Drug & supplement interaction

Sweet Sumac + Botulinum Toxin Type A

Botulinum Toxin Type A brand name: Botox.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Sweet Sumac and Botulinum Toxin Type A 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.

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Interaction report

Sweet Sumac and Botulinum Toxin Type A

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 Botulinum Toxin Type A and Sweet Sumac 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 Sweet Sumac at all — not against Botulinum Toxin Type A, 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.

Sweet Sumac safety at a glance

Sweet Sumac overall Use caution Limited safety data exist, and it is related to plants that can cause skin reactions.
Pregnancy Avoid There is not enough safety information, so avoid use during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid Safety is unknown while breastfeeding, so it is best to avoid it.

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

Still wondering about combining Botulinum Toxin Type A and Sweet Sumac? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

What Sweet Sumac Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Botulinum Toxin Type A. It is the side-effect record for Sweet Sumac on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Sweet Sumac, this list is the first place to look. One entry is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Orally, infections of the urogenital tract have been reported in women with overactive bladder who were taking a combination product (Granu Fink femina, Omega Pharma) containing sweet sumac bark extract, pumpkin seed oil, and hops cone extract. It is unclear if these adverse effects were due to sweet sumac, other ingredients, or the combination.”

    Sweet Sumac · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in overactive bladder.

    1 source cited
    1. 103253. Gauruder-Burmester A, Heim S, Patz B, Seibt S. Cucurbita pepo-Rhus aromatica-Humulus lupulus combination reduces overactive bladder symptoms in women - a noninterventional study. Planta Med. 2019;85(13):1044-53. PubMed

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Sweet Sumac — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We haven’t matched Botulinum Toxin Type A to its FDA label in our system yet, so we can’t compare its own side-effect list here — the leaflet that comes with your prescription is the authoritative list for Botulinum Toxin Type A.

Overlapping uses

What Botulinum Toxin Type A Is Prescribed For, and What Sweet Sumac Has Been Studied For

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

Botulinum Toxin Type A is prescribed for: Botox is approved to treat a wide range of conditions in adults and some children. These include overactive bladder (OAB) with urge incontinence, urinary incontinence caused by nerve-related bladder overactivity (in adults and in children aged 5 and older), prevention of headaches in adults with chronic migraine (15 or more headache days per month), muscle stiffness (spasticity) in patients aged 2 and older, cervical dystonia (abnormal head position and neck pain), severe underarm sweating (primary axillary hyperhidrosis) when topical treatments haven't worked, eyelid spasms (blepharospasm) in patients aged 12 and older, and crossed eyes (strabismus) in patients aged 12 and older. BOTOX Cosmetic is a separate product containing the same active ingredient but with its own approved cosmetic uses. Both products are given by injection and are not interchangeable with other botulinum toxin products.

Read the rest of what Botulinum Toxin Type A is prescribed for

Botox has not been shown to work for episodic migraine (14 or fewer headache days per month), and its safety for excessive sweating in body areas other than the underarms has not been established.

Sweet Sumac has been studied for:

  • Overactive bladder studied, not established Sweet Sumac has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Sweet Sumac for overactive bladder

    Preliminary clinical research in women with overactive bladder shows that taking a specific combination product (Granu Fink femina, Omega Pharma) containing sweet sumac bark extract 56 mg, pumpkin seed oil 227 mg, and hops cone extract 18 mg three times daily for 12 weeks decreases the frequency of urination and leakage and improves quality of life when compared to baseline.

    1 source cited
    1. 103253. Gauruder-Burmester A, Heim S, Patz B, Seibt S. Cucurbita pepo-Rhus aromatica-Humulus lupulus combination reduces overactive bladder symptoms in women - a noninterventional study. Planta Med. 2019;85(13):1044-53. PubMed

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 Botulinum Toxin Type A on your own; if you are taking Sweet Sumac for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About Sweet Sumac or Botulinum Toxin Type A

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Sweet Sumac or Botulinum Toxin Type A, 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.

How much people look this up

Where Sweet Sumac and Botulinum Toxin Type A 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 Sweet Sumac
Steady interest

#1,008 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Botulinum Toxin Type A
Top half

#728 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 Sweet Sumac reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Sweet Sumac and Botulinum Toxin Type A 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 Sweet Sumac

What is Sweet Sumac?

  • Urinary complaints
  • Diarrhea
  • Excessive urination or bedwetting
  • Sore throat and mouth rinse
  • Mild bleeding

Sweet Sumac (Rhus aromatica) is a North American shrub used in traditional and folk medicine, mostly for urinary and digestive complaints. There is very little modern human research to confirm that it works for any condition, so its benefits remain unproven. Because it belongs to the same plant family as poison ivy, talk with a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

Rhus aromatica · Anacardiaceae · Bark of the root, leaves, and berries · Dried bark, tea, tincture, liquid extract

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

Sweet Sumac: dosing

There is no established, standardized dose for Sweet Sumac. It has traditionally been taken as a tea, tincture, or liquid extract made from the root bark or leaves, but reliable dosing guidelines from clinical research are not available.If you choose to use a commercial product, follow the directions on the label and do not exceed the suggested amount.

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

Read the full Sweet Sumac monograph & all interactions
Medication

About OnabotulinumtoxinA Injection

What Is OnabotulinumtoxinA Injection Used For?

Brand name: Botox

Botox is approved to treat a wide range of conditions in adults and some children. These include overactive bladder (OAB) with urge incontinence, urinary incontinence caused by nerve-related bladder overactivity (in adults and in children aged 5 and older), prevention of headaches in adults with chronic migraine (15 or more headache days per month), muscle stiffness (spasticity) in patients aged 2 and older, cervical dystonia (abnormal head position and neck pain), severe underarm sweating (primary axillary hyperhidrosis) when topical treatments haven't worked, eyelid spasms (blepharospasm) in patients aged 12 and older, and crossed eyes (strabismus) in patients aged 12 and older.

BOTOX Cosmetic is a separate product containing the same active ingredient but with its own approved cosmetic uses. Both products are given by injection and are not interchangeable with other botulinum toxin products. Botox has not been shown to work for episodic migraine (14 or fewer headache days per month), and its safety for excessive sweating in body areas other than the underarms has not been established.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Botulinum Toxin Type A

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (12,344 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Headache 1,596 reports
Drug intolerance 1,333 reports
Nausea 1,266 reports
Migraine 1,176 reports
Dizziness 1,126 reports
See full OnabotulinumtoxinA Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Sweet Sumac

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Sweet Sumac — 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
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Sweet Sumac References

The 1 references that drive our Sweet Sumac 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. Gauruder-Burmester A, Heim S, Patz B, Seibt S. Cucurbita pepo-Rhus aromatica-Humulus lupulus combination reduces overactive bladder symptoms in women - a noninterventional study. Planta Med. 2019;85(13):1044-53. 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 Sweet Sumac and Botulinum Toxin Type A Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Sweet Sumac with Botulinum Toxin Type A?
We do not list a known interaction between Sweet Sumac and Botulinum Toxin Type A. 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.
Are Sweet Sumac and Botulinum Toxin Type A 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 Sweet Sumac in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Botulinum Toxin Type A is being adjusted to a target.

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

Still Have a Question About Botulinum Toxin Type A and Sweet Sumac?

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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.