Furagina is the common trade name for drugs containing the substance furazidine. These preparations are commonly taken for bladder infections. The combination of furazidine with even very small amounts of alcohol can have extremely unpleasant consequences. Why is it not worth combining furagin with alcohol?

Furagine has a bad effect on alcohol metabolism . Consuming a weak drink or beer after taking this medication will likely end in a nasty hangover. There is often no warning of this risk in the leaflets attached to these preparations. Patients often mention the accidental combination of furagin and alcohol as the worst intoxication in their lives.

Preparations containing furazidine are widely available without a prescription. As a result, they are often neglected by patients, despite their quite strong effect and many possible interactions.Furazyidine is commonly called furagin in Polandand under this name it is most often sold in pharmacies. However, the problem of dangerous combination with alcohol applies to all drugs containing furazidine.

It is also worth mentioning that alcohol alone should not be consumed in case of urinary problems. This substance increases the risk of infections affecting them.In case of recurrent urinary tract infections it is best not to drink alcohol .

What happens when we combine alcohol with furagin?

Taking furagine in combination with alcohol leads to a serious interaction as a result of which alcohol metabolism is partially blocked.

This is due to the inhibition of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase, which normally oxidizes acetaldehyde to the less harmful acetic acid.

As a result, the toxic metabolite of ethanol, which is acetaldehyde, accumulates in the body. The high concentration of this poison in the patient's body leads to symptoms resembling a very severe hangover.

Poisoning can appear after a very small amount of alcohol drunk. This phenomenon is known as the "disulfiram effect". Disulfiram is a drug used in some countries to treat alcoholism. This substance causes acute sensitivity to ethanol.

Not only furagine in combination with alcohol leads to the disulfiram effect. Many drugs, vincluding some antibiotics, it blocks alcohol metabolism.

Furagina, however, is an over-the-counter preparation that is generally considered to be very safe. For this reason, poisoning often occurs when this drug is combined with alcohol.

The symptoms of the disulfiram effect are :

  • hot flashes,
  • breathing disorders,
  • shortness of breath,
  • excessive sweating,
  • anxiety,
  • facial flushing,
  • severe abdominal pain,
  • nausea,
  • vomiting,
  • very serious hangover felt after a small dose of alcohol,
  • accelerated heart rate,
  • drop in blood pressure.

In case of poisoning, unpleasant effects can last for several hours.

How long after taking furagin can you drink alcohol?

It is safe to consume alcohol after taking furagine after three days. We should wait that long if we want to be sure that no unpleasant consequences will occur.

The half-life of the drug in the body, i.e. the decrease in its concentration by half, is approximately 6 hours. This means that after 2 days the furagin concentration will drop 100 times.

What medications to take instead of furaginum?

Furagina is the most common drug in Poland for urinary tract infections. It is used especially often by women who, due to anatomical reasons, more easily develop this type of infection.

However, it is worth being aware that drugs containing furazidine, despite being available without a prescription, are quite strong antibacterial agents.

Taking them frequently is not indifferent to your he alth. Unfortunately, patients often ingest furagin "like candy" because they believe that such an easily available drug cannot be dangerous.

Over time, the substance may turn out to be less effective as bacteria become resistant to them. Therefore, it is worth trying to treat infections in the urinary tract with other preparations.

Medicines based on herbal substances, such as:

  • birch leaf,
  • couch grass rhizome,
  • fenugreek seeds,
  • goldenrod herb,
  • naofocnia beans,
  • lingonberry,
  • parsley root,
  • cranberry,
  • nettle leaf.

Herbal preparations registered in Poland as drugs for the treatment of urinary tract infections include :

  • Phytolizyna
  • and Urosept.

What else should you not combine furaginium with?

Taking very high doses of vitamin C with furagin can be dangerous. Supplementation with small amounts of vitamin C during treatmentAntimicrobial can be beneficial.

However, doses above 1 gram taken by some patients can lead to a dangerous increase in the side effects of furagin.

Furagina has dangerous interactions with many drugs. For this reason, before taking the drug, it is necessary to read the attached leaflet or consult a pharmacist at the pharmacy. Availability without a prescription does not mean that the preparation cannot be dangerous to he alth and life.

  • Diuretics (diuretics) - application and mode of action
  • Urinary bladder: structure, functions, diseases

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He alth