Participating in Ramadan if you are taking medication

Dit artikel is beschikbaar in meerdere talen:

Arabische versie

Turkse versie

Nederlandse versie

Exemption for people with chronic illness

The Koran gives exemption from fasting for Muslims with a chronic illness who have to take medication a few times every day. Still, many people who are chronically ill want to join in the fast. If fasting or not taking your medication can make your illness worse, you are actually forbidden to fast. Ask the Imam for advice if you find it difficult to make a decision about this yourself. 

Possible problems with medication

Many sorts of medication must be taken at fixed times, for instance, every 8 hours or after a meal. Sometimes during Ramadan people want to miss out one or more doses or take all the medication at once, but if you are fasting this can cause problems.

Some examples:

• If you do not take the prescribed medication this can damage your health.
• Your body will react differently to medication because you are eating and sleeping differently. This can happen even if you take the medication at the usual time.
• If you take different medications at the same time, they can each affect the way the others work.
• The effect of medication that you take before you go to sleep can change if you eat late in the evening.
• If you take medication on an empty stomach this can change the way it works. You can also get side effects, or more side effects than usual.

Decrease the risks for your health

There are different possibilities for adapting your medication during Ramadan. The best solution for you depends upon:

• Which illness you have;
• Which medication you have to use;
• How healthy you are;
• Your own wishes.

You must never stop taking or change your medication yourself. You should always discuss this with your pharmacist or doctor. Your pharmacist can advise you on how you can best adapt your medication use.

 It is often possible to adapt the time at which you take the medication or the dose or the form of the medication:

• Time: perhaps you can be given a medication that works for longer, so that taking it once a day is enough. The medication releases its active substances into your body more slowly.
• Dose: there are some medications that you can take between sunset and sunrise without problems. A different dose is then often required. Sometimes it could also be necessary to increase or decrease the dose because you have a different eating pattern as usual.
• Form: some medications are also available in a different form, such as a plaster or a suppository.

If necessary, your pharmacist can discuss this with your doctor. It is a good idea to discuss this before Ramadan starts. And you should always consult your doctor or pharmacist if you develop health problems during Ramadan.

*Please note: if you do not feel comfortable about going to the pharmacy because of the corona virus, feel free to make an appointment to receive personal advice by phone!