Drug & supplement interaction

Aletris + Benzonatate

Benzonatate brand names: Tessalon, Tessalon Perles.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Aletris and Benzonatate in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

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Interaction report

Aletris and Benzonatate

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Benzonatate and Aletris in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Aletris safety at a glance

Aletris overall Use caution Limited modern safety data; large or fresh doses may cause stomach upset.
Pregnancy Possibly Unsafe When used orally due to the possibility that aletris contains components that cause estrogenic activity and oxytocin (Pitocin) antagonism; avoid using. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Possibly Unsafe When used orally due to the possibility that aletris contains components that cause estrogenic activity and oxytocin (Pitocin) antagonism; avoid using. Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Benzonatate and Aletris? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Benzonatate

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Benzonatate is filed under a single classification — oral drugs. Aletris has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — the most serious being estrogens (moderate), antacids (minor) and h2-blockers (minor) — and none of Benzonatate’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Aletris Does Interact With Other Medications

Aletris has 41 moderate, 36 minor known drug interactions in our database — Benzonatate isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 41 Minor 36 No known interaction 2,753 (incl. Benzonatate)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Aletris

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Aletris. Pick one to open its full report.

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Aletris and Benzonatate May Share a Side Effect

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do.

  • Dizziness Additional detail

    Aletris

    “There is currently a limited amount of information available about the adverse effects of aletris. Orally, aletris has been reported to cause colic, stupefaction, and vertigo (6).”

    Aletris · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in vertigo.

    1 source cited
    1. 6. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.

    “Orally, small doses of aletris have been reported to cause stupefaction and vertigo (6).”

    Aletris · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in vertigo.

    1 source cited
    1. 6. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.

    Benzonatate

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Benzonatate. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Effects for Benzonatate come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Aletris come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Aletris in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Possibly Unsafe

When used orally due to the possibility that aletris contains components that cause estrogenic activity and oxytocin (Pitocin) antagonism; avoid using.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

From our Q&A

Questions About Aletris or Benzonatate

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Aletris or Benzonatate, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Benzonatate

This page covers Aletris only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Benzonatate page lists 17 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Glucomannan (moderate) and Guar Gum (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 7 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Benzonatate page

“If you take benzonatate (Tessalon) for cough, give this page real attention, starting with activated charcoal. It is the only major-rated entry of the 17 on file, and charcoal can soak up the drug in your gut before it ever reaches your bloodstream.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Benzonatate interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Aletris as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 2 real supplement products containing Aletris, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Aletris. Even though Aletris itself has no known interaction with Benzonatate, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Aletris and Benzonatate Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Aletris
Steady interest

#801 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Benzonatate
Top half

#786 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Aletris reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Aletris and Benzonatate records this page draws on were last updated July 10, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About Aletris

What is Aletris?

Aletris
  • Menstrual complaints
  • Digestive upset and colic
  • Loss of appetite
  • Female reproductive tonic
  • Rheumatic discomfort

Aletris (true unicorn root or colic root) is a North American herb traditionally used for menstrual problems and digestive complaints, but there is little to no modern human research to show it works. Because safety is poorly studied, it should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and anyone considering it should first talk with a pharmacist or doctor.

Aletris farinosa · Nartheciaceae · Root and rhizome · Dried root, tincture, liquid extract, capsules, tea

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Aletris is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Aletris record says about it on its own.

Aletris: dosing

There is no established, scientifically supported dose for Aletris. Traditional dosing has varied widely depending on the form (dried root, tea, or tincture) and is not based on modern research.If you choose to use a product, follow the directions on the label and do not exceed them.

From our Aletris monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Aletris monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Benzonatate

What Is Benzonatate Used For?

Brand names: Tessalon, Tessalon Perles

Benzonatate capsules are used for the symptomatic relief of cough. This applies to all benzonatate capsule products — including Benzonatate 100 mg and Benzonatate 200 mg formulations taken by mouth.

It is intended to reduce the urge to cough when coughing is disruptive or uncomfortable. It does not treat the underlying cause of the cough.

See full Benzonatate drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Aletris

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Aletris — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
41Moderate
36Minor
2,752No known interaction
41 Moderate 36 Minor 2,752 No interaction
Moderate

41 interactions

Minor

36 interactions

No interaction 2,752 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Aletris against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,752 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Aletris list.

See the full Aletris interactions page
See every supplement checked against Benzonatate, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Aletris References

The 4 references that drive our Aletris monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
  2. Leung AY, Foster S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics. 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
  3. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
  4. Brinker F. Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions. 2nd ed. Sandy, OR: Eclectic Medical Publications, 1998.

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Aletris and Benzonatate Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Aletris with Benzonatate?
We do not list a known interaction between Aletris and Benzonatate. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Do Aletris and Benzonatate have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to one of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.
How was the Aletris and Benzonatate combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Benzonatate is filed under 1 classification, and Aletris has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — none of Benzonatate's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.
Does Aletris interact with any other medications?
Yes. Aletris has 77 documented drug interactions in our database — Benzonatate is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.
Does Benzonatate interact with any supplements?
Yes. Benzonatate has documented interactions with 17 supplements in our database — Aletris is not one of them. The Benzonatate interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Where next

Keep Exploring

Aletris monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Benzonatate drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Benzonatate supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Benzonatate, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 4 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Benzonatate and Aletris?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.