Patients often do not count herbal products, supplements, CBD or traditional remedies as medicines, and will not mention them unless asked.
Ask specifically, by category, and record the product and dose. St John's wort, grapefruit juice and some Ayurvedic preparations are established causes of clinically important interactions.
- Ask about herbal, Ayurvedic, homeopathic and over-the-counter products by name and category.
- Record the product, dose and duration, not just 'takes supplements'.
- Check for interactions when a stable patient's drug response changes unexpectedly.
- Ask again at medication reviews, as use changes over time.
Why it matters
The interacting drug is often the one nobody wrote down.
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