Antibiotics and Birth Control Pills With the Decrease of Efficiency
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 the following lines should help you understand that.
The action of hormonal pills is usually impaired by one antibiotic in particular: rifampin. There is a small percentage of female patients that experience a decreased effect for the pill when antibiotics and birth control are administrated simultaneously. It is because of this incidence, even if small, that doctors recommend the use of an extra birth control method such as condoms. No one can really tell who is more exposed to this reduced efficiency until actually facing the situation.
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, other medicines with a higher risk of interference include amoxacillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, minocycline, penicillin and sulfonamide.
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 since these compounds are the main ingredients of birth control pills, the level of hormones in the blood will be lower. Caution is the best course of action under the circumstances, even if the incidence of unplanned pregnancies is not too high.
All drug manufacturers will therefore mention the potential interference of antibiotics and birth control pills with the decrease of efficiency for the latter. Check with your physician about the importance of continuing the supplementary birth control use after the end of the treatment with antibiotics.
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 administering any drug specifying 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.
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