Medicines and prescriptions
What Does Contraindication Mean?
Contraindication · say it: kon-truh-in-dih-KAY-shunAlso written: contraindicated, absolute contraindication, relative contraindication
Short answer
A contraindication is a reason not to use a particular medicine, test or procedure for a person because it could cause harm.
What it means
In medicine, an "indication" is a reason to use a treatment. A contraindication is the opposite: a situation where the treatment should be avoided or used with extra care.
An absolute contraindication means the treatment should not be used at all in that situation. A relative contraindication means it may still be used if the expected benefits are judged to outweigh the risks, often with extra monitoring.
Common reasons include allergies, pregnancy, other medicines that interact, kidney or liver problems, or other health conditions. Medicine leaflets list contraindications so prescribers and patients can check.
Where you may see it
- Medicine information leaflets
- Pharmacy and prescription notes
- Pre-procedure and imaging consent forms
📄 How it looks on a report
Contrast contraindicated: documented severe allergy.
🙅 What it does not mean
- A contraindication is not the same as a side effect; it is a reason not to start or continue something.
- A relative contraindication does not always mean the treatment is ruled out completely.
- It is about a specific situation, not a judgement that the medicine is unsafe for everyone.
🗒️ Questions to ask your doctor
🧾 Reports where you will see “Contraindication”
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💊 Medicines whose labels mention “Contraindication”
Plain-English explanations of each medicine, from its official FDA label.
- Acyclovir
An antiviral medicine of the nucleoside analogue type, used against herpesviruses
- Albuterol
A bronchodilator (a medicine that opens the airways) of the beta-2 adrenergic type. The FDA class is not listed, so this description comes from the label's own wording.
- Amitriptyline
An antidepressant of the tricyclic type
- Amoxicillin and Clavulanate Potassium
A penicillin-class antibacterial combined with a beta-lactamase inhibitor, as the label describes it
- Ampicillin Sodium
a penicillin-type antibacterial medicine
- Aripiprazole
an atypical antipsychotic medicine
- Artemether and Lumefantrine
an antimalarial medicine, which is a fixed combination of two blood-stage antimalarial ingredients (artemether, an artemisinin derivative, and lumefantrine)
- Atenolol
a beta-blocker (beta-adrenergic blocker). The label describes it as a beta 1-selective, or cardioselective, blocking agent.
- Atorvastatin
a statin, a cholesterol-lowering medicine of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor type
- Bupropion Hydrochloride
an aminoketone antidepressant, a type of medicine used to treat depression
🔗 Read more from trusted sources
- “Contraindication” on MedlinePlus ↗
US National Library of Medicine
- NCI Dictionary definition ↗
US National Cancer Institute: “contraindication”
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