Take medication on time in Ramadan, say doctors
By Nada S.Mussallam, 28 September 2006

ABU DHABI — People suffering from various ailments should take medicines whenever they have to, following their doctors’ prescription during the holy month of Ramadan, medical experts have advised.

Medication timings should not be tampered with during Ramadan as this may lead to health hazards, they warn.

“During Ramadan, patients should not change their medication timetable randomly, but should rather contact their physician or a pharmacist before changing a schedule given by a specialist,” said Dr Mohammed Abu Al Khair, Head of Drug and Medicine Department at the General Authority for Health Services for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (GAHS).

He said surveys conducted in some Islamic countries during Ramadan regarding drug intake showed that some patients stop their treatment, change the drug administration schedule and take all the daily doses in one intake.

“Concomitant intake of drugs lead to hazardous drug to drug interactions and drug to food interactions if taken along with meals. Some patients with chronic reversible respiratory diseases were admitted to ICU two weeks after the beginning of Ramadan as they didn’t continue their treatment including using inhalers during daylight hours,” noted Dr Abu Al Khair.

He said the findings showed that stopping medication was the most common cause of recurrence of epilepsy during Ramadan. “The efficacy and toxicity of many drugs can vary depending on the time of administration in relation to the circadian rhythms (roughly of biochemical, physiological, and behavioural processes). Thus, circadian time has to be taken into account as an important factor influencing a drug’s effects or side effects,” said the GAHS official.

He advised that a longer acting preparation taken in a single daily dose, preferably at the end of the night, would be a solution for asthmatic patients during Ramadan.

“Studies on antihypertensive drugs have not shown any significant effect on their efficacy during Ramadan life rhythm or after changes in schedule. Ramadan fasting has no adverse effects on the efficacy and safety of long term oral anticoagulant treatment,” he said. If there are any therapeutic problems during Ramadan, Dr Abu Al Khair said, the number of doses should be reduced by using, slow release formulations. He said while fasting, some drugs with a longer duration of action like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and some antibiotics should be used once a day at longer intervals.