Drug & supplement interaction

Citronella Oil + Exenatide

Exenatide brand names: Byetta, Bydureon.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Citronella Oil and Exenatide 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

Citronella Oil and Exenatide

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 Exenatide and Citronella Oil 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.

Worth understanding: our licensed dataset holds no drug-interaction record for Citronella Oil at all — not against Exenatide, 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.

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.

Citronella Oil safety at a glance

Citronella Oil overall Use caution Generally safe for topical and aromatic use, but it can irritate skin and should never be swallowed.
Pregnancy Use caution Limited safety data; use only sparingly on skin or in the air and check with your doctor first.
Breastfeeding Use caution Not well studied; avoid applying near the breast and consult your doctor before use.

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

Still wondering about combining Exenatide and Citronella Oil? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Citronella Oil and Exenatide 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.

  • A skin rash Additional detail

    Citronella Oil

    “Topically, citronella oil is thought to be a skin sensitizer and can potentially cause contact dermatitis. Applying citronella oil 100% to the skin causes irritation or a burning sensation in about 12% of people.”

    Citronella Oil · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dermatitis.

    2 sources cited
    1. 13084. Public Health Agency of Canada. Safety Tips on Using Personal Insect Repellents Available at: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/wn-no/repellents-insectifuge_e.html. (Accessed 24 May 2005)
    2. 97274. Sajo ME, Song SB, Bajgai J, et al. Applicability of citronella oil (Cymbopogon winteratus) for the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases in the rural area of Tikapur, far-western Nepal. Rural Remote Health 2015;15(4):3532. Epub 2015 Nov 12. DOI

    Exenatide

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

Effects for Exenatide come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Citronella Oil come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 52,314 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Exenatide that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Exenatide

This page covers Citronella Oil only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Exenatide page lists 239 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Siberian Cocklebur (major), Acai (moderate), African Wild Potato (moderate), Agaricus Mushroom (moderate) and Agmatine (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 208 moderate · 30 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Exenatide page

“Because exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon) exists to lower blood sugar, nearly every supplement on this list pulls at that same lever, and I treat that as a genuine warning rather than a footnote. Most entries, including everyday items like fenugreek, bitter melon, flaxseed, and ginseng, can drop glucose further and raise the odds of hypogly…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Exenatide interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Citronella Oil and Exenatide 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 Citronella Oil
Steady interest

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

29 days ago today
Medication Exenatide
Top half

#1,229 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 Citronella Oil reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Citronella Oil and Exenatide 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 Citronella Oil

What is Citronella Oil?

  • Insect and mosquito repellent
  • Aromatherapy and relaxation
  • Topical antimicrobial
  • Fragrance in soaps and household products
  • Skin and hair care products

Citronella oil is an essential oil made from a tropical grass and is best known as a natural insect repellent. Some evidence supports short-term mosquito protection, but it usually does not last as long as conventional repellents like DEET. It is meant for skin or air use, not for swallowing, and can irritate sensitive skin.

Cymbopogon nardus · Poaceae · Leaves and grass (steam-distilled essential oil) · Essential oil, sprays, lotions, candles, diffuser oil

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

Citronella Oil: dosing

There is no official standardized dose for citronella oil. For skin use, it is usually diluted with a carrier oil (such as coconut or almond oil) in commercial repellent products. For aromatherapy, a few drops are added to a diffuser or warm water.Because product strengths vary widely, the best approach is to follow the directions on the label and reapply repellent products as instructed.

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

Read the full Citronella Oil monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Exenatide Injection

What Is Exenatide Injection Used For?

Brand names: Byetta, Bydureon

Exenatide injection is used as an addition to diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes. It is not a substitute for healthy lifestyle changes — it works best when combined with them.

It should not be used together with other exenatide-containing products. The brands Byetta, Bydureon, and BYDUREON BCise all contain exenatide and should never be combined with each other.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Exenatide

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (52,314 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Blood glucose increased 15,475 reports
Weight decreased 12,125 reports
Nausea 12,042 reports
Decreased appetite 5,643 reports
Blood glucose decreased 5,517 reports
See full Exenatide Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Citronella Oil

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Citronella Oil — 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
2,829 No interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,829 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Citronella Oil list.

See the full Citronella Oil interactions page
See every supplement checked against Exenatide, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Citronella Oil References

The 5 references that drive our Citronella Oil 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. Blumenthal M, ed. The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. Trans. S. Klein. Boston, MA: American Botanical Council, 1998.
  2. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
  3. Ellenhorn MJ, et al. Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnoses and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1997.
  4. Public Health Agency of Canada. Safety Tips on Using Personal Insect Repellents Available at: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/wn-no/repellents-insectifuge_e.html. (Accessed 24 May 2005)
  5. Sajo ME, Song SB, Bajgai J, et al. Applicability of citronella oil (Cymbopogon winteratus) for the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases in the rural area of Tikapur, far-western Nepal. Rural Remote Health 2015;15(4):3532. Epub 2015 Nov 12. DOI

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 Citronella Oil and Exenatide Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Citronella Oil with Exenatide?
We do not list a known interaction between Citronella Oil and Exenatide. 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 Citronella Oil and Exenatide 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.
Does Exenatide interact with any supplements?
Yes. Exenatide has documented interactions with 239 supplements in our database — Citronella Oil is not one of them. The Exenatide 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

Citronella Oil monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Exenatide Injection drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Exenatide supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Exenatide, 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 5 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Exenatide and Citronella Oil?

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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.