You have been directed to this information because you are taking at least one medication that should be stopped temporarily if you have two or more episodes of vomiting or diarrhoea which can lead to dehydration.  This is called ‘medicine sick day rules’.

• ACE inhibitors: a medicine for high blood pressure and heart conditions. If you are dehydrated, these medicines can stop your kidneys working properly. Examples: names ending in ‘pril’ such as lisinopril, perindopril, ramipril
• ARBs: a medicine for high blood pressure and heart conditions. If you are dehydrated, these medicines can stop your kidneys working properly. Examples: names ending in ‘sartan’ such as losartan, candesartan, valsartan
• Diuretics: sometimes called ‘water pills’ for excess fluid and high blood pressure. These medicines can make dehydration more likely.
• Examples: furosemide, bendroflumethiazide, indapamide, spironolactone
• Metformin: a medicine for diabetes. Dehydration can make it more likely that you will develop a serious side effect called lactic acidosis.
• NSAIDs: anti-inflammatory pain killers. If you are dehydrated, these medicines can stop your kidneys working properly. Examples: ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac

Which illnesses cause dehydration? Dehydration is the loss of fluid from your body. Vomiting, diarrhoea and fever (high temperature, sweats, shaking) can make you dehydrated. If you are sick once or have diarrhoea once, then you are unlikely to become dehydrated. Having two or more episodes of vomiting or diarrhoea can lead to dehydration.

What actions should I take? If you develop a dehydrating illness, you should temporarily stop taking any medicine listed in this leaflet. It is very important that you restart your medicine once you have recovered from the illness. This would normally be after 24 to 48 hours of eating and drinking normally. When you restart your medicine, just take them as normal. Do not take extra for the doses you have missed.