Contraceptive pills are one of the most popular means for preventing pregnancy. They are convenient to take, you can always pick up an individual drug on the advice of a doctor, and modern medications are absolutely safe. However, frightening myths about oral contraceptives do not cease even after half a century of their use. Obesity, skin problems, body hair and even temporary infertility - all these imaginary consequences are attributed to harmless tablets. The controversial issue is also the interaction of oral contraceptives and spirits.
Contraceptive pills and alcohol
All oral contraceptives are classic hormonal drugs. Sometimes the number of contraceptive pills include non-hormonal, but they are usually candles that are injected into the vagina.
Tablets designed to protect women from unwanted pregnancies are based on two active substances - the main female hormone estrogen and pregnancy hormone progesterone. In contraceptives, its role is played by a synthetic analog - progestin. Both sex hormones are representatives of the group of steroids.
The world pharmaceutical market today offers 4 main groups of contraceptives:
- monophasic( the proportion of both hormones may vary, but in each pill it is constant);
- biphasic( the portion of estrogen in each tablet is the same, and the amount of progestin depends on the phase of the monthly cycle);
- three-phase( the dosage of both hormones varies with the time of the female cycle);
- mini-drank( uncombined tablets, which contain only progestin).
Researchers evaluated only the general effect of alcohol on birth control pills. To date, in instructions for the use of the most popular drugs, which are advised by gynecologists, alcohol is not marked as a contraindication. There are also no special recommendations on how to combine tablets with alcohol.
Pharmacology
Alcohol is an integral part of modern life, and many women who do not plan to become a mom in the near future are not ready to give up a glass of wine and champagne on holidays.
Contraceptive manufacturers also do not want to risk their profits. Oral contraceptives take months and even years, so chemists are struggling to ensure compatibility of alcohol and such tablets. So that they can be taken without fear.
This is confirmed by clinical studies of contraceptives - the metabolism of steroids and alcohol occurs in different ways, therefore, during processing in the body, these substances affect each other. Under one condition - the dose of alcohol should be minimal.
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If you get any alcohol into the bloodstream, the liver immediately starts to work in the accelerated mode. Ethanol acts as a catalyst for specific enzymes in the liver, resulting in increased metabolism at times. And in the field of its influence is not only a triad of protein-fat-carbohydrates, but also hormones. It is those that are contained in a small contraceptive pill.
As a result, estrogens with progestin disintegrate faster, the duration of the "medicine for pregnancy" decreases - it does not work 24 hours, and slightly less. So, an unplanned conception can occur, despite the fact that the effectiveness remains the same, but the action is not completely neutralized.
On the video on how alcohol interacts with birth control pills:
Rules for taking
Ethyl alcohol is a very dangerous substance, and when it enters the female body it can cause truly unpredictable consequences, especially when combined with hormones. Can I drink alcohol when I take birth control pills? To protect yourself, not to hurt your health and keep the effect of contraceptives, it is important to follow the simple rules for taking birth control pills and alcohol.
If you just bought the first package of oral contraceptives, try to stop consuming alcoholic beverages for a month. Let the body get used to hormonal stimulation, and steroids "get accustomed" in the body.
Strictly observe the dosage. The optimal dose of alcohol that can be drunk during the protection has long been calculated, and not by some mysterious scientists, but by the experts of the World Health Organization. This is 20 mg of ethanol per day - 50 ml of vodka, 200 ml of wine or 400 ml of beer. And to minimize the load on the liver, this dose can be consumed no more than 2 times a week.
And if you have exceeded the alcohol norm, it is better to skip the pill and not have sex for 1-2 days. The contraceptive effect of alcohol will still decrease, and the combination of alcohol with drugs can cause poisoning.
Hormonal contraceptives are not hormonal drugs for the treatment of serious diseases, the concentration of hormones in them is less, so the recommendations for their reception are much softer. It is not necessary to completely refrain from drinking alcohol during the period of protection with the help of tablets. A couple of glasses of wine a week will not harm if you do not mix tablets with alcohol and do not exceed the dosage. But if you take any medicines extra( especially hormonal), be sure to check with your doctor. Perhaps during the treatment of alcohol will have to be completely forgotten.