The best way to tell which over the counter medicines are gluten-free is to check the ingredients list, looking for ingredients that prevent the product from using a gluten-free label according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines. If the ingredients are not listed on the package, go to the drug's official website and search for ingredients as well.
U.S. National Library of Medicine Information
Sometimes it can be hard to locate complete ingredient lists for OTC medicines, even after visiting official product websites. The U.S. National Library of Medicine, or NLM, is a governmental agency which is a good resource when looking for complete ingredient lists for OTC drugs. Their DailyMed website allows users to search OTC medicines by drug name, class or National Drug Code. DailyMed provides information about the clinical pharmacology, dosage, adverse reactions and active and inert ingredients within OTC drugs.
FDA Gluten-Free Definition
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have set guidelines for the labeling of gluten-free foods and drugs. To use the voluntary "gluten-free" label, a product must not contain any wheat, rye or barley products. This would not include products that have had the gluten removed, such as gluten-free wheat flour. Additionally, wheat is considered an allergen with potential health risks thus must be labeled on products which contain it due to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004. This helps identify glutenous products as well.
Many Tylenol Products are Gluten-Free
On the Tylenol website, look up individual ingredient lists product by product. Six of their 500 mg. Acetaminophen or extra strength products have ingredients listed on one page: GoTabs, EZ Tabs, Rapid Release Gelcaps, Caplets, Cool Caplets and Rapid Blast Liquid. Of this group, none of them have ingredients which would prevent them from using a gluten-free label as per FDA regulations. Corn, not wheat, rye or barley, is the main grain used in these formulas. Another page for the Infants' Concentrated Tylenol Drops lists the ingredients for the three flavors offered: cherry, grape and dye-free cherry. Nothing in those ingredient lists would prevent labeling as gluten-free either. Again, corn was the predominant grain used. With the growing concern about gluten in medicines and food, drug companies are just beginning to list which of their products are gluten-free but quite often, sifting through the ingredient lists is laborious but necessary.
Vick's and Tums Have Gluten-Free Products
Some companies have begun selling OTC medicines that are clearly marked gluten-free. VIck's Nature Fusion product line is being marketed as gluten-free. All of the products in this line, including the Cold and Flu Nighttime Relief Liquid and Caplets, Cold and Flu Relief Day and Night Combo Pack, Cough Medicine and Cough and Chest Congestion Liquid are gluten-free. Other companies have begun including gluten information in their FAQ pages. Tums' website says clearly in its FAQ section that Tums antacids do not contain gluten but for the Smoothies Cocoa and Creme flavor. In addition to ingredient lists and FAQ sections of product websites, many companies are also beginning to put the status of the product as gluten-free or not in the fine print on the product information pages alongside the ingredient lists, saving consumers the task of sifting through the ingredients for glutenous products.
