| Drug Interactions / Interaction between Medicinal Products | Wechselwirkung |
| If two or more medicinal products are taken at the same time, undesired interactions between their active ingredients or excipients may occur. This may have different effects: the effect of the medicinal product may be enhanced or reduced, prolonged or shortened and the point of time when the drug becomes effective might be accelerated or retarded. The more medicinal products are combined the higher the chance for any interactions which are impossible to predict.
There is also the possibility of interactions between medicinal products and foodstuffs. Especially interactions caused by alcohol, nicotine and caffeine may significantly affect the effect of any drug taken. Other typical examples of foods causing interactions with drugs are grapefruit juice and St. John’s Wort. Any information about possible interactions can be found in the patient information leaflet. Especially the elderly are affected by interactions as they often take several medicinal products at the same time. Therefore, all treating physicians should be informed also about the use of any over the counter drug taken. |
Deutsche Erklärung |
