BAL-CARE DHA ESSENTIAL

Prenatal Multivitamin and Multimineral with Iron, Oral tablet

Alcohol

· Severity: Moderate

· Notes for Consumers: If you regularly drink alcohol-containing drinks, you may have a lack of certain B-vitamins including Cyanocobalamin, Vitamin B12. Discuss which supplements would be most appropriate for you with your health care provider. If you experience weakness, fatigue, numbness, tingling in fingers and toes, decreased appetite, diarrhea, hair loss, or depression, contact your health care prescriber.

· Notes for Professionals: The heavy consumption of ethanol for greater than 2 weeks has been reported to reduce the absorption of cyanocobalamin, vitamin B12. Patients should be aware that heavy, chronic ethanol use may counteract the therapeutic effects of vitamin B12; such patients with regular and chronic ethanol consumption be monitored for the desired therapeutic response to vitamin B12.

Prenatal Multivitamin and Multimineral with Iron, Oral tablet

Food

· Severity: Major

· Notes for Consumers: Specific food or beverages including dairy products (such as cheese, milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese), coffee, or tea can decrease the absorption of Iron from the stomach. To limit this interaction, take Iron Salts (examples: Femiron, Feratab, Nephro-Fer, Slow FE) at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after meals. If stomach upset occurs, Iron Salts may be given with meals. However, where possible, avoid coffee, tea, or dairy products within 1 hour before or 2 hours after taking any Iron product. Taking these food together while taking Iron Salts can decrease the effectiveness to increase the amount of Iron in the body. In addition, Enteral Feedings (liquid nutritional feedings such as Ensure, Isocal, Jevity and others) are not recommended to be given within the 1 hour before and 1 hour after giving Ferrous Sulfate Elixir (example: Feosol Elixir). There does not appear to be an interaction with other liquid Iron products.

· Notes for Professionals: For better iron absorption, administer iron salts 1 hour before or 2 hours after meals. If GI irritation occurs, the iron supplement may be administered with meals. However, where possible, avoid administering coffee, tea, or dairy products within 1 hour before or 2 hours after giving iron.

Prenatal Multivitamin and Multimineral with Iron, Oral tablet

Enteral Feedings

· Severity: Mild

· Notes for Consumers: If you need to use Enteral feedings (examples: Ensure, Jevity and others) as your sole nutritional dietary intake for long periods of time, you may be at risk for Zinc deficiency, as the feeding may impair the absorption of zinc. This interaction is not a concern if you simply use these products as supplements to a normal diet; true zinc deficiency is relatively rare. If you take Enteral Feedings as your only diet for long periods of time, you may need to discuss the use of additional mineral supplements with your prescriber. If you do take a Zinc supplement, it is best to take it at least 1 hour before or 1 hour after you have taken any feeding, meal, or beverage.

· Notes for Professionals: Absorption of zinc from enteral feedings may be impaired, despite the presence of zinc as a component of the enteral feeding formula; patients on chronic enteral feeding therapy may require additional zinc supplementation to ensure adequate nutritional intake.

<b>DISCLAIMER:</b><em> This drug information content is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Patients should always consult their physician with any questions regarding a medical condition and to obtain medical advice and treatment. Drug information is sourced from GSDD (Gold Standard Drug Database ) provided by Elsevier.</em>