A useful add-on tablet for asthma and hay fever — carrying a mood and behaviour warning that everyone taking it should know.
Explained by a GMC-registered GP, not a leaflet
Honest about what we can and cannot prescribe remotely
Side effects given the same weight as benefits
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Montelukast blocks leukotrienes — inflammatory chemicals released in allergic reactions that narrow airways, increase mucus and cause swelling.
It is a tablet rather than an inhaler, which is its practical appeal, and it acts on a different pathway from inhaled steroids — so the two work together rather than duplicating each other.
It is an add-on, not a substitute for a preventer inhaler.
It is especially useful where asthma and hay fever coexist, which is a very common combination.
Evening dosing reflects the overnight and early-morning worsening typical of asthma.
Allow two to four weeks to judge whether it is helping. If there is no clear benefit by then, it is usually stopped rather than continued indefinitely — which is a genuinely important point, as many people stay on it for years without anyone asking whether it ever worked.
The MHRA has issued specific warnings about neuropsychiatric reactions to montelukast. These are uncommon but real, can begin at any point during treatment, and are frequently not connected to the tablet:
Anyone taking montelukast, and any parent giving it to a child, should know about this before starting. If these symptoms appear, stop the tablet and seek advice — they generally resolve on stopping.
Existing depression, anxiety or behavioural difficulties are not absolute barriers, but they change the balance and should be discussed openly before starting.
It is generally considered acceptable in pregnancy where needed for asthma control, since uncontrolled asthma carries greater risk.
Drug interactions are few. No blood monitoring is needed.
Mood, sleep and behaviour — at every review, and asked about directly rather than waited for. In children, ask the child and the parent separately where possible.
Also review whether it is still helping. Montelukast continued for years without benefit is common and worth stopping.
Yes, for continuing established treatment, and for allergic rhinitis where inhaled and intranasal treatment has not been enough.
Before starting it we will always discuss the neuropsychiatric warning, and we will ask directly about existing mental health difficulties, because that changes the balance for some people.
As with any asthma medicine, we do not diagnose asthma remotely and we do not manage poorly controlled asthma at a distance. Montelukast is an add-on to inhaled treatment, never a replacement for it.
Montelukast is an inexpensive generic, available as standard tablets, chewable tablets and granules for young children.
A private prescription typically costs little more than the England NHS prescription charge.
It can be stopped without tapering.
These usually resolve within days to weeks of stopping.
Stop it after four weeks rather than continuing indefinitely. Not everyone responds, and there is no benefit to staying on a medicine that has not helped.
Yes, and it deserves to be taken seriously rather than glossed over. The reactions are uncommon, but they are real, they can start at any time, and they are frequently attributed to something else. Knowing about them in advance is what allows them to be recognised.
Stop it and seek advice. Behaviour change in children is a recognised effect and usually settles on stopping. This is not something to wait out.
No. It is an add-on to inhaled steroid treatment, never a substitute. Stopping a preventer because you are on montelukast is dangerous.
Two to four weeks. If there is no clear benefit by then, it should generally be stopped.
Because asthma characteristically worsens overnight and in the early morning, and evening dosing matches that pattern.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 30, 2026
On this page
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
Patient reviews