If you miss more than 1 coloured pill, or if you don’t start a new strip immediately after the previous one, you should contact a clinician straight away.
If you’ve missed 1 pill and are more than 12 hours late in taking it on days 1 to 9 of your cycle, what you do next depends on whether you’ve had sex during the week before forgetting to take your pill. If you have had sex during the week before, you should get in touch with a prescriber immediately. If you haven’t had sex during the week before, take the missed pill and take any pills that follow as usual, even if it means taking two pills on the same day. You should also use additional contraception, such as a condom, for the next 9 days.
If you miss 1 pill and are more than 12 hours late in taking it on days 10-17 of your cycle, take the missed pill as soon as you remember and any further pills as you would normally, which may mean taking two pills in one day. Use a barrier method such as a condom for the following 9 days.
In the event that you miss 1 pill and are over 12 hours late in taking it on days 18-24 of your cycle, don’t take the missed pill. Start a new strip immediately and use extra contraception, like a condom, for the next 9 days.
If you miss 1 pill and are more than 12 hours late on days 25-26 of your cycle, take the pill you missed and any subsequent pills as normal, even if it means taking two on the same day. You don’t need to use any further contraception.
If you miss 1 pill and are over 12 hours late in taking it on days 27-28 of your cycle, discard the pill you have missed and take any pills that follow as you would usually. No additional contraception is required.