Can i take zinc with warfarin

While the risk of major bleeding is low, you need to be aware of potential problems. For example, you might have trouble stopping the bleeding from a cut on your hand or a nosebleed.

More-serious bleeding may occur inside the body internal. Rarely, warfarin can cause the death of skin tissue necrosis. This complication occurs within a few days of starting warfarin treatment. Seek immediate medical care if you notice any sores, changes in skin color or temperature, or severe pain on your skin. Some studies suggest that the risk of bleeding is generally higher in the first three months of warfarin treatment. Older adults are generally at greater risk of bleeding.

Taking other blood-thinning medication also increases your risk. Some people who take warfarin are at a higher risk of bleeding because their genetics make them more sensitive to the medication.

Your doctor may recommend a genetic test to determine the best dose for you. Like any other medication, warfarin can interact with certain foods, drugs, vitamins or herbal supplements. An interaction might lower the effectiveness of warfarin or increase your risk of bleeding.

It's important to understand the role of vitamin K in warfarin treatment and a healthy diet. Warfarin works by disrupting the role of vitamin K in a complex series of molecular events that cause blood clotting. But vitamin K is a nutrient essential for heart and bone health. Foods rich in vitamin K are green vegetables, including lettuce, spinach and broccoli. If you are taking warfarin, the amount of vitamin K in your diet may affect how well the medicine works.

If you take warfarin, it's important to have a consistent amount of vitamin K in your diet. Too little vitamin K can increase your risk of bleeding. Too much vitamin K can decrease warfarin's anti-clotting ability. Talk to your doctor about healthy choices you can make to get an adequate and consistent supply of vitamin K.

When it comes to blood thinners, the more you know the better you can manage your diet. Be sure to talk to your doctor if you have any concerns. It is important to know the drug-food interactions for any medicines and when to talk to your doctor.

Learn more about vaccine availability. Advertising Policy. You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter. Related Articles. Want Strong Bones and Joints? Email address:. Recipients Name:. Recipients address:. If you are being treated with any of the following medications, you should not use zinc without first talking to your health care provider. Amiloride Midamor -- Amiloride is a potassium-sparing diuretic water pill that may increase the levels of zinc in your blood.

Do not take zinc supplements if you take amiloride. Blood pressure medications, ACE Inhibitors -- A class of medications called ACE inhibitors, used to treat high blood pressure, may decrease the levels of zinc in your blood. ACE inhibitors include:. There is one case report in which ingestion of a Chinese herbal tea made from Lycium barbarum appeared to interfere with the effect of warfarin.

Papain, an enzyme extract of papaya, was associated with increased warfarin activity in one patient. Persons taking warfarin should avoid papain supplements until further information about this potential interaction becomes available. There is one published case report in which the Chinese herbal product quilinggao increased the action of warfarin and apparently contributed to a bleeding episode. There are many different brands of quilinggao, and the composition varies between manufacturers.

Individuals taking warfarin should not take quilinggao. In , a single letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that vitamin D increases the activity of anticoagulants and that this interaction could prove dangerous. However, there have been no other reports of such an interaction, even though tens of millions of people are taking multivitamins that contain vitamin D.

Most doctors typically do not tell patients taking anticoagulant medications to avoid vitamin D. In a case report, ingestion of a maitake extract appeared to enhance the effect of warfarin in an elderly man. Although a cause-effect relation was not demonstrated, people taking warfarin should not take maitake without medical supervision.

The FDA-approved fat substitute, olestra, interferes with fat absorption, including the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin K , a fat-soluble vitamin, is added to olestra to offset this adverse effect. Since vitamin K interferes with the activity of warfarin, eating snacks containing olestra may also interfere with the drug's activity.

The impact of eating snacks containing olestra has not been evaluated in people taking warfarin. However, until more is known, it makes sense for people taking warfarin to avoid olestra-containing foods. Although case reports have suggested that vitamin C might increase the activity of anticoagulants in a potentially dangerous way, this interaction has not been confirmed in research studies.

In fact, a possible interference by vitamin C with the effect of anticoagulants has also been reported. A year-old woman maintained on 7. Further questioning revealed she had begun taking an unspecified amount of vitamin C each morning.

After stopping vitamin C, the blood clotting time returned to desired levels. Based on this and other case reports, people taking warfarin should consult with their physician before taking vitamin C supplements. Warfarin slows blood clotting by interfering with vitamin K activity. Since vitamin K reverses the anticoagulant effects of warfarin, people taking warfarin should avoid vitamin K-containing supplements unless specifically directed otherwise by their prescribing doctor.

Some vegetables broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, parsley, spinach, and others are high in vitamin K. Eating large quantities or making sudden changes in the amounts eaten of these vegetables can interfere with the effectiveness and safety of warfarin therapy. The greener the plant, the higher the vitamin K content. Other significant dietary sources of vitamin K include soybean oil, olive oil, cottonseed oil, and canola oil.

Vitamin K supplementation can be used, however, to counteract an overdose of warfarin. In addition, controlled and continuous supplementation with vitamin K to mcg per day has been used effectively to reduce the fluctuations in dosage requirement that occur in some people taking warfarin or related drugs that have the same action as warfarin.

Such treatment requires a doctor's supervision. Eating large quantities or making sudden changes in the amounts eaten of these vegetables, interferes with the effectiveness and safety of warfarin therapy.

Eating charbroiled food may decrease warfarin activity, while eating cooked onions may increase warfarin activity.