Cautionary and advisory label

Cautionary and advisory labels (Cals) are sometimes added (with the dispensing label) to a medicine dispensed by the pharmacist to the patient.

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A dispensing label is always added to a medicine to show the essential details (the name of the medicine, the dose, and the frequency of administration), and in some cases the pharmacist will add cautionary and advisory labels.

Standard cautionary and advisory labels offer advice but are not exhaustive. The labels are not a substitute for adequate counselling by prescribers and dispensers (most medicines are dispensed by pharmacists) but are intended to reinforce essential information the patient needs to know.

Label Wording and Warnings

Recommended label wording can offer advice about:

• Timing of doses in relation to food.
• Completing the course of treatment.
• What to do if a dose is missed.
• The correct storage of a medicine.
• Dissolution of the medicine in water before taking it.
• Limits to the number of tablets that should be taken in a given time.

Recommended label wording can offer warnings about:

• Effects of the medicine on driving or work (e.g. through drowsiness).
• Foods or medicines that should be avoided.
• Avoidance of exposure of the skin to sunlight or sun lamps.
• Medicines that can discolor the urine.
• Medicines that can stain clothes or skin.