Drug & supplement interaction

Glycerol + Zidovudine

Zidovudine brand names: Retrovir, Retrovir Injection.

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 Glycerol and Zidovudine 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

Glycerol and Zidovudine

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 Zidovudine and Glycerol 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 Glycerol at all — not against Zidovudine, 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.

Glycerol safety at a glance

Glycerol overall Use caution Generally well tolerated in normal amounts, but large oral doses can cause stomach upset and dehydration concerns.
Pregnancy Use caution Topical and food-amount use is likely fine, but talk to your doctor before using medicinal doses.
Breastfeeding Use caution Little specific safety data exists, so check with your doctor before using larger medicinal amounts.

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

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

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Glycerol and Zidovudine May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

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.

  • Vomiting / Nausea Additional detail

    Glycerol

    “Orally, glycerol can cause bloating, nausea, vomiting, thirst, and diarrhea (15,2475).”

    Glycerol · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    2 sources cited
    1. 15. McEvoy GK, ed. AHFS Drug Information. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1998.
    2. 2475. Wagner DR. Hyperhydrating with glycerol: implications for athletic performance. J Am Diet Assoc 1999;99:207-12. PubMed

    Zidovudine

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

  • Headache Additional detail

    Glycerol

    “Orally, glycerol can cause mild headache and dizziness (15,2475).”

    Glycerol · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.

    2 sources cited
    1. 15. McEvoy GK, ed. AHFS Drug Information. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1998.
    2. 2475. Wagner DR. Hyperhydrating with glycerol: implications for athletic performance. J Am Diet Assoc 1999;99:207-12. PubMed

    Zidovudine

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

Reported for Glycerol but not commonly for Zidovudine: a stroke or mini-stroke, dizziness, hives and diarrhea.

Effects for Zidovudine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Glycerol 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.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Zidovudine

This page covers Glycerol only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Zidovudine page lists 60 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), Wine (major) and African Wild Potato (moderate).

By severity: 4 major · 47 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Zidovudine page

“The liver is where the biggest danger on this page sits. Zidovudine (Retrovir), an HIV medicine that can strain the liver on its own, has 38 listed ingredients capable of piling on additional liver stress, led by Siberian cocklebur, a major-rated entry linked to actual liver failure.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Zidovudine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 775 real supplement products containing Glycerol, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Glycerol. Even though Glycerol itself has no known interaction with Zidovudine, 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 Glycerol and Zidovudine 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 Glycerol
Top 10%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Zidovudine
Steady interest

#2,117 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 Glycerol reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Glycerol and Zidovudine 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 Glycerol

What is Glycerol?

Glycerol
  • Constipation (laxative)
  • Dry skin (moisturizer)
  • Dry, irritated eyes
  • Sore throat (in lozenges)
  • Athletic hydration and endurance
  • Cough and chest congestion (in some syrups)

Glycerol (glycerin) is a sweet, syrupy compound made naturally in the body and widely used in foods, skin products, and medicines. It is well established as a laxative and a skin and eye moisturizer, while its use to boost athletic performance is less proven and is banned in sports because it can mask other substances. For most people it is well tolerated, but check with a pharmacist before using it medicinally, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a health condition.

Not applicable (a simple chemical compound, also made naturally in the body) · Oral liquid, syrup, rectal suppositories, enemas, eye drops, skin creams and lotions, throat lozenges, sports drinks

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

Glycerol: dosing

There is no single "standard" dose of glycerol because it depends entirely on the product and the reason for use. A glycerin suppository for constipation, an oral laxative solution, an eye drop, and a sports hydration drink all use very different amounts.The safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label or your healthcare provider's instructions.

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

Read the full Glycerol monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Zidovudine

What Is Zidovudine Used For?

Brand names: Retrovir, Retrovir Injection

Zidovudine is used in combination with other antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV-1 infection in adults and children. It is available as capsules, tablets, oral solution, and — as Retrovir injection — intravenously for patients who cannot take oral forms.

Retrovir (zidovudine) capsules, oral solution, and injection are also approved to help prevent HIV-1 from passing from a pregnant mother to her baby. This prevention regimen involves treating the mother before and during labor, and then treating the newborn after birth. In most cases, other antiretroviral medicines are used alongside zidovudine for this purpose.

See full Zidovudine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Glycerol

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

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

Glycerol References

The 8 references that drive our Glycerol 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. McEvoy GK, ed. AHFS Drug Information. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1998.
  2. Wagner DR. Hyperhydrating with glycerol: implications for athletic performance. J Am Diet Assoc 1999;99:207-12. PubMed
  3. Yu YL, Kumana CR, Lauder IJ, et al. Treatment of acute cortical infarct with intravenous glycerol. A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial. Stroke 1993;24:1119-24. PubMed
  4. Frei A, Cottier C, Wunderlich P, Ludin E. Glycerol and dextran combined in the therapy of acute stroke. A placebo-controlled, double-blind trial with a planned interim analysis. Stroke 1987;18:373-9. PubMed
  5. Balaskas E, Szepietowski JC, Bessis D, Ioannides D, Ponticelli C, Ghienne C, Taberly A, Dupuy P. Randomized, double-blind study with glycerol and paraffin in uremic xerosis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2011 Apr;6(4):748-52. PubMed
  6. Blanchet-Bardon C, Tadini G, Machado Matos M, Delarue A. Association of glycerol and paraffin in the treatment of ichthyosis in children: an international, multicentric, randomized, controlled, double-blind study. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2012 Aug;26 PubMed
  7. Kajita N, Kanamori K, Yamamoto S, Yoshida K. Generalized Urticaria Caused by a Glycerin Enema in an Infant. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2022;32(4):318-319. PubMed
  8. Suzuki R, Fukuyama K, Miyazaki Y, Namiki T. Contact urticaria syndrome and protein contact dermatitis caused by glycerin enema. JAAD Case Reports. 2016;2:108-10. 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

Taking Glycerol and Zidovudine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Glycerol with Zidovudine?
We do not list a known interaction between Glycerol and Zidovudine. 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 Glycerol and Zidovudine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 3 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 Zidovudine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Zidovudine has documented interactions with 60 supplements in our database — Glycerol is not one of them. The Zidovudine 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

Glycerol monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Zidovudine drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Zidovudine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Zidovudine, 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 8 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Zidovudine and Glycerol?

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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.