Drug & supplement interaction

Honey + Aspirin, Butalbital

Aspirin, Butalbital brand name: Axotal.

Minor Interaction
The bottom line Minor

Honey has a minor interaction with Aspirin, Butalbital. Theoretically, honey may increase the risk of bleeding when used with anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMinor
LikelihoodUnlikely
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Honey and Aspirin, Butalbital

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Minor

ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS

Why this applies to Aspirin, Butalbital

Aspirin, Butalbital falls under ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS — the group Honey interacts with.

Theoretically, honey may increase the risk of bleeding when used with anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs.
In vitro, honey inhibits platelet aggregation and increases the time to clotting. Furthermore, animal research suggests that feeding mice large doses of honey for 12 days increases bleeding time when compared with no intervention. However, these effects have not been reported in humans.
Severity Minor Likelihood Unlikely Evidence D

Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans..

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Axotal combines aspirin with butalbital, and the part that matters here is the aspirin. Aspirin already works by making your platelets less sticky, which is how it thins the blood a little. Honey, at least in lab dishes and in mice given very large amounts, also seems to slow clotting slightly. So in theory, stacking the two could nudge your bleeding risk up a touch (think easier bruising, a nosebleed that lingers, or a cut that takes a bit longer to stop).

Here's my honest take: this has never actually been seen in people, and the evidence is only test-tube and animal data. Everyday culinary honey on toast or in tea is very unlikely to cause any trouble. If you use concentrated honey supplements daily or notice unusual bleeding, just check in with your pharmacist or doctor.

References
  1. Ahmed, A., Khan, R. A., Azim, M. K., Saeed, S. A., Mesaik, M. A., Ahmed, S., and Imran, I. Effect of natural honey on human platelets and blood coagulation proteins. Pak.J Pharm Sci 2011;24(3):389-397.
  2. Martina SJ, Ramar LAP, Silaban MRI, Luthfi M, Govindan PAP. Antiplatelet Effectivity between Aspirin with Honey on Cardiovascular Disease Based on Bleeding Time Taken on Mice. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2019 Oct 14;7(20):3416-3420. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Honey Also Interacts With Other Medications

Honey has 5 moderate, 732 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Aspirin, Butalbital one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Honey

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Aspirin, Butalbital

This page covers Honey only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Aspirin, Butalbital page lists 245 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Asarabacca (major), Beer (major), Danshen (major) and Piracetam (major).

By severity: 7 major · 208 moderate · 30 minor.

Open the Aspirin, Butalbital interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 298 real supplement products containing Honey, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Honey. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Aspirin, Butalbital too, on top of Honey — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Honey and Aspirin, Butalbital 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 Honey
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Aspirin, Butalbital
Top 5%

#42 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.

Supplement

About Honey

What is Honey?

Honey
  • Cough and sore throat
  • Wound and burn care
  • Soothing minor skin irritation
  • Sweetener and home remedy
  • Digestive upset

Honey is a natural food with some real, modest evidence for easing coughs and helping certain wounds, especially when special medical-grade or Manuka honey is used. It is generally safe for most adults and children over 1 year, but should never be given to infants under 12 months because of the risk of botulism.

Read the full Honey monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Honey

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

0Major
5Moderate
732Minor
2,092No known interaction
Moderate

5 interactions

Minor

732 interactions

Showing 60 of 732 minor interactions — see all 732 on the Honey page.

No interaction 2,092 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,092 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Honey list.

Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Honey and Aspirin, Butalbital Together: Common Questions

Can you take Honey with Aspirin, Butalbital?
There is only a minor interaction, which is usually not serious. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Honey and Aspirin, Butalbital interaction?
We rate it Minor. This interaction is generally not clinically significant, but it remains worth noting and discussing with your pharmacist.

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

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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.