nurses or pharmacist and is intended for educational purposes only. This information should not be relied upon as professional medical counsel. Be sure to always consult with your physician about the dangers and benefits of any medication, treatment or procedure.

You shouldn’t wait to see the doctor for simple health needs.