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Millions of people vape around the world. It means that science now knows a lot about the health effects of vaping. Science also understands how CBD vaping affects the working of antibiotics. This article looks at all the possible reactions between CBD vapes and antibiotics. It tries to answer the critical question, “Can you vape on antibiotics?”
Here, we would like to clarify that there are many different kinds of vapes. However, this article is mainly about CBD vapes. This article did not consider nicotine-containing vapes.
Further, it is vital to understand that antibiotics are not a single kind of compound. There are tens of antibiotics. They act on different groups of pathogens or microbes. People generally take antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Since there are many kinds of antibiotics, some might interact with vaping, others not.
Additionally, it is worth remembering that doctors only prescribe antibiotics for severe infections. It means that if you are on antibiotics, you are likely affected by some infection, compromised immunity, and other health issues. All this means that you must take extra care of your health while on antibiotics.
On the good side, antibiotics have limited interaction with cannabinoids like CBD. Moreover, unlike other drugs like anti-inflammatory drugs for joint pain or medications for diabetes and hypertension, people do not take antibiotics for long. Doctors rarely prescribe antibiotics for more than a week, except for a few severe infections. Since antibiotic therapy tends to be short, there is a low risk of antibiotic and CBD interaction.
To fully understand the possibility of interaction between CBD vape and antibiotics, one needs to understand a few things, like the kind of interactions between CBD and medications.
However, before we further discuss things, a word of caution. We strongly recommend not to use any substances to avoid CBD vaping for those days when on antibiotics. Though the risk of antibiotic-CBD interaction is small, it is still there. Why not just take a short break from CBD vaping?
Any substance that enters the human body has some effects. It is metabolised and might have some unwanted effects, too. It means that taking CBD may alter how medications work, metabolise, and add to their side effects. So, there are three types of possible interactions.
When it comes to antibiotics, perhaps the biggest concern is that CBD vape may alter the metabolism of antibiotics. CBD is mainly metabolised in the liver. Thus, if one takes medications that are metabolised in the liver, it may slow down their metabolism.[1]
Thus, for example, macrolide antibiotics like erythromycin or azithromycin are highly metabolised in the liver. It means that CBD vape may increase their concentration a bit and prolong their action by slowing down their clearance from the body.
Most antibiotics are metabolised in the liver to some degree. In theory, CBD may slow down their metabolism and thus their clearance from the body.
In practice, this would not result in any harm. Since this would only slightly increase their concentration and prolong their action. The practical value of such interaction is not known. Moreover, CBD tends to enhance their concentration and not reduce it.
Another possible interaction could be changes in the way antibiotics act. At present, there is no evidence that CBD may alter the action of antibiotics. This is because antibiotics ideally do not act on the human body; instead, they act on pathogens and kill them. CBD does not interfere with their work. What’s more, studies show that CBD may even have antibacterial properties.[2] Thus, in theory, it may enhance the action of some antibiotics. But, again, the practical value of these interactions is unknown.
CBD is relatively safe. Hence, it is not known if CBD can, in any way, increase the toxicity of antibiotics. It does not seem to increase the side effects of any of the antibiotics.
CBD is more likely to interact with drugs that act on the brain and are extensively metabolised in the liver, like antidepressants and anti-epileptics. However, it is not likely to interact much with antibiotics.
So, what does it mean? Is it safe to vape CBD when taking antibiotics? In theory, yes. Nonetheless, it is not recommended. Understanding that science still does not know everything about such interactions is vital. Moreover, antibiotic therapy is rarely for more than a week, so why not just abstain from CBD use for that period?
But, of course, we do not want to create unnecessary fear, and it is also true that even if you vape when on antibiotics, chances are slim that anything wrong would happen. But, again, it would also depend on your health condition. If you are severely ill, CBD may cause some adverse effects, too.
The general advice is to avoid CBD vaping when on antibiotics and, you can use full spectrum CBD vape cartridge. It is like a complete bouquet with all the flavours due to its content of various cannabinoids. Hence, it is good to use. However, if you still want to vape, do it in moderation. Though no severe CBD-antibiotic interactions are known to science, precautions are still better. Moreover, doctors only prescribe antibiotics when someone has a severe infection.
This article was authored by: Dr. Preet Pal Singh Bhinder.
This article was peer-reviewed by Dr M Mansoor Siddique (PhD). Dr Siddique has over eight years of experience working with CBD and CBD products.
Disclaimer: All of our products are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. It is recommended to check with doctor before starting a new dietary supplement program. All CBD products sold have less than 0.2% THC content and abide by both EU an UK law.
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