How long does penecillin take to make any difference?

Hi all! I have tonsilitis (age 18, rugby build) and grabbed some penecillin from the docs today. Roughly any idea how long I have to wait before it takes effect?
Also - if I can be cheeky - is avoiding alcohol a definate? Ta!How long does penecillin take to make any difference?
85% of all sore throats are viral and are thus unaffected by any antibiotics. They are self limiting=go away on their own. Of the remaining 15% which are bacterial statistically the average effect of antibiotics is to reduce the illness by no more than 24 hours.
Overall a patient with a sore throat will get better in a few days on antibiotics, a few hours more quickly than he would have done without them!
Good news there is NO interaction between penicillin and alcohol.
You know when it's working when you can smell it in your pee. You should avoid alcohol only because it can give you a very upset stomach... it hasn't got anything to do with the effectiveness of the drug. Try taking those Yakult drinks to avoid getting an upset tum.
the antibiotic will begin working within 24 hours, make sure you take all of the perscription, even if you feel better, because not taking it all can lead to resistant organisms that will come back and make you worse, and then there will be no antibiotic that will work on it. As for the alcohol consumption, alcohol destroys penecillin, so if you want to get well and have the medication do what it is supposed to do for you, DON'T DRINK.
should take around 36 hours to work, my daughter had it and hers only took 8 hours to take effect, i would avoid alcohol as it will stop the medication working to its full effect
get well soon