Pill and alcohol – influencing the effect
The effect of the pill is limited or even completely cancelled out by various drugs, such as various antibiotics or St. John’s wort. The reason for this is an interaction with a liver enzyme called cytochrome P 450, which ensures that the pill is utilized in the body and can unfold its active ingredients. The enzyme also ensures that various antibiotics and St. John’s wort can unfold their effects.
If a patient now takes antibiotics together with the pill, the liver enzyme metabolizes the antibiotic, but no longer has the capacity to use the pill. This means that the pill remains in the body and is excreted without having developed its effect. It is different with the pill and alcohol.
The pill and alcohol are utilized by different enzymes and therefore the effectiveness of the pill is not affected by alcohol. The amount of alcohol ingested is also irrelevant in principle, as the pill can still be effective even with large amounts of alcohol. There is therefore no loss of effectiveness of the pill when alcohol is consumed. Nevertheless, caution is advised, as alcohol-induced vomiting can cause the pill to leave the body before it has had time to take effect. In this case there is no longer any protection or effectiveness of the pill, although this is not related to the alcohol but to the subsequent vomiting.
Pill and alcohol – Drinking and smoking
The pill is a drug that is used for contraception (not to get pregnant). As with all other medicines, various substances can weaken the effect of the pill or cause the pill to lose its effect completely and therefore no longer provide protection. For example, the effect of the pill can be reduced or even completely eliminated by taking certain antibiotics.
Alcohol, however, has no effect on the effectiveness of the pill. Many patients who drink alcohol and smoke fear interaction with the pill. It is important to know that the effect of the pill is not influenced by smoking or alcohol, but certain other medical problems may occur.
Especially the combination of smoking and taking the pill leads to increased damage to the blood vessels.This promotes the development of high blood pressure (hypertension), and there is also an increased risk of thrombosis. A thrombosis is a blood clot (blood coagulum), which mainly consists of blood platelets, the thrombocytes. These blood clots can be deposited in the veins of the legs and can then cause severe pain when running, especially with increasing age, since the blood supply to the legs is severely restricted by the blood clot.
In addition, thrombosis and pulmonary embolism can also occur at a young age, which in the worst case can even be associated with death. The pill and smoking at the same time are therefore not a good combination, as they lead to many problems, some of which do not become apparent until 10 years later. On the other hand, there is no danger of interaction in the sense of the pill becoming ineffective.
Even in combination with smoking there is no risk of the effectiveness of the pill or alcohol changing. Nevertheless, it should be said that neither excessive alcohol consumption nor smoking are beneficial to health and in the long term lead to many cases of illness and death. The Pill is used as contraception – it prevents women from getting pregnant despite an active sex life.
Overall, the pill is the safest contraceptive as long as it is taken correctly and has enough time to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestines. The pill is an oral contraceptive, which means that the pill is taken by mouth (orally), i.e. it is swallowed, and from there it is absorbed into the stomach and further into the intestines. It is only in the intestine that the active ingredients (various hormones such as estrogens and progestins) of the pill pass through the wall of the intestine and into the blood.
This process is called absorption. This time from the mouth to the intestine and from the intestine to the blood takes different lengths of time for each pill, but usually around four hours. This means that it takes four hours for the pill to take effect at all.
If a patient now takes the pill and vomits shortly afterwards, it is possible that the pill is excreted from the body without developing its active ingredients. In this case the pill has no effect and cannot prevent ovulation. If sexual intercourse then occurs, this means that the lack of protection provided by the pill means that the woman’s egg can be fertilized and conception can then occur.
It is important to know that the sperm of the man can survive in the woman for about 3-5 days. If a woman vomits one day after unprotected sexual intercourse, there is also a risk of pregnancy, as the pill is ineffective but the sperm are still active. Even a few days after vomiting, unprotected sexual intercourse is not safe because ovulation may have been induced later.
So there are some rules that you should follow if you “lose” the pill due to vomiting or diarrhoea and the pill is therefore ineffective. First of all it is important to know that the pill does not lose any effect due to nausea. It is only important that the patient does not vomit the pill.
If the pill does vomit, it is important to pay attention to the timing. If there are at least 4-5 hours between vomiting or diarrhoea and taking the pill, there is a very high probability that the pill has already been absorbed into the bloodstream and has already had its effect. If you want to be on the safe side, you should use condoms in addition to the pill at least 7 days after vomiting or diarrhoea so that you have a safe protection.
If there are less than 4 hours between vomiting or diarrhoea and taking the pill, the pill is most likely ineffective and the pill should be taken again. In case of pure nausea the pill is safe, however, for absolute safety you should also use condoms for nausea, as nausea often leads to diarrhoea or vomiting, which in turn means that the pill loses its effect. It is often the case, however, that a patient has diarrhoea not only once and does not vomit once but several times.
In this case you should use a condom during sexual intercourse as the safety of the pill is no longer guaranteed due to diarrhoea or vomiting.If a patient has been suffering from vomiting or diarrhea for several days, the pill is ineffective and spotting or early menstruation (period, “days”) may occur. In this case these are proof that the pill was no longer effective. The next intake of the pill should in this case be discussed with the gynecologist and also depends on the patient’s state of health.
It is important to know that the sperm of the man can survive in the woman for about 3-5 days. If a woman vomits one day after unprotected sexual intercourse, there is also a risk of pregnancy, as the pill is ineffective but the sperm are still active. Even a few days after vomiting, unprotected sexual intercourse is not safe because ovulation may have been induced later.
So there are some rules that you should follow if you “lose” the pill due to vomiting or diarrhoea and the pill is therefore ineffective. First of all it is important to know that the pill does not lose any effect due to nausea. It is only important that the patient does not vomit the pill.
If the pill does vomit, it is important to pay attention to the timing. The pill is safe for pure nausea, but for absolute safety you should also use a condom for nausea, as nausea often leads to diarrhoea or vomiting, which in turn means that the pill loses its effect. It is often the case, however, that a patient has diarrhoea not only once and does not vomit once but several times.
In this case you should use a condom during sexual intercourse as the safety of the pill is no longer guaranteed due to diarrhoea or vomiting. If a patient has been suffering from vomiting or diarrhoea for several days, the pill is ineffective and spotting or premature menstruation (period, “days”) may occur. In this case these are proof that the pill was no longer effective.
The next intake of the pill should in this case be discussed with the gynecologist and also depends on the patient’s state of health.
- If there are at least 4-5 hours between vomiting or diarrhea and taking the pill, then the pill has most likely already been absorbed into the bloodstream and has already had its effect. If you want to be on the safe side, you should use condoms in addition to the pill at least 7 days after vomiting or diarrhoea so that there is a safe protection.
- If there are less than 4 hours between vomiting or diarrhea and taking the pill, the pill is most likely ineffective and the pill should be repeated.
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