Drug & supplement interaction

Honey + Gentamicin

Gentamicin brand name: Genoptic.

No Known Interaction

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026

The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Honey and Gentamicin 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

Honey and Gentamicin

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 Gentamicin and Honey 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.

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.

Honey safety at a glance

Honey overall Generally safe Generally safe as a food for adults and children over 1 year of age.

Pregnancy Likely Safe When consumed in food amounts. The concern about botulism pertains to children under 12 months of age and not to pregnant adults. There is insufficient reliable... Read the full pregnancy detail

Breastfeeding Likely Safe When consumed in food amounts. The concern about botulism pertains to children under 12 months of age and not to pregnant adults. There is insufficient reliable... Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Gentamicin and Honey? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›

Keep it in perspective

Honey Does Interact With Other Medications

Honey has 5 moderate, 731 minor known drug interactions in our database — Gentamicin isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 5 Minor 731 No known interaction 2,094 (incl. Gentamicin)

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.

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Honey and Gentamicin 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. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

An allergic reaction Worth acting on Additional detail
Honey
“Orally, honey can cause allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis (6,11,108531,108532). These reactions may be due to various components of the honey, including the honey itself, pollen, or bee secretions. When used topically, local allergic reactions have been reported in people with pre-existing atopy. Allergic contact dermatitis related to honey enriched with propolis has been reported.”

Honey · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in atopic disease.
6 sources cited

6. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.

11. Leung AY, Foster S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics. 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.

108531. Jhawar N, Gonzalez-Estrada A. Honey-induced anaphylaxis in an adult. QJM 2022;115(5):325-326. PubMed

108532. Di Costanzo M, De Paulis N, Peveri S, Montagni M, Berni Canani R, Biasucci G. Anaphylaxis caused by artisanal honey in a child: a case report. J Med Case Rep 2021;15(1):235. PubMed

91370. Vezir E, Kaya A, Toyran M, Azkur D, Dibek Misirlioglu E, Kocabas CN. Anaphylaxis/angioedema caused by honey ingestion. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2014 Jan-Feb;35(1):71-4. PubMed

16356. Simon A, Traynor K, Santos K, et al. Medical honey for wound care - still the 'latest resort'? Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2009;6:165-73. PubMed
Gentamicin

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

Reported for Honey but not commonly for Gentamicin: a heart attack, an irregular heartbeat, stomach pain and anxiety or restlessness.

Effects for Gentamicin come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Honey come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 15,711 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Gentamicin 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.

Special populations

Honey in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Safe

When consumed in food amounts. The concern about botulism pertains to children under 12 months of age and not to pregnant adults. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of honey when used for medicinal purposes when pregnant or breast-feeding.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

Overlapping uses

What Gentamicin Is Prescribed For, and What Honey Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Gentamicin is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Honey is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Gentamicin is prescribed for: Gentamicin Sulfate Ophthalmic Solution is used to treat a range of bacterial eye infections. These include conjunctivitis (pink eye), keratitis and keratoconjunctivitis (infections of the cornea), corneal ulcers, blepharitis and blepharoconjunctivitis (eyelid infections), acute meibomianitis (infection of the oil glands in the eyelid), and dacryocystitis (infection of the tear duct). It works only against infections caused by bacteria that are sensitive to gentamicin — it will not treat viral or fungal eye infections.

Honey has been studied for:

Blepharitis studied, not established Honey has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

Honey for blepharitis

It is unclear if topical honey is beneficial for blepharitis.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Gentamicin on your own; if you are taking Honey for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

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. Even though Honey itself has no known interaction with Gentamicin, 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 Honey and Gentamicin 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%

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

29 days ago today

Medication Gentamicin

Top half

#1,009 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 Honey reference on this page ↓
Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Honey and Gentamicin 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 Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS.

Supplement

About Honey

What is 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.

Honey produced by honeybees from flower nectar · Raw honey, processed honey, Manuka honey, medical-grade honey, lozenges, syrups, topical wound dressings

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

Honey: dosing

There is no official standardized dose for honey.

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

Read the full Honey monograph & all interactions

Medication

About Gentamicin Ophthalmic

What Is Gentamicin Ophthalmic Used For?

Brand name: Genoptic

Gentamicin Sulfate Ophthalmic Solution is used to treat a range of bacterial eye infections. These include conjunctivitis (pink eye), keratitis and keratoconjunctivitis (infections of the cornea), corneal ulcers, blepharitis and blepharoconjunctivitis (eyelid infections), acute meibomianitis (infection of the oil glands in the eyelid), and dacryocystitis (infection of the tear duct).

It works only against infections caused by bacteria that are sensitive to gentamicin — it will not treat viral or fungal eye infections.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Gentamicin

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (15,711 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Acute kidney injury 1,204 reports

Fever 896 reports

Renal failure 705 reports

Diarrhea 562 reports

Sepsis 508 reports

See full Gentamicin Ophthalmic drug information

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

731Minor

2,093No known interaction

5 Moderate 731 Minor 2,093 No interaction

Moderate

5 interactions

Minor

731 interactions

Showing 60 of 731 minor interactions — see all 731 on the Honey page.

No interaction 2,093 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 2,093 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Honey list.

See the full Honey interactions page

See every supplement checked against Gentamicin, ranked by severity

Evidence & sources

Honey References

The 40 references that drive our Honey 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.

The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
Leung AY, Foster S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics. 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
Bose B. Honey or sugar in treatment of infected wounds? Lancet 1982;1:963. PubMed
Ozhan H, Akdemir R, Yazici M, et al. Cardiac emergencies caused by honey ingestion: a single centre experience. Emerg Med J 2004;21:742-4. PubMed
Centers for Disease Control. Botulism in the Unites Sates, 1899-1996. Handbook for epidemiologists, clinicians, and laboratory workers, 1998. Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/botulism.PDF.
Simon A, Traynor K, Santos K, et al. Medical honey for wound care - still the 'latest resort'? Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2009;6:165-73. PubMed
Gethin G, Cowman S. Case series of use of Manuka honey in leg ulceration. Int Wound J 2005;2:10-15. PubMed
Ingle R, Levin J, Polinder K. Wound healing with honey - a randomised controlled trial. S Afr Med J 2006;96:831-5.
Johnson DW, van Eps C, Mudge DW, et al. Randomized, controlled trial of topical exit-site application of honey (Medihoney) versus mupirocin for the prevention of catheter-associated infections in hemodialysis patients. J Am Soc Nephrol 2005;16:1456-62. PubMed
Sukriti and Garg, S. K. Influence of honey on the pharmacokinetics of phenytoin in rabbits. Ind J Pharmacol 2002;34(147).
Jung, A. and Ottosson, J. [Infantile botulism caused by honey]. Ugeskr Laeger 2001;163(2):169.
Gunduz, A., Turedi, S., Uzun, H., and Topbas, M. Mad honey poisoning. Am J Emerg.Med 2006;24(5):595-598.
van der Vorst, M. M., Jamal, W., Rotimi, V. O., and Moosa, A. Infant botulism due to consumption of contaminated commercially prepared honey. First report from the Arabian Gulf States. Med Princ.Pract. 2006;15(6):456-458. PubMed
Tushar, T., Vinod, T., Rajan, S., Shashindran, C., and Adithan, C. Effect of honey on CYP3A4, CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 enzyme activity in healthy human volunteers. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 2007;100(4):269-272. PubMed
Nilforoushzadeh, M. A., Jaffary, F., Moradi, S., Derakhshan, R., and Haftbaradaran, E. Effect of topical honey application along with intralesional injection of glucantime in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. BMC Complement Altern Med 2007;7:13. PubMed
Koca, I. and Koca, A. F. Poisoning by mad honey: a brief review. Food Chem Toxicol 2007;45(8):1315-1318. PubMed
Akinci, S., Arslan, U., Karakurt, K., and Cengel, A. An unusual presentation of mad honey poisoning: acute myocardial infarction. Int J Cardiol 2008;129(2):e56-e58. PubMed
Yildirim, N., Aydin, M., Cam, F., and Celik, O. Clinical presentation of non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in the course of intoxication with mad honey. Am J Emerg Med 2008;26(1):108.e-2. PubMed
Shrestha, P., Vaidya, R., and Sherpa, K. Mad honey poisoning: a rare case report of seven cases. Nepal Med Coll J 2009;11(3):212-213.
Fetzner, L., Burhenne, J., Weiss, J., Völker, M., Unger, M., Mikus, G., and Haefeli, W. E. Daily honey consumption does not change CYP3A activity in humans. J Clin Pharmacol 2011;51(8):1223-1232. PubMed
Thamboo, A., Thamboo, A., Philpott, C., Javer, A., and Clark, A. Single-blind study of manuka honey in allergic fungal rhinosinusitis. J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2011;40(3):238-243.
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.
Yarlioglues, M., Akpek, M., Ardic, I., Elcik, D., Sahin, O., and Kaya, M. G. Mad-honey sexual activity and acute inferior myocardial infarctions in a married couple. Tex.Heart Inst.J 2011;38(5):577-580.
Biberoglu, S., Biberoglu, K., and Komsuoglu, B. Mad honey. JAMA 4-1-1988;259(13):1943.
Biberoglu, K., Biberoglu, S., and Komsuoglu, B. Transient Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome during honey intoxication. Isr.J.Med.Sci. 1988;24(4-5):253-254.
Gössinger, H., Hruby, K., Pohl, A., Davogg, S., Sutterlütti, G., and Mathis, G. [Poisoning with andromedotoxin-containing honey]. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 1983;108(41):1555-1558.
Fenicia, L., Ferrini, A. M., Aureli, P., and Pocecco, M. A case of infant botulism associated with honey feeding in Italy. Eur J Epidemiol 1993;9(6):671-673. PubMed
Sutlupinar, N., Mat, A., and Satganoglu, Y. Poisoning by toxic honey in Turkey. Arch.Toxicol. 1993;67(2):148-150. PubMed
von Malottki, K. and Wiechmann, H. W. [Acute life-threatening bradycardia: food poisoning by Turkish wild honey]. Dtsch.Med.Wochenschr. 7-26-1996;121(30):936-938.
Abdulla CO, Ayubi A, Zulfiquer F, Santhanam G, Ahmed MA, Deeb J. Infant botulism following honey ingestion. BMJ Case Rep. 2012 Sep 7;2012.
Johnson DW, Badve SV, Pascoe EM, Beller E, Cass A, Clark C, de Zoysa J, Isbel NM, McTaggart S, Morrish AT, Playford EG, Scaria A, Snelling P, Vergara LA, Hawley CM; HONEYPOT Study Collaborative Group. Antibacterial honey for the prevention of peritoneal-d
Matos D, Serrano P, Menezes Brandão F. A case of allergic contact dermatitis caused by propolis-enriched honey. Contact Dermatitis. 2015 Jan;72(1):59-60. PubMed
Oduwole O, Meremikwu MM, Oyo-Ita A, Udoh EE. Honey for acute cough in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Dec 23;12:CD007094. PubMed
Vezir E, Kaya A, Toyran M, Azkur D, Dibek Misirlioglu E, Kocabas CN. Anaphylaxis/angioedema caused by honey ingestion. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2014 Jan-Feb;35(1):71-4. PubMed
Wang YT, Qi Y, Tang FY, et al. The effect of cupping therapy for low back pain: A meta-analysis based on existing randomized controlled trials. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2017;30(6):1187-1195. PubMed
Oduwole O, Udoh EE, Oyo-Ita A, Meremikwu MM. Honey for acute cough in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;4:CD007094. PubMed
Wong D, Albietz JM, Tran H, et al. Treatment of contact lens related dry eye with antibacterial honey. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2017;40(6):389-393. PubMed
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
Jhawar N, Gonzalez-Estrada A. Honey-induced anaphylaxis in an adult. QJM 2022;115(5):325-326. PubMed
Di Costanzo M, De Paulis N, Peveri S, Montagni M, Berni Canani R, Biasucci G. Anaphylaxis caused by artisanal honey in a child: a case report. J Med Case Rep 2021;15(1):235. 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 Honey and Gentamicin Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Honey with Gentamicin?

We do not list a known interaction between Honey and Gentamicin. 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 Honey and Gentamicin 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.

Are Honey and Gentamicin used for the same thing?

They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Honey in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Gentamicin is being adjusted to a target.

Does Honey interact with any other medications?

Yes. Honey has 736 documented drug interactions in our database — Gentamicin is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.

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

Where next

Keep Exploring

Honey monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Gentamicin Ophthalmic drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Gentamicin supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Gentamicin, 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 40 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

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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.