Drug & supplement interaction

Light Therapy + Cabotegravir

Cabotegravir brand name: Apretude.

No Known Interaction

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 27, 2026

The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Light Therapy and Cabotegravir 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

Light Therapy and Cabotegravir

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 Cabotegravir and Light Therapy in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — research on Light Therapy alongside specific medications may be limited.

Light Therapy is a treatment rather than something you take. Tell whoever provides it which medicines you use, and ask your prescriber whether it is appropriate for your health and treatment. 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.

Light Therapy safety at a glance

Light Therapy overall Use caution Generally well tolerated, but certain eye, skin, and mood conditions need medical guidance.

Pregnancy Possibly Safe When bright light therapy is used short-term. Other types of light therapies, especially PUVA, have not been extensively evaluated in pregnancy or lactation. On... Read the full pregnancy detail

Breastfeeding Possibly Safe When bright light therapy is used short-term. Other types of light therapies, especially PUVA, have not been extensively evaluated in pregnancy or lactation. On... 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 Cabotegravir and Light Therapy? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›

How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Cabotegravir

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Cabotegravir is filed under a single classification — glucuronidated drugs. Light Therapy has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being photosensitizing drugs (moderate) — and none of Cabotegravir’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Light Therapy Does Interact With Other Medications

Light Therapy has 335 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Cabotegravir isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 335 No known interaction 2,495 (incl. Cabotegravir)

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Light Therapy

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Light Therapy and Cabotegravir 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 having Light Therapy while taking the medicine can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do.

Muscle pain / Tiredness Additional detail
Light Therapy
“Muscle pain, weakness, and fatigue have been reported in adults using light therapy.”

Light Therapy · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in fatigue.
1 source cited

106586. Nussbaumer-Streit B, Thaler K, Chapman A, et al. Second-generation antidepressants for treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021;3(3):CD008591. PubMed
Cabotegravir

Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Cabotegravir. Read the label on DailyMed ›
Stomach pain / Diarrhea Additional detail
Light Therapy
“Nausea is a commonly reported side effect of light therapy. Changes in appetite, dry mouth, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain have also been reported.”

Light Therapy · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in constipation.
3 sources cited

28938. Morgan, M. and Khan, D. A. Therapeutic alternatives for chronic urticaria: an evidence-based review, Part 2. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2008;100(6):517-526. PubMed

28979. Terman, M. and Terman, J. S. Bright light therapy: side effects and benefits across the symptom spectrum. J Clin Psychiatry 1999;60(11):799-808. DOI

106586. Nussbaumer-Streit B, Thaler K, Chapman A, et al. Second-generation antidepressants for treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021;3(3):CD008591. PubMed
Cabotegravir

Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Cabotegravir. Read the label on DailyMed ›
Headache Additional detail
Light Therapy
“Headache, decreased sex drive, tremor, and trouble falling asleep have been reported in patients receiving light therapy. Exposure to light therapy for more than 24 hours as an infant is linked to higher odds of development delays in the domains of communication, gross motor, problem solving, and personal-social skills by 3 years of age.”

Light Therapy · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.
6 sources cited

28931. Tuunainen, A., Kripke, D. F., and Endo, T. Light therapy for non-seasonal depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004;(2):CD004050. DOI

28936. Chesson, A. L., Jr., Littner, M., Davila, D., Anderson, W. M., Grigg-Damberger, M., Hartse, K., Johnson, S., and Wise, M. Practice parameters for the use of light therapy in the treatment of sleep disorders. Standards of Practice Committee, American Acade DOI

28979. Terman, M. and Terman, J. S. Bright light therapy: side effects and benefits across the symptom spectrum. J Clin Psychiatry 1999;60(11):799-808. DOI

106586. Nussbaumer-Streit B, Thaler K, Chapman A, et al. Second-generation antidepressants for treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021;3(3):CD008591. PubMed

109264. Donmez M, Yorguner N, Kora K, Topcuoglu V. Efficacy of bright light therapy in perinatal depression: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Psychiatr Res 2022;149:315-322. PubMed

109271. Sun W, Yan J, Wu J, Ma H. Efficacy and safety of light therapy as a home treatment for motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson disease: A meta-analysis. Med Sci Monit 2022;28:e935074. PubMed
Cabotegravir

Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Cabotegravir. Read the label on DailyMed ›
Nausea Additional detail

Light Therapy

“Phototherapy seems to be well tolerated when used appropriately.

Most Common Adverse Effects:

Mild burning, nausea, phototoxicity, pruritus, and redness.

Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):

Hypomania or mania, skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma.”

Light Therapy · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in nausea and vomiting.

Cabotegravir

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

Reported for Light Therapy but not commonly for Cabotegravir: a change in sex drive, blurred vision, eye irritation or redness and constipation.

Effects for Cabotegravir come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Light Therapy come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 15,229 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Cabotegravir 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

Light Therapy in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Possibly Safe

When bright light therapy is used short-term. Other types of light therapies, especially PUVA, have not been extensively evaluated in pregnancy or lactation. One preliminary study suggests that PUVA use does not result in teratogenic effects. Until more information is available, avoid use in those who are pregnant and lactating.

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Cabotegravir

This page covers Light Therapy only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Cabotegravir page lists 12 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Breadfruit (moderate), Brussels Sprout (moderate), Cabbage (moderate), Calcium D-glucarate (moderate) and Cannabidiol (cbd) (moderate).

By severity: 11 moderate · 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Cabotegravir page

“Cabotegravir (Apretude) prevents HIV only while its blood level stays steady, which is why this particular list, mild as it looks, deserves a real read. Every one of the interactions works through the same pathway, glucuronidation, the process the body uses to clear the drug.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Cabotegravir interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Light Therapy and Cabotegravir 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 Light Therapy

Top half

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

29 days ago today

Medication Cabotegravir

Steady interest

#2,160 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 Light Therapy reference on this page ↓
Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 27, 2026. The Light Therapy and Cabotegravir 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.

Treatment approach

About Light Therapy

What is Light Therapy?

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Non-seasonal depression
Sleep and circadian rhythm problems
Jet lag and shift-work sleep issues
Certain skin conditions

Light therapy uses controlled exposure to bright artificial light and is best supported for seasonal affective disorder, where it is a recognized treatment option. It is generally safe for most people when used as directed, but you should talk to a doctor or pharmacist first, especially if you have eye conditions, bipolar disorder, or take medicines that increase light sensitivity.

Not applicable (light exposure, not a plant) · Light boxes, dawn-simulating alarm clocks, light visors, wearable light devices, blue/red light panels

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

Light Therapy: dosing

There is no single dose that fits everyone, and the right approach depends on the device and the reason you are using it. For seasonal affective disorder, a common general approach involves a 10,000-lux light box used for a set time in the morning, sitting a recommended distance from the light with eyes open but not staring at it.Because brightness, distance, and timing all matter, follow the instructions that come with your specific device. They can help you pick the right device and schedule.

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

Read the full Light Therapy monograph & all interactions

Medication

About Cabotegravir

What Is Cabotegravir Used For?

Brand name: Apretude

Vocabria (cabotegravir) tablets are used in combination with rilpivirine (Edurant) to treat HIV-1 infection in adults and adolescents aged 12 and older who weigh at least 35 kg and whose HIV is already virologically suppressed (virus levels undetectable or very low on their current regimen). Vocabria tablets serve as a short-term oral lead-in — taken for roughly one month — before switching to long-acting injectable therapy.

Cabotegravir tablets are also used as an oral lead-in for HIV-1 pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) — helping HIV-negative adults and adolescents (weighing at least 35 kg) confirm they tolerate the drug before starting injectable PrEP. Both uses require confirmed HIV-negative status before starting.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Cabotegravir

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (15,229 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Injection site pain 1,618 reports

Viral load increased 962 reports

Virologic failure 684 reports

Product use in unapproved therapeutic environment 683 reports

Pathogen resistance 575 reports

See full Cabotegravir drug information

Keep checking

Other Drugs & Light Therapy

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

0Major

335Moderate

0Minor

2,494No known interaction

335 Moderate 2,494 No interaction

Moderate

335 interactions

Showing 60 of 335 moderate interactions — see all 335 on the Light Therapy page.

No interaction 2,494 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,494 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Light Therapy list.

See the full Light Therapy interactions page

See every supplement checked against Cabotegravir, ranked by severity

Evidence & sources

Light Therapy References

The 35 references that drive our Light Therapy 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.

Meduri, N. B., Vandergriff, T., Rasmussen, H., and Jacobe, H. Phototherapy in the management of atopic dermatitis: a systematic review. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed 2007;23(4):106-112. PubMed
Kumar, P., Chawla, D., and Deorari, A. Light-emitting diode phototherapy for unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia in neonates. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011;(12):CD007969. PubMed
Pathirana, D., Ormerod, A. D., Saiag, P., Smith, C., Spuls, P. I., Nast, A., Barker, J., Bos, J. D., Burmester, G. R., Chimenti, S., Dubertret, L., Eberlein, B., Erdmann, R., Ferguson, J., Girolomoni, G., Gisondi, P., Giunta, A., Griffiths, C., Honigsmann
Beani, J. C. and Jeanmougin, M. [Narrow-band UVB therapy in psoriasis vulgaris: good practice guideline and recommendations of the French Society of Photodermatology]. Ann Dermatol Venereol 2010;137(1):21-31.
Leon, A., Nguyen, A., Letsinger, J., and Koo, J. An attempt to formulate an evidence-based strategy in the management of moderate-to-severe psoriasis: a review of the efficacy and safety of biologics and prebiologic options. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2007; PubMed
Kroft, E. B., Berkhof, N. J., van de Kerkhof, P. C., Gerritsen, R. M., and de Jong, E. M. Ultraviolet A phototherapy for sclerotic skin diseases: a systematic review. J Am Acad Dermatol 2008;59(6):1017-1030. PubMed
Tuunainen, A., Kripke, D. F., and Endo, T. Light therapy for non-seasonal depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004;(2):CD004050. DOI
Chesson, A. L., Jr., Littner, M., Davila, D., Anderson, W. M., Grigg-Damberger, M., Hartse, K., Johnson, S., and Wise, M. Practice parameters for the use of light therapy in the treatment of sleep disorders. Standards of Practice Committee, American Acade DOI
Morgan, M. and Khan, D. A. Therapeutic alternatives for chronic urticaria: an evidence-based review, Part 2. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2008;100(6):517-526. PubMed
Lee, E., Koo, J., and Berger, T. UVB phototherapy and skin cancer risk: a review of the literature. Int J Dermatol 2005;44(5):355-360. PubMed
Murase, J. E., Lee, E. E., and Koo, J. Effect of ethnicity on the risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancer following long-term PUVA therapy. Int J Dermatol 2005;44(12):1016-1021. PubMed
Morison, W. L., Baughman, R. D., Day, R. M., Forbes, P. D., Hoenigsmann, H., Krueger, G. G., Lebwohl, M., Lew, R., Naldi, L., Parrish, J. A., Piepkorn, M., Stern, R. S., Weinstein, G. D., and Whitmore, S. E. Consensus workshop on the toxic effects of long
Stern, R. S. The risk of squamous cell and basal cell cancer associated with psoralen and ultraviolet A therapy: a 30-year prospective study. J Am Acad Dermatol 2012;66(4):553-562. PubMed
Stern, R. S. and Lunder, E. J. Risk of squamous cell carcinoma and methoxsalen (psoralen) and UV-A radiation (PUVA). A meta-analysis. Arch Dermatol 1998;134(12):1582-1585. PubMed
Swerdlow, A. J. and Weinstock, M. A. Do tanning lamps cause melanoma? An epidemiologic assessment. J Am Acad Dermatol 1998;38(1):89-98. PubMed
Terman, M. and Terman, J. S. Bright light therapy: side effects and benefits across the symptom spectrum. J Clin Psychiatry 1999;60(11):799-808. DOI
Westrin, A. and Lam, R. W. Seasonal affective disorder: a clinical update. Ann Clin Psychiatry 2007;19(4):239-246. PubMed
Stern, R. S. and Lange, R. Outcomes of pregnancies among women and partners of men with a history of exposure to methoxsalen photochemotherapy (PUVA) for the treatment of psoriasis. Arch Dermatol 1991;127(3):347-350. DOI
Hoare, C., Li Wan, Po A., and Williams, H. Systematic review of treatments for atopic eczema. Health Technol Assess 2000;4(37):1-191. DOI
Whitton, M. E., Pinart, M., Batchelor, J., Lushey, C., Leonardi-Bee, J., and Gonzalez, U. Interventions for vitiligo. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010;(1):CD003263. PubMed
Bedair K, Elhadad A, Hamad S, Ferguson J, Donnan P, Dawe RS. No association between whole-body ultraviolet A1 phototherapy and skin cancers in humans: a cancer registry linkage study. Br J Dermatol. 2020;183(3):586-7. PubMed
Nussbaumer-Streit B, Thaler K, Chapman A, et al. Second-generation antidepressants for treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021;3(3):CD008591. PubMed
Ju HJ, Han JH, Kim MS, et al. The long-term risk of lymphoma and skin cancer did not increase after topical calcineurin inhibitor use and phototherapy in a cohort of 25,694 patients with vitiligo. J Am Acad Dermatol 2021;84(6):1619-1627.
Ko MJ, Huang JW, Wu HY, et al. Risk of Skin Cancer among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Treated with Ultraviolet B Phototherapy for Uraemic Pruritus: A Nationwide Cohort Study. Acta Derm Venereol 2021;101(2):adv00390. PubMed
Donmez M, Yorguner N, Kora K, Topcuoglu V. Efficacy of bright light therapy in perinatal depression: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Psychiatr Res 2022;149:315-322. PubMed
Bugaiski-Shaked A, Shany E, Mesner O, Sergienko R, Wainstock T. Association between neonatal phototherapy exposure and childhood neoplasm. J Pediatr 2022;245:111-116. PubMed
Wu YH, Chou CL, Chang HC. Risk of skin cancer after ultraviolet phototherapy in patients with vitiligo: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Exp Dermatol 2022;47(4):692-699. PubMed
Sun W, Yan J, Wu J, Ma H. Efficacy and safety of light therapy as a home treatment for motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson disease: A meta-analysis. Med Sci Monit 2022;28:e935074. PubMed
Zhu S, Ma X, Ding X, et al. Comparative evaluation of low-level light therapy and ethinyl estradiol and desogestrel combined oral contraceptive for clinical efficacy and regulation of serum biochemical parameters in primary dysmenorrhoea: a prospective ra
Ravindran S, Pai B S, Shetty VM. Risk of cutaneous carcinogenesis with phototherapy in Indian subpopulation: A 10-year analysis and a review of literature. Dermatol Ther 2022;35(7):e15536. PubMed
Ahad T, Wang EY, Liu YA, et al. Incidence of skin cancers in patients with eczema treated with ultraviolet phototherapy. J Am Acad Dermatol 2022;87(2):387-389. PubMed
Abdellatif M, Tawfik GM, Makram AM, et al. Association between neonatal phototherapy and future cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Pediatr 2023;182(1):329-341. PubMed
Agaoglu E, Erdogan HK, Acer E, Saracoglu ZN, Bilgin M. Narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy for pityriasis lichenoides: A real-life experience. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed 2023;39(5):520-526. PubMed
Hotta M, Ueda K, Ikehara S, et al. Phototherapy and risk of developmental delay: the Japan Environment and Children's Study. Eur J Pediatr 2023;182(5):2139-2149. PubMed
Hotta M, Ueda K, Ikehara S, et al. The Duration of Neonatal Phototherapy and Allergic Disorders: The Japan Environment and Children's Study. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2023;184(3):211-219. 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

Having Light Therapy While Taking Cabotegravir: Common Questions

Is it safe to have Light Therapy while taking Cabotegravir?

We do not list a known interaction between Light Therapy and Cabotegravir. 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 Light Therapy and Cabotegravir have any of the same side effects?

Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 6 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.

How was the Light Therapy and Cabotegravir combination checked?

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Cabotegravir is filed under 1 classification, and Light Therapy has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Cabotegravir's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.

Does Light Therapy interact with any other medications?

Yes. Light Therapy has 335 documented drug interactions in our database — Cabotegravir is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.

Does Cabotegravir interact with any supplements?

Yes. Cabotegravir has documented interactions with 12 supplements in our database — Light Therapy is not one of them. The Cabotegravir 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

Light Therapy monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Cabotegravir drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Cabotegravir supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Cabotegravir, 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 35 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Cabotegravir and Light Therapy?

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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.