Drug & supplement interaction

Animal-assisted Therapy + Ketoconazole

Ketoconazole brand name: Nizoral.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Animal-assisted Therapy and Ketoconazole 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.

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Interaction report

Animal-assisted Therapy and Ketoconazole

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 Ketoconazole and Animal-assisted Therapy in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — research on Animal-assisted Therapy alongside specific medications may be limited.

Worth understanding: our licensed dataset holds no drug-interaction record for Animal-assisted Therapy at all — not against Ketoconazole, and not against any other medication we track. This verdict therefore rests on the absence of any recorded data, not on research that looked at this combination and found nothing. We cannot rule an interaction out.

Animal-assisted Therapy is a treatment rather than something you take. Tell whoever provides it which medicines you use, and ask your prescriber whether it is appropriate for your health and treatment. 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.

Animal-assisted Therapy safety at a glance

Animal-assisted Th... overall Use caution Generally low-risk when supervised, but allergies, infection risk, and animal safety must be considered.
Pregnancy Use caution Usually fine, but be careful around animals that may carry infections; check with your doctor.
Breastfeeding Use caution No direct concern for the baby, but practice good hygiene around animals.

Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Ketoconazole and Animal-assisted Therapy? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

What Animal-assisted Therapy Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Ketoconazole. It is the side-effect record for Animal-assisted Therapy on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Animal-assisted Therapy, this list is the first place to look. One entry is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is generally well tolerated, with few adverse effects reported. However, a thorough evaluation of safety outcomes has not been conducted.

    Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):

    Transmission of zoonotic diseases to patients, particularly those prone to infection. With equine therapy, falling and low back pain.”

    Animal-assisted Therapy · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in back pain.

  • Back pain Additional detail

    “AAT involving horseback riding has rarely resulted in falling and low back pain aggravation.”

    Animal-assisted Therapy · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in back pain.

    3 sources cited
    1. 101919. Kwon JY, Chang HJ, Yi SH, Lee JY, Shin HY, Kim YH. Effect of hippotherapy on gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2015;21(1):15-21. PubMed
    2. 101924. Jang B, Song J, Kim J, et al. Equine-assisted activities and therapy for treating children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Altern Complement Med. 2015;21(9):546-53. PubMed
    3. 101927. Vermöhlen V, Schiller P, Schickendantz S, et al. Hippotherapy for patients with multiple sclerosis: A multicenter randomized controlled trial (MS-HIPPO). Mult Scler. 2018;24(10):1375-1382. PubMed

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Animal-assisted Therapy — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We read the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Ketoconazole’s FDA label too, and the two lists don’t meaningfully overlap — which is why no Ketoconazole column appears here.

From our Q&A

Questions About Animal-assisted Therapy or Ketoconazole

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Animal-assisted Therapy or Ketoconazole, 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 Ketoconazole

This page covers Animal-assisted Therapy only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Ketoconazole page lists 182 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Grapefruit (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major) and St. John's Wort (major).

By severity: 6 major · 135 moderate · 41 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Ketoconazole page

“Ketoconazole (Nizoral) is already hard on the liver, so treat its 182 interacting supplements with genuine care, starting with the six rated major. Most of the list runs through CYP3A4, the liver enzyme ketoconazole strongly blocks, so it can raise levels of over a hundred herbal ingredients, while grapefruit pushes ketoconazole itself…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Ketoconazole interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Animal-assisted Therapy and Ketoconazole 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 Animal-assisted Therapy
Steady interest

#1,402 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Ketoconazole
Steady interest

#1,680 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 Animal-assisted Therapy reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Animal-assisted Therapy and Ketoconazole 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 .
Treatment approach

About Animal-assisted Therapy

What is Animal-assisted Therapy?

  • Anxiety and stress
  • Depression and low mood
  • Loneliness and social isolation
  • Pain and comfort during hospital stays
  • Support for children with autism or developmental needs
  • Rehabilitation and physical therapy motivation

Animal-assisted therapy uses trained animals, guided by professionals, to support emotional and physical well-being. Many people find it comforting and it appears generally low-risk, but high-quality evidence for treating specific medical conditions is still limited. It is best used alongside, not instead of, standard medical care.

Not applicable (this is a therapy, not an herb or supplement) · Sessions with trained therapy animals such as dogs, horses, cats, or other animals, guided by a handler or health professional

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

Animal-assisted Therapy: dosing

There is no standard dose for animal-assisted therapy. The number, length, and frequency of sessions are usually tailored to the person and their goals by the therapist or program running it.If you are interested in AAT, ask about programs run through reputable hospitals, clinics, or certified therapy-animal organizations. A pharmacist or doctor can help you decide if it is a reasonable addition to your care, especially if you have allergies or a weakened immune system.

From our Animal-assisted Therapy monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Animal-assisted Therapy monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Ketoconazole

What Is Ketoconazole Used For?

Brand name: Nizoral

Ketoconazole 2% shampoo and foam are used to treat tinea versicolor (also called pityriasis versicolor) — a fungal infection caused by Pityrosporum orbiculare (also known as Malassezia furfur), a yeast that naturally lives on the skin.

This infection creates light or dark patches, most often on the trunk, neck, arms, and upper thighs. Even after the fungus is cleared, those skin patches may take months to return to their normal color — that's normal, and depends on your skin type and sun exposure. Tinea versicolor can also come back, since the fungus lives on healthy skin even when there's no active infection.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Ketoconazole

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (0 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Pruritus 984 reports
Fatigue 975 reports
Nausea 873 reports
Rash 858 reports
Diarrhea 814 reports
See full Ketoconazole drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Animal-assisted Therapy

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

0Major
0Moderate
0Minor
2,829No known interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Animal-assisted Therapy References

The 3 references that drive our Animal-assisted Therapy 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. Kwon JY, Chang HJ, Yi SH, Lee JY, Shin HY, Kim YH. Effect of hippotherapy on gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2015;21(1):15-21. PubMed
  2. Jang B, Song J, Kim J, et al. Equine-assisted activities and therapy for treating children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Altern Complement Med. 2015;21(9):546-53. PubMed
  3. Vermöhlen V, Schiller P, Schickendantz S, et al. Hippotherapy for patients with multiple sclerosis: A multicenter randomized controlled trial (MS-HIPPO). Mult Scler. 2018;24(10):1375-1382. PubMed

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

Having Animal-assisted Therapy While Taking Ketoconazole: Common Questions

Is it safe to have Animal-assisted Therapy while taking Ketoconazole?
We do not list a known interaction between Animal-assisted Therapy and Ketoconazole. 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.
Does Ketoconazole interact with any supplements?
Yes. Ketoconazole has documented interactions with 182 supplements in our database — Animal-assisted Therapy is not one of them. The Ketoconazole interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

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

Still Have a Question About Ketoconazole and Animal-assisted Therapy?

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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.