Medikamente in der Winterzeit: Zeitumstellung: Was gilt bei Tabletten mit fester Uhrzeit?

Every day at 7pm, the mobile phone reminds people to take their pill. Or at around 7:30am in the morning after breakfast, the cortisone tablet is due. Some medications are tied to fixed hours or daily schedules for their users. These times can generally be followed after the clocks in the night of Sunday (25th October) were set back for winter time, according to pharmacist Friederike Habighorst-Klemm.

Even though a quarter of an hour has passed since the last intake, she says: "A one-hour time shift is no issue for medications."

However, it is important to stick to fixed intake times when the respective medications require it. This is especially the case for drugs with a narrow therapeutic index, meaning the substances "have a strong effect with a small amount," as the pharmacist translates. Examples include medications for Parkinson's disease or epilepsy, but also cortisone.

The exception when it comes to time adjustment is antibiotics. Depending on the preparation, people take them once, twice, or even three times a day. For a stable drug level in the body, the intervals between the doses are crucial: 24 hours interval for one tablet a day, 12 hours for two tablets a day, 8 hours for three tablets a day.

On Sunday when the winter time started, the next antibiotic intake is not based on the time but on the interval to the last intake, according to Friederike Habighorst-Klemm. In this case, the extra hour brought by the change to winter time might actually be disadvantageous. The rule of thumb is: "When in doubt with antibiotics, do not extend the intervals but shorten them a little," the pharmacist says. "Bacteria multiply quickly and need regular attention."

For larger time shifts, it is recommended to seek advice. Those traveling to a destination with a time shift of more than two hours should consider what it means for their medication intake, says the pharmacist. Many times, a step-by-step adjustment makes sense. If one wants to be sure, they should get individual advice in the pharmacy.