Drug & supplement interaction

Diatomaceous Earth + Etoposide

Etoposide brand names: VePesid, VP16, Etopophos.

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 Diatomaceous Earth and Etoposide 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

Diatomaceous Earth and Etoposide

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 Etoposide and Diatomaceous Earth 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 Diatomaceous Earth at all — not against Etoposide, 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.

Diatomaceous Earth safety at a glance

Diatomaceous Earth overall Use caution Only food-grade products should be ingested, and human safety data is limited.
Pregnancy Avoid Safety has not been studied in pregnancy, so it is best avoided.
Breastfeeding Avoid There is no reliable safety data during breastfeeding, so avoid use.

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

Still wondering about combining Etoposide and Diatomaceous Earth? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

What Etoposide’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves Diatomaceous Earth. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Etoposide’s own FDA label, for the medication by itself. Knowing the drug’s own list makes it easier to work out the likely cause if something new turns up while you take both. 10 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • A low white blood cell count Worth acting on mentioned in 17.3% of FDA reports for Etoposide
  • Loss of vision Worth acting on
  • Trouble swallowing Worth acting on
  • A low platelet count Worth acting on mentioned in 5.6% of FDA reports for Etoposide
  • Fainting Worth acting on
  • Wheezing Worth acting on
  • A severe skin reaction Worth acting on
  • Anemia Worth acting on mentioned in 4.6% of FDA reports for Etoposide
  • Seizures Worth acting on
  • Raised blood pressure Worth acting on

Showing the 10 most notable of 36 label-listed effects — ranked by how unusual each one is across medicines generally, with serious effects weighted up.

From the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Etoposide. Read the label on DailyMed › Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 74,570 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Etoposide that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Diatomaceous Earth’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no Diatomaceous Earth side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that Diatomaceous Earth has no side effects.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Etoposide

This page covers Diatomaceous Earth only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Etoposide page lists 152 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Apple (major), Grapefruit (major), St. John's Wort (major) and Sweet Orange (major).

By severity: 5 major · 107 moderate · 40 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Etoposide page

“Chemotherapy is unforgiving of level swings, and swings are exactly what most of this list can cause for etoposide (VePesid, Etopophos). Of the 152 supplements and herbs on file, 121 can change how your liver clears etoposide through the CYP3A4 enzyme, meaning too little drug and an undertreated cancer, or too much and harsher toxicity.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Etoposide interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Diatomaceous Earth and Etoposide 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 Diatomaceous Earth
Steady interest

#1,392 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Etoposide
Steady interest

#1,568 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 Diatomaceous Earth reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Diatomaceous Earth and Etoposide 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 Diatomaceous Earth

What is Diatomaceous Earth?

  • Digestive cleansing or 'detox'
  • Intestinal parasite support
  • Skin, hair, and nail health (silica)
  • Cholesterol support
  • Toxin or heavy metal binding

Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder made from the fossilized shells of tiny algae called diatoms. Only food-grade diatomaceous earth should ever be swallowed, and human evidence for its health claims (detox, parasites, cholesterol) is very limited. Never inhale the dust, and talk to a pharmacist or doctor before taking it.

Fossilized remains of diatoms (a type of algae) · Food-grade powder, capsules, mixed into water or smoothies

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

Diatomaceous Earth: dosing

There is no official, standardized dose of diatomaceous earth, and it is not approved as a medicine. Amounts vary widely between products and brands.If you choose to use it, follow the directions on a clearly labeled food-grade product, start low, and drink plenty of water.

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

Read the full Diatomaceous Earth monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Etoposide

What Is Etoposide Used For?

Brand names: VePesid, VP16, Etopophos

Etoposide injection (available as Avopef, Etopophos, Toposar, and Etoposide) is used to treat refractory testicular tumors — cancers that have already been treated with surgery, radiation, and other chemotherapy — always in combination with other cancer drugs. It is also used for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) as a first-line treatment, given together with other chemotherapy and, in the case of Avopef, with immunotherapy as well.

Etoposide capsules (VePesid and Etoposide capsules) are approved for small cell lung cancer as first-line treatment in combination with other chemotherapy agents. Capsule forms are not approved for testicular cancer, as the label notes that adequate data on their use in that setting are not available.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Etoposide

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (74,570 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Febrile neutropenia 7,773 reports
Neutropenia 5,108 reports
Disease progression 4,642 reports
Thrombocytopenia 4,169 reports
Fever 3,494 reports
See full Etoposide drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Diatomaceous Earth

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Diatomaceous Earth — 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 Diatomaceous Earth 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 Diatomaceous Earth list.

See the full Diatomaceous Earth interactions page
See every supplement checked against Etoposide, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Diatomaceous Earth References

The 6 references that drive our Diatomaceous Earth 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. Rushton L. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and occupational exposure to silica. Rev Environ Health 2007;22(4):255-72. PubMed
  2. Gallagher LG, Park RM, Checkoway H. Extended follow-up of lung cancer and non-malignant respiratory disease mortality among California diatomaceous earth workers. Occup Environ Med. 2015;72(5):360-5. PubMed
  3. Moisan S, Rucay P, Ghali A, Penneau-Fontbonne D, Lavigne C. Silica-associated limited systemic sclerosis after occupational exposure to calcined diatomaceous earth. Joint Bone Spine. 2010;77(5):472-3. PubMed
  4. Park R, Rice F, Stayner L, Smith R, Gilbert S, Checkoway H. Exposure to crystalline silica, silicosis, and lung disease other than cancer in diatomaceous earth industry workers: a quantitative risk assessment. Occup Environ Med. 2002;59(1):36-43. PubMed
  5. Nattrass C, Horwell CJ, Damby DE, Kermanizadeh A, Brown DM, Stone V. The global variability of diatomaceous earth toxicity: a physicochemical and in vitro investigation. J Occup Med Toxicol. 2015 10;10:23. PubMed
  6. Wachter H, Lechleitner M, Artner-Dworzak E, Hausen A, Jarosch E, Widner B, Patsch J, Pfeiffer K, Fuchs D. Diatomaceous earth lowers blood cholesterol concentrations. Eur J Med Res. 1998 8;3(4):211-5.

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 Diatomaceous Earth and Etoposide Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Diatomaceous Earth with Etoposide?
We do not list a known interaction between Diatomaceous Earth and Etoposide. 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 Etoposide interact with any supplements?
Yes. Etoposide has documented interactions with 152 supplements in our database — Diatomaceous Earth is not one of them. The Etoposide 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

Diatomaceous Earth monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Etoposide drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Etoposide supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Etoposide, 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 6 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Etoposide and Diatomaceous Earth?

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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.