Drug & supplement interaction

Slippery Elm + Ipilimumab

Ipilimumab brand name: Yervoy.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Slippery Elm and Ipilimumab 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

Slippery Elm and Ipilimumab

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 Ipilimumab and Slippery Elm 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.

Slippery Elm safety at a glance

Slippery Elm overall Use caution Generally well tolerated for short-term use, but high-quality safety data are limited.
Pregnancy Use caution Not enough reliable safety data; some sources caution against using it during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Use caution There is too little information on safety while breastfeeding, so caution is advised.

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

Still wondering about combining Ipilimumab and Slippery Elm? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
Keep it in perspective

Slippery Elm Does Interact With Other Medications

Slippery Elm has 2,022 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Ipilimumab isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Slippery Elm

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

What to actually watch for

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

  • Hives Worth acting on Additional detail

    Slippery Elm

    “Topically, slippery elm extracts can cause contact dermatitis. The pollen is an allergen (6). Contact dermatitis and urticaria have been reported after exposure to slippery elm or an oleoresin contained in the slippery elm bark.”

    Slippery Elm · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dermatitis.

    2 sources cited
    1. 6. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
    2. 75131. Czarnecki D, Nixon R, Bekhor P, and et al. Delayed prolonged contact urticaria from the elm tree. Contact Dermatitis 1993;28:196-197. PubMed

    Ipilimumab

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

  • A skin rash reported in 4.2% of FDA reports for Ipilimumab Additional detail

    Slippery Elm

    Recorded for Slippery Elm in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Hives above.

    Ipilimumab

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Ipilimumab, and in voluntary FDA adverse-event reports. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Effects for Ipilimumab come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Slippery Elm come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 42,912 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Ipilimumab 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.

Overlapping uses

What Ipilimumab Is Prescribed For, and What Slippery Elm Has Been Studied For

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

Ipilimumab is prescribed for: Yervoy (ipilimumab) is approved to treat a range of serious cancers. As a single agent, Yervoy treats unresectable or metastatic melanoma in adults and patients 12 and older, and is used as adjuvant therapy (after surgery) in adults with cutaneous melanoma that has spread to nearby lymph nodes. In combination with nivolumab, Yervoy treats unresectable or metastatic melanoma (adults and patients 12+), MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer (adults and patients 12+), advanced renal cell carcinoma, unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer), metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma, and unresectable advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Some uses require tumor testing first.

Read the rest of what Ipilimumab is prescribed for

For example, Yervoy combined with nivolumab for non-small cell lung cancer requires that the tumor expresses a protein called PD-L1 (≥1%), and colorectal cancer treatment requires confirmation of MSI-H or dMMR status — both determined by FDA-authorized tests.

Slippery Elm has been studied for:

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

    Slippery Elm for cancer

    Oral slippery elm has only been evaluated in combination with other ingredients; its effect when used alone is unclear.

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 Ipilimumab on your own; if you are taking Slippery Elm for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About Slippery Elm or Ipilimumab

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Slippery Elm or Ipilimumab, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

One more smart check

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

We hold 1,490 real supplement products containing Slippery Elm, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Slippery Elm. Even though Slippery Elm itself has no known interaction with Ipilimumab, 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 Slippery Elm and Ipilimumab 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 Slippery Elm
Top 10%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Ipilimumab
Top half

#1,271 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 Slippery Elm reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Slippery Elm and Ipilimumab records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 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 Slippery Elm

What is Slippery Elm?

Slippery Elm
  • Sore throat and cough
  • Heartburn and acid reflux
  • Digestive upset and IBS
  • Skin irritation (topical)
  • Constipation or diarrhea

Slippery elm is a traditional herbal remedy made from the inner bark of a North American elm tree, used mainly to soothe sore throats and irritated digestive tracts. Its mucilage can coat and calm mucous membranes, but solid human evidence for most uses is limited. It is generally considered low-risk for short-term use, but you should still check with your pharmacist or doctor first.

Ulmus rubra · Ulmaceae · Inner bark · Capsules, tablets, lozenges, powder, tea, throat lozenges, topical pastes

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

Slippery Elm: dosing

There is no official standardized dose for slippery elm. The right amount can vary depending on the form (lozenge, capsule, powder, or tea) and the product.The safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label. When using the powder or capsules, take them with a full glass of water.

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

Read the full Slippery Elm monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Ipilimumab Injection

What Is Ipilimumab Injection Used For?

Brand name: Yervoy

Yervoy (ipilimumab) is approved to treat a range of serious cancers. As a single agent, Yervoy treats unresectable or metastatic melanoma in adults and patients 12 and older, and is used as adjuvant therapy (after surgery) in adults with cutaneous melanoma that has spread to nearby lymph nodes. In combination with nivolumab, Yervoy treats unresectable or metastatic melanoma (adults and patients 12+), MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer (adults and patients 12+), advanced renal cell carcinoma, unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer), metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma, and unresectable advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Some uses require tumor testing first. For example, Yervoy combined with nivolumab for non-small cell lung cancer requires that the tumor expresses a protein called PD-L1 (≥1%), and colorectal cancer treatment requires confirmation of MSI-H or dMMR status — both determined by FDA-authorized tests.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Ipilimumab

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (42,912 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Malignant neoplasm progression 3,782 reports
Diarrhea 3,128 reports
Colitis 2,316 reports
Fever 2,057 reports
Rash 1,805 reports
See full Ipilimumab Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Slippery Elm

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

0Major
2,022Moderate
0Minor
807No known interaction
Moderate

2,022 interactions

Showing 60 of 2,022 moderate interactions — see all 2,022 on the Slippery Elm page.

No interaction 807 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Slippery Elm References

The 3 references that drive our Slippery Elm 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. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
  2. Brinker F. Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions. 2nd ed. Sandy, OR: Eclectic Medical Publications, 1998.
  3. Czarnecki D, Nixon R, Bekhor P, and et al. Delayed prolonged contact urticaria from the elm tree. Contact Dermatitis 1993;28:196-197. 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 Slippery Elm and Ipilimumab Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Slippery Elm with Ipilimumab?
We do not list a known interaction between Slippery Elm and Ipilimumab. 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 Slippery Elm and Ipilimumab have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 2 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 Slippery Elm and Ipilimumab 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 Slippery Elm in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Ipilimumab is being adjusted to a target.
Does Slippery Elm interact with any other medications?
Yes. Slippery Elm has 2,022 documented drug interactions in our database — Ipilimumab 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

Still Have a Question About Ipilimumab and Slippery Elm?

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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.