Is hydrochlorothiazide gluten-free?
Looks mostly clean — worth verifying with the maker. Mostly yes — but worth a quick call to the manufacturer for some generics. Of 18 product labels we checked, 10 are clean, 2 are confirmed gluten-free by the maker, and 6 contain an inactive ingredient (typically a source-ambiguous starch) whose botanical origin isn't fully disclosed. None contained confirmed gluten.
Drug context
About hydrochlorothiazide
Hydrochlorothiazide is a thiazide diuretic used for high blood pressure, sold under brand names including Microzide.
Why this matters
Different manufacturers, different ingredients
Generics of hydrochlorothiazide use the same active ingredient, but they aren't required to use the same inactive ingredients. Your pharmacy may switch which manufacturer they dispense between fills, sometimes without telling you. The list below shows each manufacturer's product label as a separate entry, because that's the granularity that actually matters when you're celiac.
The labels
The 18 we checked
-
01Mylan manufacturer-attested gluten-free
Manufacturer confirmed gluten-free (Plogsted 2019-04-23)
View source label → -
02Mylan manufacturer-attested gluten-free
Manufacturer confirmed gluten-free (Plogsted 2019-04-23)
View source label → -
03Apotex worth a call to confirmView source label →
-
04Par worth a call to confirmView source label →
-
05Mylan worth a call to confirmView source label →
-
06Accord worth a call to confirmView source label →
-
07Actavis worth a call to confirmView source label →
-
08Actavis worth a call to confirmView source label →
-
09Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients D&C YELLOW NO. 10 ALUMINUM LAKE · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MENTHOL, UNSPECIFIED FORM · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE 102 · PEPPERMINT OIL · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A POTATO · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
10Macleods Pharmaceuticals Limited nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE CALCIUM · FERRIC OXIDE RED · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · GLYCERIN · HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
11Coupler LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, DIBASIC, DIHYDRATE · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · SILICON DIOXIDE · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
12Cosette Pharmaceuticals, Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients FERRIC OXIDE RED · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE (1600000 WAMW) · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · LOW-SUBSTITUTED HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE, UNSPECIFIED · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
13Accord Healthcare Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, DIBASIC, DIHYDRATE · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A POTATO · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
14Solco Healthcare US, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSPOVIDONE, UNSPECIFIED · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FD&C BLUE NO. 2 · FD&C RED NO. 40 · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · FERRIC OXIDE RED · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 3350 · POLYVINYL ALCOHOL, UNSPECIFIED · SILICON DIOXIDE · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
15Par Health USA, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CELLULOSE, MICROCRYSTALLINE · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · HYPROMELLOSE 2208 (100 MPA.S) · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 1000 · POLYSORBATE 20 · POLYVINYL ALCOHOL (100000 MW) · STARCH, CORN · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
16Westminster Pharmaceuticals, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients ALCOHOL · AMMONIA · BUTYL ALCOHOL · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FERROSOFERRIC OXIDE · GELATIN, UNSPECIFIED · ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SHELLAC · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE · STARCH, CORN · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
17Preferred Pharmaceuticals Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients ANHYDROUS LACTOSE · D&C YELLOW NO. 10 · FD&C RED NO. 40 · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A POTATO · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
18Bryant Ranch Prepack nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients FERRIC OXIDE RED · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · FERROSOFERRIC OXIDE · HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE (1600000 WAMW) · HYPROMELLOSE 2910 (5 MPA.S) · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · LOW-SUBSTITUTED HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE, UNSPECIFIED · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · SILICON DIOXIDE · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label →
Try it live
Or screen hydrochlorothiazide right now
DailyMed updates daily and we have ~76 drugs in our static landing pages — for everything else, the live search is faster.
Background
What “gluten in a medication” actually means
Gluten enters drugs through their excipients — the inactive ingredients used to bind, coat, fill, or stabilize the dose. The main concern is wheat starch as a filler. Source-ambiguous starches (plain “starch”, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, modified starch) get flagged for verification because their botanical origin isn't always disclosed on the label.
The 2024 Mangione et al. pediatric NDC analysis (689 NDCs across the top 100 pediatric medications) found 1.5% contained gluten outright; another 25.7% couldn't be confirmed either way. Liquid and oral-suspension formulations carry disproportionate risk because wheat starch is a common thickener. Full methodology →
Keep checking