DEAR Dr. Fritz,
Good day to you and the Sunstar family. Please call me John. I am 43 years old and hypertensive. The problem is, because of my work, I have to take alcohol with my colleagues. And I cannot refuse this. But, I am quite apprehensive because it might affect my condition. I also want to know if it is also OK to take alcohol if I am also taking antibiotic.
Thank you very much and hope to hear from you soon.
-John John 2020
***
Dear John John 2020,
I am sorry, but both situations don’t fit well with alcohol. Let me start with your being hypertensive.
If you are drinking alcohol regularly or heavily, this will likely raise your blood pressure. And because you are already hypertensive, then this is bad news for you. You can lower your blood pressure within a few weeks if you cut back or quit alcohol altogether. But if you are a heavy drinker, you should find ways to ease off slowly your alcohol habit because your blood pressure might increase sharply for several days if you quit too quickly.
Now with the antibiotics that you are taking. This alcohol can cause headaches, flushing, dizziness, vomiting and a fast pulse with antibiotics like cefotetan, metronidazole, and tinidazole. Moreover, doxycycline or linezolid may not work if you are also drinking alcohol. The good news is, alcohol doesn’t seem to impede with most antibiotics. But remember that if you are drinking heavily, this can slow your immune response and will make it more difficult for your body to fight infection, whether you are taking any medications or not.
Good luck!
Dr. Fritz
(Dr. Fritz Legarde Espedilla is an aesthetic dermatologist and surgeon and a clinical sexologist. She is also trained in hypnotherapy and Medical Acupuncture. She is the co-host of digital page of Superbalita. She has been in the broadcast media for more than a decade and has written a book based on her 15 year stint with her radio program, “Healthy is Sexy Secrets ni Dr. Fritz.”. For your questions, you may e-mail them to dokfritz@yahoo.com. If you don’t wish your letter to be published, we regret that we can not answer them. Thank you for your understanding.)