Ramadan 2018: 30 questions on what breaks your fast and what doesn't

Dubai - Do nicotine patches invalidate the Ramadan fast? And what about nasal drops? Clear all your doubts here.

The holy month of Ramadan has started, and Muslims all over the world are observing fast from dawn till dusk.

In some countries, fasting extends for 20 hours or more, as shown in this interactive infographic.

For many of us, the dos and don'ts of fasting are quite clear. But there are also those who may be fasting for the first time, or those who -- out of health reasons -- may need to undergo some medical procedures. Here we list out 30 common questions people have about fasting, as provided by the official fatwa centre of the United Arab Emirates.

1	Flowing of blood	Doesn't break
2	Applying kohl (antimony eyeliner)	Doesn't break
3	Bathing	Doesn't break
4	Make-up	Doesn't break
5	Wet dreams	Doesn't break
6	Suppositories (medical insertions)	Doesn't break
7	Injections (intravenous, muscular or skin)	Doesn't break
8	Insulin injections (for diabetes)	Doesn't break
9	Dust from roads	Doesn't break
10	Swallowing one's saliva or phlegm	Doesn't break
11	Using or inhaling perfumes	Doesn't break
12	Nicotine patches	Doesn't break
13	Nose bleed or tooth bleeding	Doesn't break, provided you don't swallow
14	Eye and ear drops	Doesn't break, unless one feels a taste on one's throat, in which case the fast has to be made up later
15	Swimming and diving	Doesn't break, though best avoided out of feat of breaking the fast if one ingests water
16	Vomiting unintentionally	Doesn't break, unless one re-swallows the vomit that comes out
17	Taking oxygen	Doesn't break if it's just air, but if accompanied by water or medication that reaches the throat, then the fast is invalidated
18	Miswak stick	Doesn't break, though disliked if the Miswak is moist
19	Tasting food without swallowing	Doesn't break, though a fasting person shouldn't do this except in need
20	Toothpaste	Doesn't break, unless it reaches the throat and hence is better not to use as it could jeopardise the fast
21	Lip moisturiser	Doesn't break, provided you don't swallow
22	Asthma pump	Doesn't break, provided you don't sense taste in throat
23	Nutritious injections	Breaks the fast
24	Gargling mouthwash	Breaks the fast
25	Tablets placed under the tongue	Breaks the fast
26	Intentional vomiting	Breaks the fast
27	Deliberately inhaling bukhoor (knowing its ruling)	Breaks the fast. Fast is not broken if accidentally inhaled
28	Nose drops/nasal spray	Breaks the fast, if it reaches the throat
29	Value of fidya of a fasting person	Dh10
30	Value of Zakat Ul Fitr	Dh20

• Dos and Don'ts