How to read a medicine leaflet in Egypt, and what to ask your pharmacist

To read a medicine leaflet in Egypt, check the name, strength and active ingredient at the top against your box, then read the sections in order: what the medicine is for, what to know first, how to use it, side effects, storage and contents. Use the leaflet from your own pack, and take anything unclear to the pharmacist or doctor.

This guide uses the Egyptian Drug Authority’s (EDA) guideline for medical leaflets, read on 23 October 2026. It explains no single medicine and gives no doses.

In short:

• The EDA’s template gives the Arabic leaflet six sections, in a fixed order. It is the layout for products without a reference leaflet; a product that has one keeps that leaflet’s format, so the headings in your pack may differ.
• In the side-effects section, the most serious effects come first, then the rest by frequency. The frequency words say how many people in a group may get an effect, not what will happen to you.
• Anything unclear, or different from what you were told, is a question for the pharmacist or doctor. A side effect can also be reported to the EDA.

Last checked: 23 October 2026, on the pages listed under Sources. Guidelines and phone numbers change, so confirm them before you rely on them.

How do I read a medicine leaflet?

Read it in this order. The steps follow the EDA’s guideline for medical leaflets, version 4, effective 20 September 2024, the issue its regulatory guidelines page lists (read 23 October 2026). The English renderings of its Arabic template are our translation.

1. Start at the top. The guideline says the head of the Arabic leaflet carries the product’s name, strength, dosage form and active ingredient. Compare them with your box. Where a medicine is under additional monitoring, the template adds an inverted black triangle and a short note saying so, which invites you to report any side effect.
2. Read the opening note. The template tells you to read the whole leaflet before you start and to keep it. It says the medicine was prescribed for you alone, not to be given to others, and that any side effect, even an unlisted one, is for your doctor or pharmacist.
3. Go through the six sections in the table below and mark every line you do not follow.
4. Take the marks, the leaflet and the box to the pharmacist or doctor.

What is in a medicine leaflet, section by section?

The EDA’s template for the Arabic leaflet sets six sections in this order (read 23 October 2026). «[الاسم التجاري]» is where the product’s name goes. The right-hand column is our summary.

#	Section title in the template	What the section is for
1	«ما هو [الاسم التجاري] وفيم يستخدم؟»	The active ingredient, its medicine group and the purpose of use.
2	«ما تحتاج معرفته قبل استخدام [الاسم التجاري]»	When not to use it, warnings and precautions, children and adolescents, other medicines, pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility, driving and machines.
3	«كيف تستخدم [الاسم التجاري]؟»	Opens by telling you to use the medicine as the leaflet describes or as your doctor or pharmacist told you, and to ask your doctor if unsure. Then the amount and timing, how to take it, how long, and sub-headings for forgetting to take it and for stopping it, where the template mentions asking the doctor, pharmacist or nurse first.
4	«الآثار الجانبية المحتملة»	Serious effects first, then the rest by frequency, ending with how to report.
5	«كيفية تخزين [الاسم التجاري]»	Keep out of children’s sight and reach; storage conditions, and the expiry date or a pointer to the outer pack.
6	«محتويات العبوة ومعلومات أخرى»	Active ingredients by name and amount, inactive ones by name, how the product looks, and, at the end, the name of the registration holder.

Read on 23 October 2026. The template applies to products without a reference leaflet. A product that has one keeps that leaflet’s format and stays consistent with it, with its own name, strength, dosage form and composition put in, so the titles in your pack may differ. Then use this table as a list of topics to look for, and ask the pharmacist where one is.

Where are the indications and the side effects in a leaflet?

The words people type, «دواعي الاستعمال» (indications), are not a section title in the EDA’s Arabic template. That information sits in section 1, which covers the purpose of use. «الأعراض الجانبية» (side effects) match section 4, which the template calls «الآثار الجانبية المحتملة». The reasons not to use the medicine sit in section 2: the template describes a sub-heading «موانع الاستخدام» (contraindications) whose text begins «لا تستخدم [الاسم التجاري] في الحالات التالية» (“do not use it in the following cases”) (read 23 October 2026).

How do I read the side effects section?

Start with the first lines: the EDA’s template puts the most serious effects first, with clear instructions on what the patient should do. The rest follow from the most frequent to the least frequent. The section opens by saying that, like all medicines, this one can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them.

The guideline recommends these frequency words (version 4, effective 20 September 2024, read 23 October 2026):

Word in the leaflet	In English	What the guideline says it means
شائعة جدًا	Very common	Can occur in more than 1 in 10 people
شائعة	Common	Can occur in up to 1 in 10 people
غير شائعة	Uncommon	Can occur in up to 1 in 100 people
نادرة	Rare	Can occur in up to 1 in 1,000 people
نادرة جدًا	Very rare	Can occur in up to 1 in 10,000 people
غير معروفة	Not known	The frequency cannot be estimated from the available data

These words describe how many people in a group may get an effect and cannot tell you what will happen to you, so a “rare” effect that you notice is still worth telling the pharmacist or doctor.

What if I notice a side effect?

Tell your doctor, pharmacist or nurse, including about effects the leaflet does not list: the EDA’s guideline template says so. It also says you can report directly to the Egyptian Pharmacovigilance Center («مركز اليقظة الصيدلية المصري») on hotline 15301, or by email at pv.followup@edaegypt.gov.eg. The EDA’s reporting page lists 15301 among its contact details, without saying what it is for, and has an online form for citizens (read 23 October 2026). This is for reporting, not an emergency service: in an emergency, go to the nearest emergency department.

In Egypt: which leaflet counts?

The leaflet in your own pack. The EDA’s guideline says approval of the leaflet is a fundamental part of authorising a medicine, says most medicines must have an Arabic leaflet, and says that a leaflet following a reference leaflet takes its trade name, strength, dosage form and composition from EDA-approved documents (read 23 October 2026). A leaflet found online from another country for the same ingredient is not the document the EDA approved for your pack.

The products that need no Arabic leaflet, under technical committee decisions of 12 March 2009 and 25 August 2022, are intravenous infusions, medicines for malignant disease and immunosuppression, general anaesthetics, HIV medicines, medicines for hospital use only, and contrast media (read 23 October 2026). If your pack has no leaflet, or you cannot read it, ask the pharmacist.

A pack can carry text that has since been updated: leaflets are revised, for example when a warning is added, and the guideline allows a six-month grace period before an updated leaflet has to be in use (read 23 October 2026). The EDA’s e-labelling guideline, version 2, effective May 2024, describes a QR code on the outer pack that opens the latest approved leaflet; joining was voluntary for companies when the service was announced in February 2022 (read 23 October 2026).

What do I ask the pharmacist about a medicine?

Take the leaflet, the box and a list of everything else you take, including medicines bought without a prescription, vitamins and herbal products. MedlinePlus, from the US National Library of Medicine, groups the questions to ask about a new medicine under three headings: information about the medicine, how to take it, and what to expect (page reviewed 14 January 2026). The six questions below are our own wording, and they follow the leaflet’s sections:

1. Is this the medicine my doctor meant, and what is it for in my case?
2. Does anything in section 2 apply to me: my other medicines, my allergies, pregnancy or breastfeeding, driving?
3. Is how you told me to use it the same as section 3? If not, which applies to me?
4. What do I do if I forget a time, and who do I ask before I change anything?
5. Which side effects should I tell you or my doctor about, and how?
6. Does it need a blood test or another check while I use it? If so, questions to ask your doctor about lab results can help you ask.

For the visit itself, five questions to ask before your next appointment and how to prepare for a specialist appointment give you a page to take along.

Where Medigize stands

Medigize is a navigation tool. It does not sell, recommend or rate medicines. We are building a record that moves with the patient, shared only with their consent. If you would like to follow that work, you can register your interest.

Frequently asked questions

How do I read a medicine leaflet?

Check the name, strength and active ingredient against your box, read the sections in order, and take whatever you do not follow to the pharmacist or doctor.

What are the sections of a medicine leaflet in Egypt?

The EDA’s template for the Arabic leaflet has six: what it is and what it is used for, what to know before using it, how to use it, possible side effects, storage, and contents (read 23 October 2026). A product that follows a reference leaflet keeps that leaflet’s format, so the titles in your pack may differ.

What do “common” and “rare” mean in the side effects section?

The EDA’s guideline recommends “common” for up to 1 in 10 people and “rare” for up to 1 in 1,000 (read 23 October 2026). They describe how many people in a group may get an effect, not what will happen to you.

Where do I report a side effect in Egypt?

Tell your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. You can also report to the EDA’s Egyptian Pharmacovigilance Center on hotline 15301 (read 23 October 2026). It is for reporting, not an emergency service.

Is a leaflet from another country the same as the one in my pack?

Not necessarily. The EDA approves the leaflet for the product sold in Egypt (read 23 October 2026), so read the leaflet from your own pack.

Medigize is a non-diagnostic navigation tool. This is general information, not medical advice. In an emergency, call an ambulance or go to the nearest emergency department.

Sources

1. Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA): Egyptian Guidelines for Medical Leaflets of Medicinal Products for Human Use, version 4, code EDREX:GL.CAP.Care.032, effective 20 September 2024 (PDF), read 23 October 2026
2. Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA): regulatory guidelines of the Central Administration of Pharmaceutical Care, which lists the leaflet guideline as issue 04 (2024), read 23 October 2026
3. Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA): Guideline on E-Labelling of Medical Leaflets of Medicinal and Biological Products for Human Use, version 2, effective May 2024 (PDF), read 23 October 2026
4. Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA): reporting side effects, read 23 October 2026
5. MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine: Taking medicines, what to ask your provider, page reviewed 14 January 2026, read 23 October 2026