Many unplanned pregnancies occur because women lack information on the possible consequences of combining antibiotics and birth control pills. Myths have been created over the years and lots of stories now dominate the Internet with serious warnings about the inefficiency of birth control pills when administered in parallel with antibiotics. Scientific reality is nevertheless a bit different, and here are a few things that may help you better understand how things stand.
The action of hormonal pills is usually impaired by one antibiotic in particular: rifampin. Generally speaking, when antibiotics and birth control are used in parallel, the efficiency of the contraceptives gets lower in for a limited number of women. Even if the incidence of such occurrences is reduced doctors recommend the use of a supplementary birth control solution such as condoms. It is impossible to tell who will experience decreased efficiency, until it is too late.
Modern hormonal products seem to be more affected by the interactions between antibiotics and birth control. The problem is that modern birth control products have very low hormonal combinations for a reduction of the side effects. Besides rifamin, you should also be cautious when using amoxacillin, penicillin, sulfonamide, ampicillin, minocycline, tetracycline and barbiturates.
Antibiotics and birth control pills represent an inconvenient medical combination because of the synthesis of the compounds in the liver. The antibiotics accelerate the breaking down of estrogens, and without a proper level of these chemicals in the blood, the efficiency of the birth control pills drops considerably. Although the situations when unplanned pregnancy appears in such conditions are not that numerous, caution is the best course of action.
All drug manufacturers will therefore mention the potential interference of antibiotic and birth control pills with the decrease of efficiency for the latter. It is also important to talk to the doctor whether you have to continue using the extra birth control method after the cessation of the antibiotic treatment or not.
Some women choose to stop taking their birth control pills while following a treatment with antibiotics, but this is hardly a solution given how difficult it is for the body to adapt to these sudden hormonal changes. Talk to the health care provider before taking any drug mentioning the fact that you are on birth control pills. There are lots of other drugs that could impair the efficiency of birth control. It’s better to seek information than be sorry later.
Tags: antibiotic and birth control, antibiotics and birth control
