Lumont is montelukast, used to prevent asthma symptoms and to treat allergic rhinitis. It comes as 4 mg and 5 mg chewable tablets for children and a 10 mg tablet for adults, plus a combination tablet with levocetirizine. It is a preventer taken every day — never a reliever for an attack.
What is Lumont?
Lumont contains montelukast. The South African Medicine Price Registry lists it as Schedule 3:
| Product | Form | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Lumont | Chewable tablet | Montelukast 4 mg |
| Lumont | Chewable tablet | Montelukast 5 mg |
| Lumont | Tablet | Montelukast 10 mg |
| Lumont Co | Film-coated tablet | Montelukast with levocetirizine |
The strengths are age bands, not severity levels: 4 mg for younger children, 5 mg for older children, 10 mg for adolescents and adults. A child moving from 4 mg to 5 mg has grown, not deteriorated.
Montelukast is a leukotriene receptor antagonist. Leukotrienes are inflammatory chemicals released during an allergic reaction; in the airways they cause muscle tightening, swelling and mucus, and in the nose they cause congestion and running. Montelukast blocks the receptor they act on.
This is a different mechanism from the other allergy and asthma medicines, which is precisely why it is useful. It works where antihistamines do not — leukotrienes, not histamine, drive much of the airway component of an allergic response.
Two consequences follow, and both are commonly misunderstood.
It is a preventer, taken daily. It works by keeping inflammation down over time. Taking it only when symptoms appear will not work.
It is not a reliever. If you are wheezing or short of breath, use your reliever inhaler. Montelukast does nothing for an acute attack, and reaching for it instead of an inhaler wastes time that matters.
What is Lumont commonly used for?
- Asthma prevention, usually added to an inhaled steroid rather than replacing it.
- Exercise-induced asthma — preventing the bronchospasm that follows exertion.
- Allergic rhinitis, seasonal and year-round — sneezing, runny nose, congestion, itchy eyes.
- Asthma and allergic rhinitis together, which is common, and where one tablet treating both is genuinely convenient.
- Mild persistent asthma in children, particularly where inhaler technique is a struggle.
- Aspirin-sensitive asthma, where leukotrienes play a larger role.
Lumont Co adds levocetirizine, an antihistamine, to the montelukast. It is used where nasal allergy symptoms need both mechanisms blocked at once — the antihistamine for the sneezing, itching and running, montelukast for the congestion and the airway component.
Searches for what “Lumont 10 mg” is used for usually come from an adult newly prescribed it, often for hay fever that has not responded to an antihistamine, or as an add-on to an asthma inhaler. Both are ordinary reasons.
It is taken in the evening, which is not arbitrary: asthma symptoms are typically worst in the early hours, and evening dosing aligns the medicine with that.
How Lumont fits into this medicine category
| Group | Examples | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Leukotriene blockers | Montelukast (Lumont) | Daily prevention: asthma and allergic rhinitis |
| Antihistamines | Cetirizine (Austell Cetirizine), chlorphenamine (Rhineton) | Sneezing, itching, runny nose |
| Inhaled steroids | Budesonide, fluticasone | The mainstay of asthma control |
| Reliever inhalers | Salbutamol | Acute symptoms — the emergency treatment |
| Steroid nasal sprays | Fluticasone, mometasone | Persistent nasal allergy |
| Decongestants | Pseudoephedrine | Short-term congestion; blood pressure cautions |
Montelukast is usually an addition, not a replacement — most often to an inhaled steroid in asthma, or to an antihistamine or nasal spray in rhinitis. See the allergy, cold and flu medicines hub.
What to check before using Lumont
Know the mental health warning before you or your child starts it. Montelukast can cause neuropsychiatric effects — and medicines regulators worldwide have issued specific warnings about this, so it is not a fringe concern. Reported effects include:
- Sleep disturbance, vivid dreams, nightmares and sleepwalking
- Agitation, irritability, aggression and restlessness
- Anxiety, low mood and depression
- Poor concentration and memory problems
- In rare cases, suicidal thoughts or behaviour
These are uncommon, and most people take montelukast without any of them. But they can appear at any point, including in young children, and they resolve when the medicine is stopped. The reason to know in advance is simple: a parent who has been told will connect a child’s new nightmares or unusual aggression to the tablet. A parent who has not been told generally will not.
If you notice mood, behaviour or sleep changes, stop the medicine and contact your doctor.
Also tell your doctor or pharmacist if you:
- Have a history of depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions, or a child with behavioural difficulties.
- Have liver disease.
- Have phenylketonuria — some chewable formulations contain phenylalanine. Check the pack.
- Take phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine or rifampicin, which can lower montelukast levels.
- Are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Practical points:
- Take it every evening, at about the same time, whether or not you have symptoms.
- Chewable tablets must be chewed, not swallowed whole.
- Keep using your inhalers. Montelukast does not replace an inhaled steroid or a reliever, and stopping either can be dangerous.
- Give it a few weeks. Benefit builds over days to weeks rather than appearing at once.
Possible cautions and when to ask a pharmacist or doctor
Common effects include headache, abdominal pain, thirst, tiredness, cough and mild sore throat. Most are mild.
Contact your doctor and stop the medicine for any change in mood, behaviour or sleep — see the section above. Seek urgent help for thoughts of self-harm.
Get emergency help for:
- Worsening breathlessness or wheeze that your reliever inhaler does not settle — treat this as an asthma attack.
- Swelling of the face, lips or tongue, difficulty breathing, or a widespread rash.
- A rash with fever, blistering or peeling.
- Numbness, tingling, weakness, sinus symptoms with worsening asthma and a rash — a rare pattern that needs prompt assessment.
- Yellowing of the skin or eyes, or persistent abdominal pain.
Contact your doctor if:
- Asthma symptoms are increasing, you are using your reliever more often, or you are waking at night with symptoms. That means control is worsening, whatever medicines you are on.
- Nasal symptoms are not improving after a few weeks.
- You are unsure whether to continue because of side effects — ask rather than stopping an asthma medicine without advice.
- A child seems different in mood, sleep or behaviour since starting.
Related medicine guides
- Browse Allergy, Cold & Flu Medicines guides
- Read: Austell Cetirizine used for
- Read: Rhineton used for
Frequently asked questions
What is Lumont 10 mg used for? Preventing asthma symptoms and treating allergic rhinitis in adolescents and adults. It contains montelukast.
What is Lumont 5 mg used for? The same conditions in older children. The 4 mg and 5 mg chewable tablets are age-based strengths, not weaker versions for milder disease.
Can I use it during an asthma attack? No. Use your reliever inhaler. Montelukast is a daily preventer and does nothing for acute symptoms.
Why do I take it at night? Asthma symptoms are typically worst in the early hours, and evening dosing matches the medicine to that pattern.
Does it replace my inhaler? No. It is usually added to an inhaled steroid, not used instead of one. Do not stop your inhalers without medical advice.
Can it affect mood or sleep? Yes — nightmares, agitation, anxiety, low mood and behavioural changes are recognised effects, and regulators have warned about them. They resolve on stopping. Contact your doctor if you notice any.
What is Lumont Co? Montelukast combined with levocetirizine, an antihistamine — used where allergy symptoms need both blocked at once.
How long before it works? Days to a few weeks. It is a preventer, so judge it over time rather than day to day.