Many LHON specialists suggest that people carrying a LHON mutation, both carriers and affected, should avoid environmental factors that could create additional stress on the mitochondria. These factors include:

  • Smoke (all forms – tobacco, wood stoves, bonfires, etc.)
  • Alcohol
  • Tetracycline
  • Minocycline HCL
  • Streptomycin
  • Erythromycin
  • Chloramphenicol
  • Ethambutol
  • Cyanocobalamin
  • Linezolid
  • Lactated Ringers (used in some IV’s)

This is also a good list to be followed by anyone with LHON PLUS or their doctor advises https://www.mitopatients.org/mitodisease/potentially-harmful-drugs