Find out what medications to stop when you are unwell.
Medicines & Dehydration
Dehydration is due to a loss of fluid from your body.
Vomiting, diarrhoea and fever (high temperature, sweats, shaking) can cause dehydration. If you are sick once or have diarrhoea once, then you are unlikely to become dehydrated. Having two or more episodes of vomiting or diarrhoea or having a prolonged fever can lead to dehydration.
Taking certain medicines when you are dehydrated can result in you developing a more serious illness, therefore it is advised certain medications are stopped whilst you are unwell.
You can usually restart the medication after 24 to 48 hours of eating and drinking normally. Do not take extra for missed doses.
Which medications should I stop?
- ACE inhibitors: names ending in ‘pril’ – examples: lisinopril, perindopril, ramipril
- a medicine for high blood pressure and heart conditions. If you are dehydrated, these medicines can stop your kidneys working properly.
- ARBs: names ending in ‘sartan’ – examples: losartan, candesartan, valsartan
- a medicine for high blood pressure and heart conditions. If you are dehydrated, these medicines can stop your kidneys working properly.
- Diuretics: sometimes called ‘water pills’ – examples: furosemide, bendroflumethiazide, indapamide, spironolactone
- Used for excess fluid and high blood pressure. These medicines can make dehydration more likely.
- NSAIDs: anti-inflammatory pain killers – examples: ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac
- If you are dehydrated, these medicines can stop your kidneys working properly.
- Metformin: a medicine for diabetes.
- Dehydration can make it more likely that you will develop a serious side effect called lactic acidosis.
- SGLT2 inhibitors: names ending in ‘flozin’ – examples: canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, ertugliflozin
- A medication used in the treatment of Diabetes, Kidney disease or Heart Failure. These medicines can make dehydration more likely and if you have diabetes can cause acid to build up if you are unwell.
- More information relating to SGLT2 inhibitors
What actions should I take?
If you develop a dehydrating illness, you should temporarily stop taking any medicine listed here, and any other medicine identified by your health professional. If you are unsure please contact a health professional, this may be your GP, Nurse or Pharmacist. They may advise on additional monitoring including a blood test or asking you to keep an eye on your blood pressure.
Remember to keep drinking small amounts of fluid regularly on your sick days too. If you are only passing small amounts of urine you may need admission to hospital and you should alert your GP to this. Please do not delay calling your GP or the out of hours service if your urine output decreases to only small volumes.
It is very important that you restart your medicine once you have recovered from the illness. This would normally be after 24 to 48 hours of eating and drinking normally. When you restart your medicine, just take them as normal. Do not take extra for the doses you have missed.
Where can I find more information?
